79 Fun Facts About 2023 Movie

Which two films opened on 21 July 2023, creating that summer's double-feature craze?

The joint opening was the fourth-biggest weekend in US box office history and the first time two films opened above $100m and $80m together.

Who directed Barbie, from a script co-written with her husband Noah Baumbach?

Amy Schumer and then Anne Hathaway had been attached to play the doll in earlier versions before Margot Robbie was cast in 2019.

Who played Ken opposite Margot Robbie in Barbie?

The film became the highest-grossing of both leads' careers, beating Suicide Squad and Blade Runner 2049 in a single weekend.

Barbie became the first film in which genre to gross over $1 billion worldwide?

It got there in 17 days, the fastest Warner Bros. film ever, two days quicker than the final Harry Potter.

Which song from Barbie won the Academy Award for Best Original Song?

The win made Billie Eilish, who had already won for No Time to Die, the youngest person ever to hold two Oscars.

Oppenheimer was based on which Pulitzer-winning 2005 biography?

Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's book covers the physicist's studies, Los Alamos and the 1954 security hearing that the film builds toward.

Who plays Lewis Strauss, the Atomic Energy Commission member, in Oppenheimer?

The role brought him his first Oscar, and the film was the first Best Picture winner to take both male acting awards since Ben-Hur.

Oppenheimer was Christopher Nolan's first film since Memento not to be distributed by which studio?

He walked after the studio put its whole 2021 slate on HBO Max the same day as cinemas, and took the film to Universal instead.

Oppenheimer's cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot selected scenes in what first-of-its-kind format?

Kodak had to manufacture the stock specially, and IMAX 70 mm prints alone earned $17 million from just 30 screens.

How many Academy Awards did Oppenheimer win at the March 2024 ceremony?

It had led the field with thirteen nominations, and apart from composer Ludwig Göransson every winner from the film was a first-timer.

Oppenheimer overtook which earlier Nolan film as the highest-grossing World War II movie ever?

It also passed Bohemian Rhapsody as the top-grossing biopic and sits behind only Joker among R-rated films.

Which studio produced The Super Mario Bros. Movie together with Nintendo?

Miyamoto met the studio's boss Chris Meledandri through the Super Nintendo World theme park deal, decades after the 1993 live-action flop had scared Nintendo off films.

Who voices Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie?

Chris Pratt is Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy is Peach and Rogen plays Donkey Kong.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie became the first film of what kind to gross $1 billion worldwide?

It was also the 52nd billion-dollar film overall and briefly the top non-Disney animated film ever, until Ne Zha 2 in 2025.

At 140 minutes, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse set what record on release?

Each of its six universes was drawn in a different visual style, and it became Sony Pictures Animation's biggest hit.

Who voices Miles Morales in Across the Spider-Verse?

Hailee Steinfeld's Gwen Stacy shares the lead, and the sequel was originally scheduled for April 2022.

Killers of the Flower Moon is set among which Native American nation after oil was found on its land?

The film's $200 million-plus budget was reportedly the most ever spent on a shoot in Oklahoma, and it was Scorsese's final collaboration with composer Robbie Robertson.

Which tech company financed Killers of the Flower Moon and released it with Paramount?

The Cannes premiere led to Oscar nominations for Lily Gladstone, the first US-born Native American Best Actress nominee, and an 81-year-old Scorsese.

Robert De Niro's Killers of the Flower Moon nomination came how many years after his first, for The Godfather Part II?

That gap between first and latest nomination is the longest in Oscar history.

In Poor Things, Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a woman reanimated by a scientist played by whom?

The film, adapted from Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel and shot in Hungary, won Stone Best Actress at the Oscars, Globes and BAFTAs.

Poor Things won the top prize at which 2023 film festival?

The Golden Lion made it Yorgos Lanthimos's most decorated film, and it went on to gross $117 million on a $35 million budget.

Which French courtroom drama won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2023?

Justine Triet's film also won the Palm Dog for Snoop the border collie and later took the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Which German actress starred in both the 2023 Palme d'Or winner and The Zone of Interest?

She earned a Best Actress nomination for the former while the latter won Best International Feature and Best Sound.

The Zone of Interest depicts the family life of the commandant of which concentration camp?

Jonathan Glazer chose to portray the real Höss family rather than the fictionalised versions in Martin Amis's novel, and shot mostly around the camp itself.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 centres on the origin of which character?

James Gunn says he personally identifies with the raccoon; he was fired from the film in 2018 over old tweets and rehired the same year.

John Wick: Chapter 4 was the first film in the series not written by which franchise creator?

It became the franchise's highest earner with $447 million, and the spin-off Ballerina followed in 2025.

In The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti's teacher is stuck at a boarding school over which 1970 holiday?

Da'Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, Globes and BAFTAs as the school's grieving cook, and Dominic Sessa made his film debut.

Godzilla Minus One won an Oscar in which category, the first non-English-language film ever to do so?

Director Takashi Yamazaki also did the effects himself, on a reputed budget of only around $10 million.

The hero of Godzilla Minus One is a former what, haunted by his failure to complete his mission?

The film is set in a Japan already flattened by the war, hence the minus in the title, and it was released for the franchise's 70th anniversary.

Past Lives, Celine Song's debut about two childhood friends from Seoul, had which distributor?

The semi-autobiographical film earned Best Picture and Original Screenplay nominations and follows its pair across 24 years.

Who plays the security guard at the haunted pizzeria in Five Nights at Freddy's?

The animatronics were built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, and the film hit Peacock and cinemas on the same day.

Timothée Chalamet's 2023 musical about a young confectioner is a prequel to which earlier film?

Paul King reused some of the 1971 film's music and its Oompa Loompa design, with Hugh Grant playing one.

Which director came out of retirement to make The Boy and the Heron?

Its Japanese title, How Do You Live?, borrows from a 1937 novel, and producer Toshio Suzuki called it the most expensive film ever made in Japan.

In Saltburn, Barry Keoghan's Oliver Quick is a scholarship student at which university?

Emerald Fennell's film became one of Amazon Prime Video's most-streamed titles after its December release.

What does Ethan Hunt's team face as its enemy in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One?

With a gross budget of about $291 million it is one of the most expensive films ever made, and it was one of the year's big under-performers.

Who plays the vengeful villain Dante Reyes in Fast X?

Original director Justin Lin quit a week into filming and Louis Leterrier took over the tenth main entry.

What term was coined in 2023 for the run of big-budget flops, from The Flash to The Marvels?

Blame went to bloated budgets, thin marketing during the strikes and what pundits called superhero fatigue.

Which actor returned as Batman in 2023's The Flash?

The plot draws on the 2011 Flashpoint comic, with Ezra Miller's Barry Allen changing the past to save his mother.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is set in which year?

Steven Spielberg stepped aside in 2020 and James Mangold directed the fifth and final film, with Mads Mikkelsen as a Nazi turned NASA scientist.

Sound of Freedom, the surprise hit starring Jim Caviezel, was released by which independent studio?

It grossed $251 million on a $14.5 million budget, released on the Fourth of July.

Cocaine Bear was loosely based on a real 1985 incident in which state's national forest?

The film was dedicated to Ray Liotta, who died in May 2022 after shooting his role.

The killer doll M3GAN is built by a roboticist at a toy company in which city?

Made for $12 million, it grossed over $181 million and spawned M3GAN 2.0 in 2025.

In the Australian horror hit Talk to Me, teenagers contact spirits using what object?

The Philippou brothers' debut cost $4.5 million and became A24's highest-grossing horror film at the time.

Ben Affleck's Air tells the story of Nike's pursuit of which athlete?

Jordan asked Affleck to cast Viola Davis as his mother, and Amazon put the film in cinemas first after strong test screenings.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves stars Chris Pine as a member of which character class?

Filming took place in Iceland and Northern Ireland, and the film has no connection to the earlier trilogy.

Who plays Ariel in Disney's 2023 live-action The Little Mermaid?

Melissa McCarthy is Ursula and Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote new songs with Alan Menken; filming happened at Pinewood and on Sardinia.

Who plays the title role in Ridley Scott's Napoleon?

Vanessa Kirby is Joséphine, and critics praised the battles while pummelling the history.

American Fiction, which won the Adapted Screenplay Oscar, is based on which Percival Everett novel?

Cord Jefferson's debut had Jeffrey Wright as a novelist whose satirical 'black' book is taken seriously and becomes a hit.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young version of which character?

Tom Blyth plays him and Rachel Zegler is his tribute Lucy Gray Baird; filming took place in Wrocław, Berlin and Leipzig.

Which villain, played by Jonathan Majors, does Scott Lang face in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?

It was the 31st MCU film and one of the year's early disappointments.

Evil Dead Rise, the fifth film in the series, was shot in which country?

It was meant to go straight to HBO Max until test screenings persuaded Warner Bros. to give it a cinema release.

In Bottoms, two unpopular high schoolers start what in order to hook up with cheerleaders?

Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri lead the cast, and NFL running back Marshawn Lynch plays their teacher.

Wes Anderson's Asteroid City is mostly presented as a stage play set in what year?

The desert town sits near atomic test sites, and the play is framed by a television documentary about its making.

David Fincher's The Killer was adapted from a graphic novel from which country?

Fincher had been attached since 2007 at Paramount before moving the project to Netflix in 2021.

Who plays Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola's Priscilla?

Cailee Spaeny won the Volpi Cup at Venice for playing Priscilla, and the film is based on her memoir Elvis and Me.

Bradley Cooper's Maestro is about the marriage of which composer?

Scorsese and Spielberg both nearly directed it and stayed on as producers; Carey Mulligan plays Felicia Montealegre.

Scream VI is the only film in the series not to feature which actress?

She sat it out over a pay dispute, and the action moved from Woodsboro to New York City.

Disney's Wish, made for the studio's centennial, is set in which fictional kingdom?

Ariana DeBose voices Asha and Chris Pine the sorcerer-king Magnifico; it was one of the year's flops.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was the final film in which shared cinematic franchise?

It was the 15th DCEU entry, and James Wan had originally promised a more serious tone with climate change themes.

Which duo composed the score for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem?

Seth Rogen co-wrote and produced, and the animation was modelled on teenage notebook sketches.

J. A. Bayona's Society of the Snow retells which real disaster?

It was the third feature film about Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and won 12 Goya Awards, including Best Picture.

Todd Haynes's May December, with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, mirrors which real scandal?

It was shot in just 23 days in Savannah, Georgia, and Netflix bought it at Cannes.

The Iron Claw, starring Zac Efron, tells the tragic story of which wrestling family?

The title is the family's signature hold, and A24 released it just before Christmas.

For how many days did the Writers Guild of America strike in 2023, halting Hollywood production?

It ran from 2 May to 27 September, and for the first time since 1960 actors walked out at the same time as writers.

Which 1927 film, the first Best Picture winner, entered the public domain in 2023?

The silent war epic won at the very first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929.

Which concert film became the highest-grossing of all time in October 2023?

Its opening was second only to Joker among October releases.

Creed III (2023) was the directorial debut of which actor, who also starred as Adonis Creed?

It was the first film in the series without Sylvester Stallone on screen as Rocky, though he stayed on as a producer.

Pixar's Elemental (2023) draws on director Peter Sohn's youth as the son of immigrants where?

Sohn pitched the idea of whether fire and water could ever connect, taking cues from romances like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Which franchise star made his directorial debut with Insidious: The Red Door (2023)?

Made for $16 million, it is a direct sequel to Insidious: Chapter 2 with original director James Wan producing.

In Blue Beetle (2023), Jaime Reyes gains his powers from an alien relic known as what?

Xolo Maridueña's film was originally developed for HBO Max before being upgraded to a theatrical release.

Gran Turismo (2023) tells the story of which real British gamer who became a professional racing driver?

Neill Blomkamp directed after a Joseph Kosinski version of the project stalled in 2018.

The Creator (2023) is set in 2070, fifteen years after an AI detonated a nuclear weapon where?

Filming took place in Thailand on an $80 million budget, modest for a large-scale science fiction spectacle.

Saw X (2023) is set between which two earlier films in the series?

Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith returned, and director Kevin Greutert had edited six previous instalments.

Who directed The Marvels (2023), the sequel to Captain Marvel?

The film also continued the Ms. Marvel miniseries, with Iman Vellani joining Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris.

Leave the World Behind (2023) was written and directed by the creator of which TV series?

Sam Esmail adapted Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel about a mysterious technological collapse for Netflix.

Which American Idol winner made her film debut as Celie in the 2023 musical The Color Purple?

She and Danielle Brooks reprised their stage roles, with Spielberg and Quincy Jones back as producers.

The sleeper hit Anyone but You (2023) is loosely based on which Shakespeare play?

Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell's romcom grossed $220 million and was hailed as the genre's return to cinemas.

BlackBerry (2023) set a record for the most nominations ever at which country's national film awards?

Matt Johnson's comedy-drama about the smartphone's rise and fall took 14 Canadian Screen Awards including Best Motion Picture.

Dumb Money (2023) dramatizes the January 2021 short squeeze on which company's stock?

Craig Gillespie's film, based on Ben Mezrich's book The Antisocial Network, stars Paul Dano as Keith Gill.