With 2023 ending, we can look back at all the amazing movies made this year. From Barbie and Oppenheimer to The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, 2023 was truly a great year for movies. But were all the Domestic Box Office rankings correct, or was it just a movie that was overhyped on social media? Maybe there was a movie further down on the list that made less, but was ultimately better than some at the top? Personally, I believe that there could be some changes made. Here are the Domestic Box Office rankings according to Boxofficepro.com. 

• Barbie

• The Super Mario Bros. Movie

• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

• Oppenheimer 

• The Little Mermaid 

• Avatar: The Way of Water

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 

• John Wick: Chapter 4

• Sound of Freedom

After watching all of these movies and others, I created my list of what should have been the top 10 movies, not dependent on Box Office ratings. These are my top 10 movies.

10. Missing

The movie Missing, written and directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson is a movie starring Storm Reid who plays June Allen. The story follows an 18-year-old girl, June, whose Mom goes missing, and follows her as she tries to figure out who kidnapped her mother. Even though the movie wasn’t very popular and didn’t make as much money as some of the other movies, I still enjoyed seeing it. The movie takes place completely on June’s computer and I loved how many plot twists there were. Overall, I thought the movie was excellent and more people should watch it.

9. Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom, co-written and directed by Alejandro Monteverde, and starring Jim Caviezel, is a true story about 2 kids who were taken from their father. Caviezel’s character, Tim Ballard, is a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations and the film follows him in trying to find the kids and return them to their father. This was a somber movie and the fact that it’s a true story is heartbreaking. It is a very important topic though, so it’s important to bring awareness.

8. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an adventure comedy film directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, and Jack Black. The movie is based on the Nintendo video game and follows two brothers, Mario and Luigi, who are separated and travel through an unknown land trying to find each other.  This was a light-hearted, funny movie and was also an unexpected musical. It also created one of the biggest trends on social media with people joking about Jack Black’s performance of “Peaches”.

7. Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is a re-imagined version of its original, The Haunted Mansion. It is a supernatural horror-comedy film directed by Justin Simien about a mother and son who enlist “supernatural experts” to help them get the unwanted spirits out of their house. This movie was a pleasant surprise when I saw it. I was expecting a remake of the original but it was very much the opposite. In my opinion, this movie was more funny and had more of a horror aspect which normally you don’t see in Disney movies. This was probably the most underrated movie that has come out this year, and I thought it was excellent. 

6. Elemental

Elemental is a romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sohn and stars Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie. The movie takes place in a world where different elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water) live separately. A young fire girl, named Ember, who is supposed to take over her father’s business meets a water guy, Wade, who helps her keep her father’s business open. Along the way, they fall in love but it is forbidden since elements don’t mix, but you can not control love. The way the whole world is built from the beginning of the story to the end is incredible. It also had a message that can be applied to real life. 

5. Oppenheimer

The movie Oppenheimer is an epic biographical thriller directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Cillian Murphy. The movie takes place in the 1940s and follows a visionary physicist as he leads The Manhattan Project to create an atomic bomb that would be used against Japan in the last days of World War II. This movie, though it was long, was captivating throughout. The cinematography was amazing along with the acting.  

4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a highly anticipated Marvel movie of the year. Directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, it was an amazing movie throughout. Following Peter Quill and the other Guardians, we get a compelling story about how the Guardians are once again going to save the galaxy, but we also get Bradley Cooper’s character, Rocket’s sad back story. These movies are always hilarious, but we see a different side of these characters in this movie. It had a much more serious tone at some points. As usual, the soundtrack was incredible, featuring songs like “Creep” by Radiohead, “The Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine, and even an epic fight scene to “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” by The Beastie Boys. 

3. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian action film directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler. This movie is an amazing prequel to the original Hunger Games trilogy. It follows a young Coriolanus Snow and his relationship with District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, as he becomes the tyrannical leader we see in the original trilogy. This movie was long awaited as the book it was based on, was published in 2020. This movie was incredible and I feel like it would have been in the Top 10 based on the Domestic Box Office if it wasn’t for its late release. This was the movie I was most excited about this year.

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is an amazing sequel to its original Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This incredible animated superhero film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers and stars voice actor, Shameik Moore. It follows the story of a young superhero, Miles Morales, as he reunites with Gwen Stacey and battles yet another powerful villain named Spot. Along the way, he encounters a whole community of spider people like him. This was unexpectedly a great movie. Its amazing comic style of animating and incredible storyline truly makes it a great watch.

1. Barbie

Barbie was the most highly anticipated and loved movie of the year. Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, this film was truly amazing from its actors to its storyline and even its soundtrack. The movie follows Barbie as she leaves Barbie land and travels into the real world to find herself. Along the way, she discovers that the real world isn’t exactly how she thought it was. This fantasy comedy was eye-opening and hilarious. It also created some of the biggest social media trends of the year including Barbenheimer and “I’m Just Ken.” It’s no secret that this was the number-one film of the year and it was no different on my list. 

Going to see new movies is one of my favorite things to do with friends and family. I hope that this list encourages you to go watch one of these movies and see if you agree more with me or the Domestic Box Office.