(Photo by Amazon Studios)
Welcome to the best new movies of 2023, where you can discover the latest films championed by the critics community! Every movie on the list is Certified Fresh, meaning they held on to a Tomatometer score of at least 75% after a minimum number of critics review — 40 for limited or streaming releases, 80 for wide theatrical releases, with five of those reviews coming from Top Critics.
The year started off strong with successive surprise genre hits in January, like M3GAN (from Blumhouse), Plane (starring Gerard Butler), Missing, and Infinity Pool (see the best horror movies of 2023). Notably, no wide release in February went Certified Fresh, plus we saw misfires from the normally reliable Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike’s Last Dance) and Marvel Studios (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania).
By contrast, almost every week in March saw a new major release hit the Certified Fresh mark, including John Wick: Chapter 4 (starring Keanu Reeves), Creed III, and Scream VI.
Check back every week for the latest best new movies of 2023! —Alex Vo
Recently added: Suzume (see top 100 anime movies of all time), R.M.N., Other People’s Children, Leonor Will Never Die, Sick of Myself, Evil Dead Rise (see best horror movies of 2023), Chevalier.
#1
Adjusted Score: 103185%
Critics Consensus: A bone-chilling body horror, Huesera offers genre fans a twisted take on What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
#2
Adjusted Score: 100141%
Critics Consensus: Led by Laure Calamy’s gripping performance, Full Time serves as a sobering reminder that just staying financially afloat can sometimes feel like a white-knuckle thriller.
#3
Adjusted Score: 103693%
Critics Consensus: Good news, rom-com fans: Anyone looking for a smart, funny, and heartwarming new addition to the canon can find it waiting on Rye Lane.
#4
Adjusted Score: 102596%
Critics Consensus: A tribute to parental devotion and a testament to Teyana Taylor’s talent, A Thousand and One presents a heart-wrenching portrait of perseverance in the face of systemic inequity.
#5
Adjusted Score: 100360%
Critics Consensus: With stunning honesty that’s achingly bittersweet, Joyland tackles gender and sexual fluidity in a repressed patriarchal society with wisps of hopefulness.
#6
Adjusted Score: 99717%
Critics Consensus: Sensitively attuned to its protagonist’s quest, Return to Seoul uses one woman’s story to explore universal truths about the human condition.
#7
Adjusted Score: 102758%
Critics Consensus: An explosive adaptation of Andreas Malm’s treatise, How to Blow Up a Pipeline delivers a high-stakes eco-thriller ignited by riveting and complex antiheroes.
#8
Adjusted Score: 102317%
Critics Consensus: Suzume sees director Makoto Shinkai falling just a bit short of the bar set by previous outings — but when the results are this visually thrilling and emotionally impactful, it’s hard to find much fault.
#9
Adjusted Score: 97587%
Critics Consensus: A possession thriller that knows the devil’s in the details, Attachment scares some fresh angles out of a well-worn horror subgenre.
#10
Adjusted Score: 96819%
Critics Consensus: R.M.N.‘s spare, elegant approach lends a deceptively cool surface to its caustic take on cultural divisions.
#11
Adjusted Score: 114485%
Critics Consensus: John Wick: Chapter 4 piles on more of everything — and suggests that when it comes to a well-dressed Keanu Reeves dispatching his enemies in lethally balletic style, there can never be too much.
#12
Adjusted Score: 101096%
Critics Consensus: A gut-punching contemplation of a woman’s immigrant experience, Saint Omer puts a mother on the stand and the audience in the jury box to find humanity in the inhumane.
#13
Adjusted Score: 111586%
Critics Consensus: Unapologetically silly and all the more entertaining for it, M3GAN is the rare horror-comedy that delivers chuckles as effortlessly as chills.
#14
Adjusted Score: 94946%
Critics Consensus: After Love marks an impressively nuanced feature debut for writer-director Aleem Khan — and a brilliant showcase for Joanna Scanlan’s dramatic chops.
#15
Adjusted Score: 109508%
Critics Consensus: A fact-based drama that no one will dunk on, Air aims to dramatize events that changed the sports world forever — and hits almost nothing but net.
#16
Adjusted Score: 94200%
Critics Consensus: Juniper‘s story offers few surprises — and it doesn’t need any, with Charlotte Rampling holding the viewer rapt from start to finish.
#17
Adjusted Score: 94139%
Critics Consensus: While it may lack a narrative punch, Alcarràs captures this rural world and its heritage with a gripping sense of nostalgia for things forever gone.
#18
Adjusted Score: 93037%
Critics Consensus: Packing a lot into its brief runtime, Jethica anchors its supernatural thrills with the serious story of a truly terrifying stalker.
#19
Adjusted Score: 92797%
Critics Consensus: Other People’s Children perceptively explores motherhood outside traditional biological confines and delivers sobering truths with an ample side of levity.
#20
Adjusted Score: 92093%
Critics Consensus: A delightfully unique tribute to the transporting power of cinema, Leonor Will Never Die marks director/co-writer Martika Ramirez Escobar as a talent to watch.
#21
Adjusted Score: 107007%
Critics Consensus: An infectiously good-spirited comedy with a solid emotional core, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves offers fun fantasy and adventure even if you don’t know your HP from your OP.
#22
Adjusted Score: 96960%
Critics Consensus: A deceptively simple drama about the artist’s life, Showing Up reunites Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams to absorbing effect.
#23
Adjusted Score: 92272%
Critics Consensus: Quentin Dupieux still isn’t for everyone — but if you’re on his loopy wavelength, Smoking Causes Coughing causes laughter.
#24
Adjusted Score: 92084%
Critics Consensus: Necessarily bleak but shot through with moments of humor, the beautifully filmed Godland serves as a gently absorbing meditation on mortality.
#25
Adjusted Score: 108260%
Critics Consensus: Stepping out from Rocky Balboa’s iconic shadow at last, the Creed franchise reasserts its champion status thanks to star Michael B. Jordan’s punchy direction and a nuanced heel turn by Jonathan Majors.
#26
Adjusted Score: 93059%
Critics Consensus: Another humanistic gem from the Dardennes, Tori and Lokita puts its characters in heartbreaking circumstances while insisting on their intrinsic dignity.
#27
Adjusted Score: 90091%
Critics Consensus: With an ample dose of dark humor, Sick of Myself is intent on turning stomachs with its vicious satire on vanity in the time of social media, delivering a one-upping saga of egos gone awry.
#28
Adjusted Score: 95071%
Critics Consensus: With a bracingly irreverent approach to its story and Emma Mackey bringing Brontë vibrantly to life, Emily is a biopic that manages to feel true while taking entertaining creative liberties.
#29
Adjusted Score: 99037%
Critics Consensus: Turbulent waters even for strong swimmers, Infinity Pool provides a visceral all-inclusive retreat of Cronenbergian perversion for those wanting to escape commercial sundries.
#30
Adjusted Score: 94845%
Critics Consensus: Missing can strain credulity in its efforts to keep the audience guessing, but a fast pace and relatable fears keep this twisty techno-thriller from completely losing its way.
#31
Adjusted Score: 88778%
Critics Consensus: Smart, self-aware, and all too timely, this slasher co-written by Kevin Williamson is Sick in all the best ways.
#32
Adjusted Score: 88163%
Critics Consensus: While it may not belong in the upper ranks of cinematic queer love stories, Of an Age is a moving romance elevated by powerhouse performances.
#33
Adjusted Score: 89056%
Critics Consensus: Narratively sparse and visually vast, Pacifiction is a tsunami of a political thriller that philosophically rewards those willing to weather it.
#34
Adjusted Score: 87879%
Critics Consensus: Overflowing with ideas as it moves across genres, The Five Devils uses intoxicating magical realism to explore a family’s troubled past.
#35
Adjusted Score: 94366%
Critics Consensus: Offering just about everything longtime fans could hope for while still managing to carry the franchise forward, Evil Dead Rise is all kinds of groovy.
#36
Adjusted Score: 92142%
Critics Consensus: While it’s nowhere near as addictive or fast-paced as the game, Tetris offers a fun, fizzy account of the story behind an 8-bit classic.
#37
Adjusted Score: 87601%
Critics Consensus: Supported by Kelvin Harrison Jr.’s outstanding work in the title role, Chevalier offers an entertaining gateway into the incredible life of a brilliant artist.
#38
Adjusted Score: 83540%
Critics Consensus: A solid showcase for Jim Gaffigan as well as a sneakily ambitious dramedy, Linoleum adds another impressive entry to writer-director Colin West’s filmography.
#39
Adjusted Score: 84581%
Critics Consensus: The movie’s curiously bland compared to the remarkable real-life story it dramatizes, but Sally Hawkins’ performance saves The Lost King from feeling like a royal disappointment.
#40
Adjusted Score: 82328%
Critics Consensus: If its story’s mysteries are ultimately less compelling than they might seem, Enys Men‘s retro aesthetic and intriguingly abstract visuals make this a chilly treat for horror fans.
#41
Adjusted Score: 94133%
Critics Consensus: Certain aspects of horror’s most murderously meta franchise may be going stale, but a change of setting and some inventive set pieces help keep Scream VI reasonably sharp.
#42
Adjusted Score: 86402%
Critics Consensus: Plane charts a standard action-adventure course with its cruising altitude just a few miles above Direct-to-Video — but with Gerard Butler in the cockpit, thriller enthusiasts will still find this a fun flight.
#43
Adjusted Score: 77889%
Critics Consensus: Within the outline of its fairly standard story, The Offering puts a unique — and often genuinely scary — spin on demonic possession horror tropes.