13 Biggest Movies of 2023 You Need to See

2023 is set to be a bumper year for blockbusters, with some highly-anticipated sequels, franchise entries, and exciting new projects on the cards for movie-lovers to gawk at. We’ve rounded up some of the hottest and most-anticipated movies to get your popcorn ready for in 2023:

Creed III

Release date: 3 March 2023

Another round of boxing-drama is on the cards as a third movie in the Creed spin-off franchise is heading to theatres in March 2023. Michael B. Jordan returns as Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky Balboa’s fiercest competitor Apollo Creed, and also makes his directorial debut for the threequel. Tessa Thompson is reprising her role as Donnie’s girlfriend Bianca and Phylicia Rashad is returning as his stepmother Mary Anne. Jonathan Majors (Loki, Lovecraft County) joins the cast as Anderson Dame, Creed’s new rival.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1

Release date: 14 July 2023

The long-running IMF agency is on track for another daring espionage adventure in 2023, with the seventh Mission Impossible set for release in July. Of course, Tom Cruise returns, alongside Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Frederick Schmidt, all of whom will reprise their roles from the previous films. Newcomers include Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Charles Parnell, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, and Cary Elwes.

John Wick: Chapter 4

Release date: 24 March 2023

John Wick is returning for one final outing to settle the score with The High Table and its league of assassins, and will see Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski reunite for one last time. Lawrence Fishburne and Ian McShane will return as the Bowery King and Winston respectively, and you can be certain that a whole host of bizarre and deadly hitmen will be lining up to take Wick down when it hits theatres in March 2023.

Knock at the Cabin

Release date: 3 February 2023

Master of the movie twists, M. Night Shyamalan, has been quiet as of late, but the Signs and The Village director has a new unnerving movie on the horizon called Knock at the Cabin, which is undoubtedly filled with some unsuspecting outcomes. The film stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), and Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag) and follows a young girl and her parents who are taken hostage by four armed strangers while vacationing at a remote cabin.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Release date: 17 February 2023

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania picks up a few years after Avengers: Endgame, whereby Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) explore the Quantum Realm along with their family and face Kang the Conqueror (played by Lovecraft Country and Loki‘s Jonathan Majors). The cast also includes Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, and Randall Park.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Release date: 5 May 2023

The third dedicated Guardians of the Galaxy film will continue the intergalactic element of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film once again stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, with Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper lending their voices to Groot and Rocket once more. The cast has been bolstered by Will Poulter, who plays Adam Warlock. The plot itself will dive into the backstory of Rocket and the other Guardians, while the team has to save the universe from a new threat putting the whole universe in harm’s way.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Release date: 9 June 2023

The Transformers movie franchise seems to have been under the assessment of Paramount and Hasbro regarding the direction the ‘robots-in-disguise’ series was going to take going forward. Reboots, sequels, and reinvigorations were all on the cards, but it’s now confirmed that the next Transformers film will be a prequel within the main universe. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is set in 1994, after the events of Bumblebee but before the first Transformers film, and follows Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots’ encounter with the Maximals, a similar race of robot lifeforms who transform into giant animals. The film will is directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) with franchise producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura returning to the series, with Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback in the starring roles.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Release date: 30 June 2023

The fifth instalment in the beloved Indiana Jones series is on the horizon, with 79-year-old Harrison Ford returning to reprise the titular role. Boyd Holbrook (The Predator) and Mads Mikkelson (Hannibal) also star, although not too much is known about the plot, but it is being directed by Logan‘s James Mangold. It’ll obviously entail a globe-spanning adventure surrounding some myth or another, so expect that and a lot of one-liners, whip cracking, and shootouts.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part 1)

Release date: 2 June 2023

After the smash success that was the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the sequel will see the light of day in 2023. Across the Spider-Verse (Part 1) will continue Miles Morales’ journey as Spider-Man, while also once again featuring Hailee Steinfeld’s Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man, and include Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099, an alternate version of Spider-Man from the future.

The Flash

Release date: 16 June 2023

After Zack Snyder’s original cut of Justice League reinvigorated the franchise, only for Warner Bros. to pull the plug on a number of upcoming DC movies, The Flash will get his own standalone movie. The film is directed by IT‘s Andy Muschietti and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash alongside Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Kiersey Clemons, Maribel Verdú, and Ron Livingston. The story sees The Flash travels back in time to prevent his mother’s murder, which brings unintended consequences.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Release date: 25 December 2023

Director James Wan and Jason Mamoa return for the sequel to 2018’s Aquaman, which also sees the return of Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Also appearing are Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin, a marine biologist obsessed with finding Atlantis; Vincent Regan as Atlan, the first king of Atlantis; Jani Zhao as Stingray; Indya Moore as Karshon; and Pilou Asbæk in an undisclosed role.

Oppenheimer

Release date: 21 July 2023

Coming from Christopher Nolan, the acclaimed director behind The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Tenet, Oppenheimer tells the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb. The cast is jam-packed with some serious talent, including the likes of Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., and Gary Oldman.

Dune: Part 2

Release date: 3 November 2023

Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Timothée Chalamet all return for the second part of the sci-fi epic Dune, which will pick up after the events of the first film. Black Widow‘s Florence Pugh also joins the cast. Expect a big finale from director Denis Villeneuve.

Which movies are you most looking forward to in 2023? Let us know by tweeting @MenStuffZA, posting on our Facebook page, or commenting below.