50 Fun Facts About 2023 Pop Culture

On what date did Barbie and Oppenheimer open on the same day, creating the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon?

Their joint opening weekend was the fourth-largest ever at the US box office, and between them they won eight Oscars.

Who directed Barbie, co-writing it with her husband Noah Baumbach?

It grossed $1.448 billion and became Warner Bros.' highest-grossing film ever.

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

Billie Eilish and Finneas wrote it; Ryan Gosling's "I'm Just Ken" was nominated in the same category and lost.

Which actor played J. Robert Oppenheimer and won the Best Actor Oscar for it?

Murphy was the first cast member Christopher Nolan signed, and the film won seven Oscars including Best Picture.

Why was Oppenheimer the first Christopher Nolan film since Memento not released by Warner Bros.?

Universal gave him a $100 million budget, an equal marketing spend and 20 percent of first-dollar gross.

In which US city did the Eras Tour open on March 17, 2023?

The tour ran to 149 shows and became the first ever to gross more than $1 billion and then $2 billion.

Which fast-food mascot's 52nd birthday was marked by a purple milkshake that spawned a horror TikTok trend?

Users filmed themselves sipping the shake and then lying in staged crime scenes; McDonald's sold it from June 12 to July 9.

Who voiced Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the first video-game film to gross a billion dollars?

Jack Black's Bowser sang "Peaches", and the film ended 2023 as the second-highest-grossing release of the year.

Which Meta app gained 100 million users in five days in July 2023?

It beat ChatGPT's record and was built to take on Twitter after Elon Musk's takeover; you need an Instagram account to use it.

Twitter was rebranded to what on July 23, 2023?

The bird logo went the next day, though the domain did not switch from twitter.com to x.com until May 2024.

Who replaced Elon Musk as CEO of Twitter in June 2023?

The former NBCUniversal advertising chief lasted until July 2025.

Which company operated the Titan submersible that imploded on June 18, 2023 on a dive to the Titanic?

All five aboard died, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; the debris was found about 500 metres from the Titanic's bow.

What was the name of the Titan's mother ship, which lost contact 1 hour 33 minutes into the dive?

Authorities were only alerted when the sub failed to resurface later that day, and the search went on for four days.

On what date were Charles III and Camilla crowned at Westminster Abbey?

It was the first British coronation of the 21st century and the 40th at the Abbey since William the Conqueror in 1066.

Which Miley Cyrus single, released January 13, 2023, became the best-selling global single of the year?

It racked up 2.7 billion subscription-stream equivalents according to the IFPI, her biggest hit ever.

At the 2023 Grammys, Beyoncé passed which conductor as the most-awarded artist ever?

Her 32nd win came in Best Dance/Electronic Album; Harry Styles took Album of the Year for Harry's House.

Which film won seven Oscars in March 2023, the first sci-fi film to take Best Picture?

It also became only the third film, after A Streetcar Named Desire and Network, to win three acting awards.

Who was the 72-year-old lead of the first season of The Golden Bachelor?

ABC announced him in July 2023, and the writers' strike pushed the show to Thursday nights.

The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike ran from July 14 to which date?

The writers' strike had ended on September 27; between them the two walkouts were the biggest disruption to Hollywood since the pandemic.

Which HBO series based on a video game premiered on January 15, 2023 with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey?

Its premiere drew almost 40 million viewers within two months, making it HBO's most-watched debut season.

Which Friends star died on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54?

His 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing had laid out his decades-long struggle with addiction.

In which city did Beyoncé open her Renaissance World Tour on May 10, 2023?

It closed in Kansas City in October as the highest-grossing tour ever by a Black woman.

Which podcast does Travis Kelce co-host with his brother Jason?

Kelce also hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2023, months before his relationship with the year's biggest pop star went public.

Which singer headlined the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2023, her first live performance in five years?

It was the first halftime show sponsored by Apple Music after a decade of Pepsi, and she revealed her second pregnancy on stage.

Which unknown singer debuted at number one on the Hot 100 in August 2023 with "Rich Men North of Richmond"?

He was the first artist ever to debut atop the chart with no prior chart history, and the song was the first question at that month's Republican debate.

Off which state's coast was the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down on February 4, 2023?

It came down near Myrtle Beach after crossing the continent, and three more unidentified objects were shot down within days.

Who ghostwrote Prince Harry's memoir Spare, the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever on its release day?

The title comes from the adage that an heir and a spare are needed to secure a family's inheritance.

Who was Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2023?

She was the first entertainer chosen for her work as an artist, in the year of the Eras Tour and its concert film.

Which band opened the Las Vegas Sphere with a residency on September 29, 2023?

U2:UV Achtung Baby Live ran 40 shows inside the world's largest LED screen; the venue cost more than $2 billion.

Which 2023 Larian Studios RPG first won Game of the Year at all five major awards shows?

Larian moved its PC release up four weeks to avoid clashing with Bethesda's Starfield.

Which Netflix series about a road-rage feud between Steven Yeun and Ali Wong won eight Emmys?

Lee Sung Jin created it, and it won Outstanding Limited Series plus acting Emmys for both leads.

Which real person sat through Jury Duty's fake trial without knowing everyone else was an actor?

James Marsden played a heightened version of himself, and the show was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys.

Which Scorsese film about the Osage murders premiered at Cannes in 2023 with Lily Gladstone?

Gladstone became the first Native American to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama.

Which Irish singer, famous for "Nothing Compares 2 U", died on 26 July 2023?

Her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got sold more than seven million copies.

Which "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" died in Switzerland on May 24, 2023, aged 83?

She had been the first Black artist and the first woman on the cover of Rolling Stone, back in 1967.

Which HBO drama about the Roy family aired its series finale on May 28, 2023?

Jesse Armstrong's show ran four seasons, and Logan Roy's death mid-season in "Connor's Wedding" was the year's most talked-about TV episode.

A promotion with which TikTok personality triggered the boycott of Bud Light in April 2023?

Bud Light's sales fell by up to a quarter in the following month and it lost its spot as America's top-selling beer.

Which 2023 Elizabeth Banks horror comedy was inspired by a real 1985 drug-smuggling incident?

The real bear, later nicknamed Pablo Eskobear, was found dead in Georgia; the film's version is far more energetic.

Jeremy Allen White plays a chef running his late brother's Italian beef shop in which FX series?

Its Christmas flashback episode "Fishes" packed in Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob Odenkirk and Sarah Paulson as guest stars.

Which MLS club announced the signing of Lionel Messi on July 15, 2023?

Messimania followed: his number 10 shirt became the league's best seller and he led the club to the Leagues Cup within weeks.

Which Welsh club owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney returned to the Football League in 2023?

It was the first of three straight promotions, all filmed for the documentary Welcome to Wrexham.

Which director made the four-part Netflix documentary Beckham, released in October 2023?

Victoria's claim to a working-class upbringing, undercut by David asking what car her dad drove her to school in, became the year's favourite clip.

Which fictional Florida-based US state is the setting of Grand Theft Auto VI?

The trailer introduced Lucia, the series' first non-optional female protagonist, after a huge leak of unfinished footage the year before.

Which independent film, released by Angel Studios in July 2023, grossed $251 million on a $14.5 million budget?

Jim Caviezel played Tim Ballard, and the film's pay-it-forward ticket scheme helped it become one of the most successful indies ever.

Which video-game horror adaptation starring Josh Hutcherson hit cinemas and Peacock simultaneously on October 27, 2023?

Critics hated it, fans did not, and it made $297 million on a $20 million budget.

Which May 2023 Marvel film closed James Gunn's trilogy by telling Rocket's origin story?

Disney had fired Gunn from the film in 2018 over old tweets before rehiring him; he then left to run DC Studios.

Which English city hosted Eurovision 2023 on behalf of war-hit Ukraine?

Sweden's Loreen won with 'Tattoo' on 583 points, becoming a two-time champion after her 2012 victory.

How many days did the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike last?

That tied it with 1960 as the WGA's second-longest stoppage, behind only the 153-day strike of 1988.

How much was Gwyneth Paltrow awarded when she won her 2023 Utah ski-crash trial?

The jury found retired optometrist Terry Sanderson at fault; the trial later inspired two separate musicals.

In April 2023 a New York jury cleared Ed Sheeran of copying which Marvin Gaye song in 'Thinking Out Loud'?

Sheeran argued the shared chords were common building blocks; the verdict was unanimous and the Supreme Court declined an appeal in 2025.