This past year was great for moviegoers, as many fantastic movies were released. Whether you like horror, thriller, comedies, or anything in between, there was something for everyone to be excited about. It’s almost impossible to make a definitive top 10 movies list, because it is almost always subjective, and no matter what anyone says, there will always be a movie left out. However, that is exactly what I’m going to try to do: make a Top 10 Movies of 2023 list.

The easiest way to measure how successful, or good a movie is, is to go by how it did at the box office. In a money driven world, the box office statistics are what really determines how great a movie is. Some of the movies that would make the list based on this statistic would be: The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, among others. While those movies were definitely good, I would not say they are in the top 10 movies of the year.

Sometimes, the box office returns don’t determine everything.

Nowadays a lot of movies go onto streaming platforms before they ever hit theaters, so a lot of gems from this past year went unknown to the general public. I like to think I have a good eye for movies, so, without further ado, here is my top 10 movies list (in no particular order).

1. Oppenheimer: this movie was definitely one of the best movies that I saw this year. The experience of watching it in theaters was genuinely bone chilling, between the score, and the filmmaking. This movie is an absolute masterpiece, and definitely deserving of being in the Top 10 List.
2. Barbie: Of course I had to add the infamous Barbenheimer combination in this list. Even though I rate Oppenheimer extremely high, Barbie also did not disappoint in the slightest. The standout element to me in this movie is that people of all ages could enjoy it. In the theater there were 5 year olds having an amazing time enjoying the story, and also adults, taking in the important messages the movie offers. This movie was incredibly empowering to a lot of people, and definitely a feelgood movie that I could watch 100 times and not get tired of.
3. American Fiction: This movie had an incredible storyline and was the perfect mix between comedy and drama. It is especially impressive knowing that the director, Cord Jefferson, wrote and directed this movie, and it is his directorial debut. Even the casting in this movie was perfect, and in my opinion could not have been better.
4. Maestro: As a lover of romantic dramas, Maestro is up there as one of the best movies I’ve seen in this category. With a main director/producer team of Bradley Cooper, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg, it really doesn’t get better than that.
5. Killers of the Flower Moon: Another Scorsese movie makes the list! This movie is his first western film, and he did a very good job with this. The story is very compelling, and when you have Leonardo Dicaprio and Robert De Niro as your two main characters, you know it will be a fantastic movie.
6. Origin: This movie is based on a nonfiction book called Caste: The Origins of Our Discontentment. It touches on the important topics of racism in the United States, and tells a fantastic story throughout the movie.
7. The Holdovers: This comedy is a fantastic movie and definitely got some laughs out of me. This movie is very reminiscent of the 70’s and even though I am just a teenager, left me feeling very nostalgic of movies I used to watch with my parents as a kid.
8. Anatomy of  a Fall: This movie is a thriller murder mystery, so if you like those types of movies I would definitely recommend this to you! For a 2 and a half hour long movie, the time really flies as the audience is brought into this story and is fully immersed in the world created. A very interesting story about marriage, and the breakdown of it.
9. Poor Things: This movie is honestly quite odd, but nonetheless absolutely incredible. If you were to look up this movie on the internet and read the description, it definitely does sound strange. However, it was so well done, and Emma Stone really shined in the lead role of Bella Baxter.
10. The Zone of Interest: To round out the list, this World War II movie is very well done, and shows a perspective of the war that I personally have never seen before. It’s definitely a sad story, but very interesting to watch and take in.

As I said before, 2023 had some incredible movies! I could have very easily put 20 different movies into this list. However, this is my final list. If you haven’t seen any of these movies, I would highly recommend all of these movies, they are all well worth the watch.