New movies 2023: the most exciting films coming to theaters
Searching for all of the new movies coming to a theater near you soon? You’ve come to the right place.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of every new film set to be released before the end of the year. Our selection includes the last superhero flicks of 2023 from Marvel and DC, the final few horror films before Halloween officially arrives, intriguing looking indies, and plenty more besides. Each entry in this article is equipped with their movie’s release date (depending on where you live), latest trailer, cast details, and its primary story thread. In short: you don’t need to look anywhere else for your big-screen entertainment needs.
The world’s best streaming services are getting their own new movies, too. You can read about them in our new Netflix movies, new Max movies, new Prime Video movies, and new Disney Plus movies. In the meantime, these are all of the new movies launching in a multiplex near you.
New movies: October 2023
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Release date: October 27
After years spent in development hell, the Five Nights at Freddy‘s (FNAF) movie is ready to terrify a whole new generation and give you endless stage fright (pun totally intended).
Based on Scott Cawthon’s hugely popular indie horror videogame series of the same name, the FNAF movie follows a troubled security guard named Mike Schmidt (The Hunger Games‘ Josh Hutcherson) as he starts his new night-based job at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Unbeknownst to Mike, though, the restaurant’s cuddly animatronic animals come to life after hours – and they’ll stop at nothing to shove anyone they find into a similar animatronic suit with life-ending consequences. In short: all Mike has to do is survive and unravel the horrifying secrets within the pizza parlor’s walls.
The franchise’s diehard fanbase responded well to the movie’s first teaser, albeit with one major criticism of what was shown. Fans have lapped up the final product, too, with its 89% Rotten Tomatoes audience score hitting back at the movie’s extremely poor 25% critical rating.
New movies: November 2023
The Marvels
Release date: November 10
A direct sequel to a movie and two of the best Disney Plus shows, the MCU’s third big screen outing of 2023 brings together Captain Marvel’s Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Ms Marvel’s Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and WandaVision’s Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris).
We already saw Danvers and Khan inexplicably switching places in the Ms Marvel season finale. And, with The Marvels‘ first trailer landing in mid-April – it’s giving us the team up vibes of 2012’s Avengers – the film’s trio of heroes will have to learn to work together in order to thwart another universe-spanning evil masterplan from those pesky Kree individuals.
Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as near-ubiquitous overseer Nick Fury – and, after the Fury-led Secret Invasion ended in July, we have some idea of how The Marvels will tie into the unpopular Disney Plus series.
Elsewhere, Fresh Meat and Velvet Buzzsaw star Zawe Ashton plays the antagonistic Kree warlord Dar-Benn, while Goose – the cute cat/flerken sidekick who cost Fury an eye – is also set to return. One of 2023’s final new movies to really get excited about, in our opinion.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Release date: November 17
This first return to Panem since 2015’s Mockingjay: Part 2 is a prequel film set during future-president Coriolanus Snow’s early days in the Capitol.
At this stage, Snow’s still a long way from the dictator played by Donald Sutherland in The Hunger Games‘ previous movies. With his family’s status diminished in a post-war Panem, Snow reluctantly agrees to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, a new tribute from District 12 (Katniss’ future home). He sees something in her, however, that might help him improve his status in the Capitol – and we all know how that’s going to turn out in the end…
Billy the Kid’s Tom Blyth and West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler play Snow and Baird alongside the sort of stellar cast that’s become a franchise hallmark – Jason Schwartzmann, Peter Dinklage, and Viola Davis are also on board. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is also based on Hunger Games creator Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, and will be the fourth film in the series directed by Francis Lawrence. In other words, you’ve got to hope the odds are very much in its favour.
Saltburn
Release date: November 17
Emerald Fennell’s third feature film looks like another superb offering from the Promising Young Woman and Careful How You Go director.
Saltburn stars Barry Keoghan (Eternals, The Batman) as Oxford University student Oliver Quick, who struggles to find his place at the acclaimed British institution. However, when Oliver crosses paths with the confident, charming, and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), he finds himself being invited to Catton’s sparwling family estate over the summer. No spoilers, but it’s a time Oliver’s unlikely to forget for all the right (and wrong) reasons. Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant, and Carey Mulligan are also among its stellar cast.
Thanksgiving
Release date: November 17
Spooky season will be over by mid-November, but who doesn’t love a bit of blood and guts with their turkey dinner? If you do, Thanksgiving will be a new film for you to chow down on.
This forthcoming slasher flick stars the likes of Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, and Jalen Thomas Brooks. Plot wise, Thanksgiving will the tale of “a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer [who] terrorises Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday”. That’s after a past Black Friday event in Plymouth supposedly ends in tragedy, too. Anybody already thinking that said serial killer will have an ax to grind over the unnecessary death of a loved one during that event?
Anyway, Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) is on directing duties, with the famed horror filmmaker penning the script alongside Jeff Rendell (Grindhouse).
Wish
Release date: November 22
It’s hard to believe Disney celebrates its 100th year in 2023 – and the world-renowned entertainment company is going all-out to commemorate a century of wowing viewers across the world.
Just weeks after The Walt Disney Company officially celebrated that landmark birthday on October 16, it’ll release Wish, a brand-new animated film that combines the studio’s award-winning and influential 2D and 3D art styles into a new kind of family friendly flick.
Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) voices Asha, who travels to Rosas, the kingdom of wishes, to have her wish granted by its magical ruler King Magnifico (Chris Pine). When her request isn’t approved, Asha makes a wish so powerful that it’s answered by a cosmic force, known simply as Star. Along with Asha’s pet goat Valentino, the duo embark on a quest to save Asha’s kingdom from a looming darkness, which King Magnificio may have a hand in ushering in.
Napoleon
Release date: November 22
Over 20 years since they last collaborated in Gladiator, Joaquin Phoenix and acclaimed director Ridley Scott have reteamed to craft a stunning cinematic experience that focuses on the legendary French military commander, political leader, and king.
Per Sony Pictures’ story synopsis, Napoleon “is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.”
We don’t know about you, but we’d be amazed if Scott, Phoenix, and Napoleon aren’t up for multiple awards in early 2024. Based on its first trailer, it just seems like a given, even at this early stage.
New movies: December 2023
The Bikeriders
Release date: December 1
Austin Butler (Elvis) and Tom Hardy (Venom, The Dark Knight Rises) are joining a motorcycle club in December in The Bikeriders, a ferocious, petrol-fuelled drama that’s sure to be in with a shout during the 2024 Oscars season.
Jodie Comer (Free Guy, Killing Eve) stars as Kathy, a seemingly timid woman who meets and ends up marrying Butler’s Benny, a member of a fictional and fearsome ’60s era biker gang called the Vandals. The Bikeriders recounts Kathy’s time with the Vandals, her attempts to ‘fix’ Benny and put him on the straight and narrow, and the pair’s history with the gang’s strong but increasingly ruthless leader Johnny (Hardy). Get ready to settle in for explosive drama, bike-centric action, and likely top-tier performances from the film’s leading trio.
The Boy and the Heron
Release date: December 8 (US) and December 26 (UK)
Following its critically-acclaimed July release in Japan, Studio Ghibli’s latest anime flick is coming to the US and UK (sorry, Australian fans) in December.
Based on Genzaburō Yoshino’s 1937 novel of the same name, The Boy and the Heron – the previously assumed final movie from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki – follows a boy named Mahito Maki, who discovers an abandoned tower in his hometown. Understandably curious, Maki follows a talking grey heron through one of the tower’s doors, entering an expectedly fantastical new world in the process.
Recently, the English language cast list for one of 2023’s final new movies was revealed, and it’s full of household names. Christian Bale (Batman), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Florence Pugh (Black Widow), and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home) are among its powerhouse voice cast.
Wonka
Release date: December 15
In Hollywood, it turns out even chocolatiers have backstories. This Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel goes beyond the Roald Dahl source material to imagine what Willy Wonka got up to before he went into business manufacturing everlasting gobstoppers and Whipple-scrumptious fudgemallow delights.
Dune star Timothée Chalamet dons the top hat as a younger version of a character previously played by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp, and has described the movie as “so sincere, it’s so joyous”. And while that could easily be PR fluff, we actually believe him.
It’s been directed by Paul King, the man who turned both Paddington movies into instant, heart-warming classics. Intriguingly, the movie’s also a musical that features songs written by The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon. We think it’ll be one of the best new movies to debut around Christmas for some time – and, based on its official trailer, we’re even more confident of that assessment.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Release date: December 22 (December 26 in Australia and December 29 in the UK)
Despite Aquaman 2 having been originally scheduled to hit theaters on December 16, 2022, it’s now due to wash up in December 2023. Going by the less internet-friendly title of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, this superhero sequel will continue the underwater adventures of Jason Momoa’s DC superhero.
It’ll reunite the Game of Thrones actor with original co-stars Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, and Patrick Wilson, although the level of Heard’s involvement reportedly remains up in the air. It’ll see the titular character forced to “forge an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally to protect Atlantis, and the world, from irreversible devastation”, too.
Aquaman 2‘s first teaser was released on September 10, although it wasn’t your typical DCEU trailer and that posed a big problem. Its official trailer arrived four days later (watch it above) and features even more VFX-heavy underwater sequences, the return of Aquaman‘s Black Manta, and plenty of frenetic action and razor-sharp quips.
All of Us Strangers
Release date: December 22 (January 26 in the UK, TBC in Australia)
Andrew Haigh’s first feature film for six years is due out in US cinemas before the end of the year. And, based on its trailer and awards season release date positioning, it could stake a claim for 2024’s biggest movie-based prizes.
All of Us Strangers stars Adam (Sherlock and Fleabag‘s Andrew Scott), whose mysterious encounter with neigbor Harry (Aftersun and Normal People‘s Paul Mescal) disrupts the flow of his everyday life. As the duo’s relationship begins to blossom, Adam struggles to let go of his past, and strangely begins seeing visions of his deceased parents in the childhood home he left three decades ago. A romantic fantasy-thriller with two excellent leads that might cause an upset or two on the awards circuit early next year.
Anyone But You
Release date: December 22 (US and Australia), 29 December (UK)
This fiery rom-com, which brings Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) together looks like it’ll make for captivatingly hilarious viewing over the festive period.
The duo play Bea and Ben who, after enjoying a fantastic first date together, find their exciting connection fizzle out over one seemingly slight issue. So, what’s the problem? Well, Bea and Ben soon find themselves reunited at a wedding in Australia – a scenario that forces the icy cold pair to pretend to be a loved-up couple. Based on its teaser (which you can watch above), expect laugh-based sparks to fly.
The Color Purple
Release date: December 25 (January 26, 2024 in the UK and January 25, 2024 in Australia)
Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is getting a big screen glow up – following its early 21st century stage musical adaptation – in time for the 2023 US Holiday season.
The Color Purple tells the tale of Celie Harris Johnson (played here by Fantasia Barrino) and the extraordinary, albeit at-times horrifyingly abusive journey she goes on in the early 1900s. Halle Bailey, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, and H.E.R. are among its starry cast.
Blitz Bazawule (Black Is King, The Burial of Kojo) directs from a screenplay penned by Marcus Gardley (Maid, The Chi). Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg are part of the movie’s world-famous producing team, too.
The Boys in the Boat
Release date: December 25 (January 12, 2024 in the UK and January 4, 2024 in Australia)
Based on real-life events, this George Clooney-directed underdog tale is Warner Bros’ second Christmas Day feature film release – alongside the aforementioned The Color Purple (in the US, anyway).
The Boys in the Boat stars Joel Edgerton and Callum Turner (among many others) as two members of the 1936 University of Washington rowing team, which competed for the gold medal at that year’s Summer Olympics games in Berlin. Billed as an “inspirational true story”, we wouldn’t be surprised if one of 2023’s last new movies (or first of 2024’s new flicks, depending on where you live) earns its fair share of award nominations early next year.
