Rank It: 2023 Films

I love watching movies. I have watched over 170 movies this year.

Instead of boring you all and ranking every movie I saw this year, I thought it would be interesting to rank every movie I saw that came out this year.

This was an excellent year for movies. Some of my all-time favorite movies came out this year. Excited to see what 2024 has in store for us, but until then here is my ranking of all 53 movies I saw this year.

53. “Choose Love” (0.5/5)

Some may argue that this choose-your-own-adventure Netflix film isn’t considered a movie, but whatever it is considered, it sucks.

52. “The Exorcist: Believer” (1/5)

This movie is the definition of boring. Bad plot, bad scares, bad movie.

51. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (1.5/5)

This movie is the exact moment Marvel lost all credibility.

50. “Maybe I Do” (1.5/5)

Maybe you don’t watch this.

49. “Family Switch” (2/5)

This will in fact not be a holiday classic.

48. “Renfield” (2/5)

Disappointing film with underdeveloped characters and a confusing plot.

47. “The Out-Laws” (2/5)

Forgot this movie twenty minutes after I watched it.

46. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (2/5)

This movie was proof that people simp for Josh Hutcherson, because this movie was not good.

45. “Murder Mystery 2” (2.5/5)

Harmless but unmemorable.

44. “Joyride” (2.5/5)

I really wanted to like this movie but it just wasn’t doing it for me.

43. “Insidious: The Red Door” (2.5/5)

This was definitely an Insidious movie.

42. “No One Can Save You” (2.5/5)

I love that this movie took risks, too bad most of them didn’t work.

41. “The Nun 2” (2.5/5)

So much better than the first one, but still nowhere near as good as some of the other movies in this franchise.

40. “Fast X” (2.5/5)

This movie was so much fun the first time I saw it, I regret watching it two more times.

39. “Prom Pact” (3/5)

Inoffensive Disney Original Movie, but not as good as the ones from my childhood.

38. “You Are So Not Invited to My Bar Mitzvah” (3/5)

Adam Sandler’s best work this year, which doesn’t mean much.

37. “Totally Killer” (3/5)

Great idea, fine execution.

36. “Quiz Lady” (3/5)

This movie got better throughout but the beginning of this movie was rough to watch.

35. “Knock at the Cabin” (3/5)

I remember liking it enough when I watched it. Too bad I couldn’t tell you a single thing that happened in it now.

34. “Super Mario Bros The Movie” (3/5)

“Peaches” deserves the Oscar nomination.

33. “Blue Beetle” (3/5)

Better than most superhero movies in 2023, which isn’t saying a lot.

32. “Wonka”

Timothee killed it, the writers however did not.

31. “Theater Camp” (3.5/5)

Fun movie that I would’ve appreciated more if I was a theater kid.

30. “A Haunting in Venice” (3.5/5)

I will enjoy anything Tina Fey is in.

29. “Cocaine Bear” (3.5/5)

Whoever thought of this plot deserves all the money in the world.

28. “Elemental” (3.5/5)

Disney is in its flop era, but this movie honestly was a bright spot in the otherwise dreary year for the studio.

27. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (3.5/5)

Never knew I needed Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge to star in a movie together, but so happy they did.

26. “Barbie” (3.5/5)

Great acting, amazing dialogue, but it just has too many problems for it to be amazing.

25. “Saw X” (3.5/5)

As someone who has seen all the movies in this franchise, I can say with full confidence this is the best one. Never in my life would I think the tenth movie in a franchise could ever be the best.

24. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (3.5/5)

This movie revitalized “The Dog Days Are Over” which is enough for me to give it a positive review.

23. “The Boogeyman” (3.5/5)

Solid horror movie with solid scares.

22. “Dumb Money” (3.5/5)

This was a good movie, just didn’t quite reach my top 20 favorites of the year.

21. “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (3.5/5)

Solid entry in the franchise with great performances.

20. “Taylor Swift: The Era’s Tour” (4/5)

This was without a doubt the year of Taylor Swift.

19. “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (4/5)

A very fun movie with enjoyable world building that I hope we see more of in the future.

18. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (4/5)

This had no right to be as good as it was.

17. “Missing” (4/5)

A great follow up to “Searching” with incredible performances and a shocking story.

16. “Priscilla” (4/5)

For the first 45 minutes, I was convinced this would be my movie of the year. Too bad it didn’t end as strongly as it started. But still, the performances and first half are enough for me to put it this high.

15. “The Killer” (4/5)

This was a super interesting way to tell a story, and I was on board the whole time.

14. “M3GAN” (4/5)

The first movie I saw this year that I still think about.

13. “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One” (4/5)

One of the most consistent franchises out there.

12. “Maestro” (4/5)

Some of the best acting I have seen in a long time. Bradley Cooper is also an incredibly talented director.

11. “May December” (4/5)

Brilliant performances, it just lacks a substantial end for it to make my top 10.

10. “The Holdovers” (4/5)

A fantastic film that will surely be a holiday classic in the near future. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is sensational and hopefully, she wins the Oscar.

9. “No Hard Feelings” (4/5)

Jennifer Lawrence shines in this stupid yet hysterical coming-of-age film.

8. “Past Lives” (4/5)

A movie with a ton of heart and amazing acting.

7. “Killers of the Flower Moon” (4.5/5)

Lily Gladstone is a star!

6. “Scream 6” (4.5/5)

Another horror franchise that released one of its best films this year.

5. “Bottoms” (4.5/5)

This movie may be the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen, and I loved every second of it.

4. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (5/5)

Somehow this is even better than the brilliant first entry. I cannot wait for part three!

3. “Evil Dead Rise” (5/5)

The biggest surprise of the year that has become one of my favorite horror movies of all time.

2. “Oppenheimer” (5/5)

Nolan’s best film to date, which I was truly expecting to be my favorite movie of the year.

1. “Saltburn” (5/5)

Never has a movie made me feel how this movie did. It was everything I could’ve wanted and more. Truly one of my favorite movies of all time that absolutely is my number one and will be my takeaway from a pretty solid year of movies.

Jack Freiser is a fourth-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email jef5614@psu.edu.