Entertainment

Coming attractions: 2023's biggest box-office draws

Rachael Davis looks ahead to the new year in films, highlighting some of the most anticipated releases for 2023...

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

EPIC blockbusters, live-action remakes, animated spectacles, prequels, sequels and long-awaited franchise re-ignitions are all in the pipeline for 2023, which is set to be a jam-packed year for cinema.

We're taking a look at the year ahead and its most exciting releases. From Barbie to Wonka and Spider-Man to Indiana Jones, there's a lot to look forward to, so here's a chronological snapshot of 2023's must-watch movies....

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Adam Driver stars in this sci-fi thriller, scheduled for release on Friday March 10, which tells the story of spaceship pilot Mills (Driver) and his passenger Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), who hail from far in the future, after they crash land on what appears to be an alien planet.

It soon transpires they have landed on planet Earth as it existed 65 million years ago – complete with ferocious dinosaurs – and their futuristic technology is put to the test as they fight to survive against T. Rexes and velociraptors.

THE LITTLE MERMAID

The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid The Little Mermaid

The highly-anticipated live-action remake of Disney's 1989 The Little Mermaid is scheduled to release in the UK on Friday May 26, with Halle Bailey starring as the titular mermaid.

As with the beloved original, the film follows Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton, as she falls in love with Prince Eric and becomes determined to walk on dry land and meet him in the world above water.

Of course, her quest brings conflict with not only her father but also Ursula the sea witch, played by Melissa McCarthy, in this stunningly-shot live-action film that beautifully showcases life Under The Sea.

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

2018's animated Spider-Man film Into The Spider-Verse received rave reviews for its striking animation and bold storytelling, and Miles Morales is returning for a second jaunt through the multiverse in the sequel.

Shameik Moore returns as Spider-Man Miles, alongside Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman, for a journey through the multiverse which sees Miles pitted against the other Spider-People who protect the multiverse's very existence as they decide how to handle a new threat.

The comic book-style animation looks incredible in the trailer, and while the teaser doesn't give us much to go on plot-wise, it's clear there's lots to look forward to when the film is released on Friday June 2.

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS

The Transformers franchise returns for a hit of 90s nostalgia with Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, influenced by the animated series Beast Wars. This seventh instalment in the film series is a sequel to 2018's Bumblebee – which means it's nothing to do with the largely atrocious Michael Bay-helmed series of Transformers films – and takes us back to 1994 Brooklyn as two humans partner with Optimus Prime and the Autobots in an ancient conflict involving a vendetta between three factions of Transformers: the Maximals, the Predacons and the Terrorcons.

With a star-studded cast including Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson and the legendary Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, Rise Of The Beasts looks set to be a spectacle of a cinematic blockbuster when it's released on Friday June 9.

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

Harrison Ford is returning as whip-cracking archaeologist Indiana Jones for the first time since 2008 in another action-packed adventure, this time set against the backdrop of the Space Race.

It's 1969 and Indy is concerned about the US Government's recruitment of former Nazis to help beat the Soviet Union in the competition to leave planet Earth. His goddaughter, Helena – played by Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge – joins him on his mission, while Mads Mikkelsen's Jurgen Voller, a former Nazi hired by Nasa, seeks to make the world a better place in line with his personal vision.

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, which releases in cinemas on Friday June 30, is the first film in the series not directed by Steven Spielberg or written by George Lucas, but both serve as producers while James Mangold – director of Girl, Interrupted, The Wolverine and Logan – takes the helm.

OPPENHEIMER

Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan tells the story of the 'father of the atomic bomb' in Oppenheimer, which stars Cillian Murphy as the titular theoretical physicist.

With Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jnr, Matt Damon and more featuring in supporting roles, the epic biographical thriller arrives in cinemas on Friday July 21.

BARBIE

Barbie
Barbie Barbie

Greta Gerwig's hotly anticipated Barbie – a satirical sci-fi comedy based on the iconic Mattel doll – is also scheduled for release on Friday July 21.

Margot Robbie stars in the title role, with Ryan Gosling playing Barbie's companion Ken in the bright pink world of Barbieland. Behind-the-scenes shots of the starring duo in suitably outlandish costumes have garnered attention, while a short teaser trailer has given a snippet of the film's dry sense of humour and spectacular set design.

Gerwig, known for 2017's Lady Bird and 2019's Little Women, teamed up with her partner Noah Baumbach – who earned an Oscar nomination for 2019's Marriage Story – to write the film, so fans of the pair's back catalogue have a lot to look forward to.

THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES

This prelude to the beloved Hunger Games film series tells the story of a teenage Coriolanus Snow, played by Benediction's Tom Blyth, before he becomes Panem's authoritarian president, and takes place around the 10th annual Hunger Games.

Francis Lawrence, who was also at the helm for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and both Mockingjay films, returns as director, while the film, scheduled for release on Friday November 17, sees a whole new cast including West Side Story's Rachel Zegler, Euphoria's Hunter Schafer, Game of Thrones's Peter Dinklage and The Woman King's Viola Davis.

WONKA

The prodigious Timothee Chalamet plays a young Willy Wonka in Paddington director Paul King's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory prequel, which tells the story of the eccentric chocolatier's life before opening the world's most famous chocolate factory.

Wonka, which is scheduled for release on Friday December 15, will be one of Chalamet's two releases in 2023, the other being the sequel to 2021's epic sci-fi flick Dune.

MAESTRO

Maestro
Maestro Maestro

Bradley Cooper appears in transformative prosthetics to play legendary conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein – best known for composing Broadway's West Side Story – in Maestro, which also marks his second directorial role after 2018's A Star Is Born.

From what we know so far, the biopic will delve into Bernstein's personal life and professional career, with a focus on the love story around his marriage to Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan.

While the release date has not been formally announced by Netflix, it's pinned for some time in 2023.