Wow. It’s been a year. We’ve seen some amazing movies and struggled with superhero fatigue. We’ve been inspired by some celebrities and disappointed with others. We’ve fell in love with some TV shows only to find that they’ve been cancelled before their prime. And a bunch of weird stuff has happened too. Here is just some of what happened this year.
The Biggest Box Office Hits
Figures tend to go back and forth depending on when the report was written, but according to The Numbers, the top grossing movie of the year was Barbie which sold 60,419,796 tickets. Second place goes to The Super Mario Bros. Movie which sold 54,599,651 tickets and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse came in third place selling 36,211,901 tickets.
The movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture was Everything Everywhere All at Once while the Golden Globes gave awards to The Banshees of Inisherin (Best Motion Picture musical or Comedy) and The Fablemans (Best Motion Picture – Drama).
When it comes to animation, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio took home both the Golden Globe as well as an Oscar.
It was a surprising year for faith-based movies too. The controversial Sound of Freedom movie, which starred Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp had a budget of $14.5 million and made over $250 million in ticket sales. While not as successful but still impressive, Jesus Revolution, which starred Kelsey Grammer, Jonathan Roumie and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, was created with a $15 million budget. It took home over $54 million from the box office. It also won a Dove Award for Feature Film of the Year. Other successful faith-based movies released include His Only Son and the documentary After Death. (Pictured: Barbie)
The Biggest Movie Flops
It may surprise you that the biggest major movie to flop with the box was a film you may not have known even existed due to the small marketing campaign. According to Screenrant, the faith-based, sports biopic, Big George Foreman was made on a $32 million budget, but only managed to bring in $5.7 million at the global box office.
Second place goes to the Joaquin Phoenix film, Beau is Afraid which cost $35 million to make but brought in a little more than $10 million in ticket sales. Third place goes to Universal’s Dracula comedy bloodfest, Renfield. (Pictured: Big George Foreman)
There’s No Place Like Home
Susan Hodgson got the surprise of her life in October when she found that her family-owned property was demolished by mistake. The home had been vacant for 15 years, but Hodgson had kept the lawn maintained and all taxes were current on the property. As it turns out, the Atlanta-based You Call It We Haul It company had mistaken her home for another. When a neighbor came out to stop them, they were told to mind their own business. A relative was called who requested to see the permit. The man tearing things apart apparently said something to the effect of “Oh, I’m at the wrong address” and just packed up and left things in shambles.
“It’s just hard to believe someone thinks they have the right to just come and tear something up and walk away from it and didn’t come back and say, ‘I’m sorry,” she told the AP. “What do I need to do to fix this? It was an accident.’ They didn’t give me nothing.”
The Most Popular TV Series
According to IMDB, the top TV series worldwide for 2023 was HBO’s The Last of Us. Second place goes to Disney+’s Ahsoka and HBO’s Succession came in third. Golden Globes were given to HBO’s House of the Dragon for Best Television Series-Drama and ABC’s Abbott Elementary for Best Television Series-Musical or Comedy. The Chosen won a Dove award for Television Series of the Year. (Pictured: The Last of Us)
TV Shows That Didn’t Make the Cut
TV series that began and ended in 2023 include The Company You Keep (ABC) AMC’s Lucky Hank (AMC), Dear Edward (Apple TV+), High Desert (Apple TV+), True Lies (CBS), Gotham Knights (CW), The Muppets Mayhem (Disney+), The Watchful Eye (Freeform), Praise Petey (Freeform), The Idol (HBO), Agent Elvis (Netflix), Captain Fall (Netflix), Fatal Attraction (Paramount+), Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies (Paramount+) and Harlan Coben’s Shelter (Prime). (Pictured: True Lies)
We Lost a Few Friends
A large number of celebrities and famous people passed away in 2023 including Matthew Perry, Ryan O’Neal, Rosalynn Carter, Suzanne Somers, Tony Bennett, Paul Reubens, Alan Arkin, Gary Wright, Jimmy Buffett, Mike Williams, Bob Barker, Sinead O’Connor, Treat Williams, Tina Turner, Ray Stevenson, Jerry Springer, Len Goodman, Tom Sizemore, Richard Belzer, Raquel Welch, Burt Bacharach, Cindy Williams, David Crosby, Lisa Marie Presley, Tom Smothers and Adam Rich. (Pictured: Matthew Perry)
The Color of the Year
Yes – it’s a thing. Pantone picked 18-1750, also known as “Viva Magenta”, as the official color of 2023. They called it “an unconventional shade for an unconventional time.” And no, it wasn’t inspired by Barbie. At least, not directly.
The Worst Movies of the Year
It’s a rare seven-way-tie! Seven films released in 2023 have the privilege of receiving a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes meaning that they are completely rotten. Chances are good that you haven’t heard of these, but you do know many of the people who starred in them. And since you’ll probably never watch them, a description of each is listed below. (Pictured: Confidential Informant)
Confidential Informant
Starring: Mel Gibson, Dominic Purcell, Nick Stahl and Kate Bosworth
“A police detective suffering from cancer makes a deal with an informant to get killed in the line of duty, so his family can receive the hefty death benefits from the department.”
Johnny and Clyde
Starring: Megan Fox, Avan Jogia, Ajani Russell
“Johnny and Clyde are two serial killers who are madly in love and on an endless crime spree. They have their sights set on robbing a prosperous casino – owned by crime boss Alana and guarded by a demonic slayer that she commands.”
The Donor Party
Starring: Malin Akerman, Rob Corddry, Jerry O’Connell and Erinn Hayes
“Jaclyn wants a baby. But after a messy divorce and fruitless years of online dating, she realizes she doesn’t need a husband to become a mother. She and her best friends hatch a plan to get her pregnant at a very special party.”
Mercy
Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jon Voight, Leah Gibson
“A doctor and former military officer finds herself in a deadly battle for survival when the Irish mob takes control of the hospital where she works and her son is taken hostage.”
Righteous Thieves
Starring: Cam Gigandet, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Lisa Vidal, Tiago Roberts
“The head of a secret organization assembles a crew to steal back artwork plundered by Nazis during World War II.”
Shrapnel
Starring: Cam Gigandet, Jason Patric, Teresa Decher
“A former Marine and his old war buddy face off against the Mexican cartel behind the disappearance of his daughter.”
Dead Man’s Hand
Starring: Stephen Dorff, Jack Kilmer and Cole Hauser
“It follows Reno, a newly married gunfighter seeking a quiet life with his bride. When Reno kills a bandit in self-defense, he finds them both pulled back into his old ways. Clarence Bishop, the corrupt mayor of their locale will not let his brother’s death go unpunished.”
Disney’s Dismal Year
2023 was supposed to be a big year for Disney as the company was to celebrate 100 years in business. Instead, it became a nightmare losing tons of money from movies that did not perform as expected and low attendance at some of their theme parks. Some critics have complained that Disney’s embrace of “wokeness” is to blame. It didn’t help that interviews with Rachel Zegler, who stars in the upcoming live action remake of Snow White, went on record criticizing the original 1937 movie.
Others have pointed out that during the pandemic, subscribers of Disney+ were treated to three Pixar movies that skipped the theaters and other films showed up on the streaming service earlier than expected. So, the message given was why go to the theaters when you can just sit at home and wait for it to arrive?
Disney released eight new movies in 2023. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 did the best of the lot. The live action remake of The Little Mermaid managed to gross over $567 million globally, but it was a lot lower than the mouse house was expecting and performed the worst out of all of Disney’s live-action remakes. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania did not flop financially, but the movie’s attendance dropped dramatically – like 70% – during the second week of release.
Pixar’s Elemental film had the lowest opening weekend for a Pixar movie, but it did stick around in theaters for quite a while eventually making a profit. Meanwhile, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny failed to attract movie goers while the Haunted Mansion practically scared them away. It is assumed that the latter did poorly because the studio decided to release the movie in July instead of Halloween. Although it received poor reviews as well.
The Marvels opened with the lowest opening of any Marvel movie (and there have been a lot of them) and the Disney Animation Studio’s Wish was supposed to be the “big” movie of the year, but it has failed miserably with critics and audiences alike. (Pictured: The Marvels and Elemental)
The Most Popular Songs and Artists
In March, the U.S. record industry reported that for the first time since 1987, sales of vinyl records exceeded CD sales, so music’s not dead!
According to Billboard, the #1 best song of 2023 belongs to SZA’s “Kill Bill”. It became a single in January, became a #1 tune in April and continued on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list for 21 weeks. Bill Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” from the Barbie movie came in second and Bizarrap & Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” came in third. (Pictured: SZA)
Harry Styles won a Grammy for Album of the Year for Harry’s House, but Lizzo won for Record of the Year for “About Damn Time.”
The Swedish group ABBA, who have been around since 1971, was nominated for not just one GRAMMY, but four for the first time. Although they didn’t win, they were nominated for Record of Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Don’t Shut Me Down”, Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Voyage.
Brandon Lake won a Dove Award for Artist of the Year but the Song of the Year award went to “Goodness of God” by Ben Fielding, Ed Cash, Jason Ingram, Jenn Johnson, Brian Johnson.
When it comes to concerts, Adele holds the top spot on Gametime’s list for Top Concert Tours and Performers. (The site is for “last-minute ticket sales). An average price for her tickets were $1,011 per ticket followed by Taylor Swift ($958) and U2 ($502).
Disaster Trips
SpaceX’s Starship rocket is said to be the most powerful rocket ever built. It’s goal is to send human colonists to Mars someday. However, in April during its first full flight test, the rocket exploded four minutes into the test.
A couple of months later in June, OceanGate’s Titan submersible actually imploded during what was to be an expedition of the wreck of the Titanic. All five passengers including CEO Stockton Rush died during the incident.
The Most Popular YouTube Videos
You never know what videos are going to go viral on YouTube. The most popular one of 2023 was a challenge video uploaded in February. 20 Women vs. 1 Sidemen starred YouTuber Kai Cenat. In the video, he was tasked with finding a date from a group of 20 women. The second most popular video was a recording Rhianna’s live performance during February’s Super Bowl game. And third place goes to Ages 1 to 100 fight for $500,000 which was posted by MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) who challenged 100 people, aged 1-100, to perform a number of tasks in separate spaces in hopes of winning $500,000. (Pictured Kai Cenat’s crew)
Words of the Year
Merriam-Webster boldly stated that the word of the year was “authentic.” Meanwhile, Collins Dictionary said that “AI” was the most “notable word” for the year (but is “AI” even a word?)
And of course, Lake Superior State University came out again with another slew of “banned” word and phrases for the year including “GOAT” (Greatest of all Time), “Inflection Point”, “Quiet Quitting”, “Gaslighting”, “Moving Forward”, “Amazing”, “Does That Make Sense?”, “Irregardless” (which really just means “regardless”), “Absolutely” and “It Is What It Is.”
Have you stopped saying those? The students will come out with their new list for 2024 soon!
Cover Worthy Celebs
This year, Taylor Swift became TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year”. This is actually her second time to do so. The first was back in 2017 as a “silence breaker” inspiring women to speak out against sexual misconduct. This year she was chosen for her exceptional achievements and influence in culture and music. TIME also recognized Sam Altman as the CEO of the Year, Lionel Messi as the Athlete of the Year and Alex Newell as the Breakthrough of the Year.
Over on the cover of People Magazine, actor Patrick Dempsey has been crowned as the “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2023. He has been featured in the annual issue many times before. He told Jimmy Kimmel (as it was announced on the Kimmel’s late night show) “I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life. It’s nice to have the recognition, and certainly my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive.”
In August, the former “Apprentice” boss, Donald Trump became the first former president of the United States to have his mug shot taken.
Brave New World
Many people are concerned about the emergence of artificial intelligence. This includes AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton (aka the “Godfather of AI”) who resigned from Google in May to “spread the word about the dangers of the emerging technology.”
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