Despite some astronomical movie numbers reported over the course of 2023, only one big-budget film has actually made a profit this year.
When we think of 2023, many of us think of the year that cinema began to bounce back. Thanks to the likes of Barbie and Oppenheimer, movie lovers came back to theaters to redefine the experience of collectively watching a film.
Even the concert movie has ended up changing the game for good, with the likes of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie and the Beyoncé Renaissance film pulling in millions of dollars in their opening weekends.
However, according to new reports, only one 2023 movie with a budget of over $200 million has actually made any profit at all.
Only one big-budget 2023 movie has made a profit
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which was released back in May, is the only big-budget movie to have made a profit in 2023.
Starting out with a budget of $250 million, the MCU movie led by Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana made over $845 million at the global box office. It still remains the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the year, behind Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
The film’s synopsis reads “Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.”
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High-ticket films including Indiana Jones 5, The Flash, and The Marvels – though this is a projection – are all in the running for the biggest losses of 2023, each struggling to make back their multi-million dollar budgets.
13 releases in 2023, have now cost more than $200 million to make, with the most recent additions being Disney’s 100th year celebration Wish and Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleon.
Still to come of course is one last-ditch attempt from Warner Bros. to get DC in good shape courtesy of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The movie has a budget of $205 million, though expectations appear to be low.
Deadline is currently reporting that Aquaman 2 is looking to be on track for an opening between $50-60 million, falling behind its original opening release of $67.8 million in 2018.
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