The WGA strike might finally be getting resolved, and hopefully, SAG will follow. And while the entertainment business as we know it has been in limbo, it didn’t really slow down the battles that were being being played out for our viewership before picketing began. Clearly, there was a lot in the bank when it came to TV and streaming, though not all of it was great.
The much-hyped post-pandemic return to movie theaters that was the “Barbenheimer” box office bout was no accident and it couldn’t have been better timed. These two have yet to come to streaming, but they are sure to be competing again come awards season.
Otherwise, pretty much all of 2023’s best (and worst) releases are available to watch at home right now. We’ve indicated which services to watch them on in parenthesis below.
The movie year started off strong with Blumhouse’s M3GAN (Prime Video) kicking butt over titles like Plane with Gerard Butler (Starz) and Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance (Max). John Wick: Chapter 4 starring Keanu Reeves (VOD) triumphed over other releases including similarly stunt-driven superheroes like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Disney +) and The Flash (Max).
Michael B Jordan’s anticipated directorial debut with Creed III (Prime Video) scored a knockout against Spring releases such including Scream VI (Paramount+) and the Fast and Furious closer Fast X (VOD). Star power was only part of the equation, by the way. Ben Affleck in Air (Prime Video) fared way better than Owen Wilson in Paint (Sling), Joaquin Phoenix in Beau of Afraid (VOD) and Nicolas Cage in Renfield (Peacock).
When you consume a lot of entertainment, certain trends start to emerge, often around the same time. Beyond superheroes and animation, comedy and young adult material has been prominent. Attempting to attract both the YA market and Gen-X nostalgia-seeking viewers, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (VOD) was better received than the Disney live action version of…
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