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Ezra Miller (centre) in a still from The Flash, one of the best Hollywood movies hitting cinemas in spring 2023.

Lifestyle Entertainment

11 best new Hollywood movies of spring 2023, from Fast & Furious and Guardians of the Galaxy sequels to The Little Mermaid and The Super Mario Bros Movie

From Transformers to Spider-Man and the Super Mario Bros, Hollywood has its eyes on the box office prize with a string of prequels, sequels and reboots
Nicolas Cage plays Dracula in comedy Renfield; the Guardians of the Galaxy returns; and Fast X is the 10th iteration of the Vin Diesel franchise

American cinema

James Marsh

Published: 4:15am, 8 Mar 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

Of late the summer blockbuster season has become a year-round event, and never has this been more obvious than in the line-up of potential box office hits expected to hit the big screen this spring.

From high-octane sequels to big-budget remakes and more video-game and comic- book adaptations than you can shake a bag of popcorn at, 2023 is shaping up to be another record-breaking year for cinema-goers.

These are our picks for the 11 biggest films opening between now and the start of summer (opening dates are for Hong Kong).

1. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Despite the enduring popularity of the tabletop role-playing game and the fantasy genre in general, D&D has had a tough time translating to the big screen.

Fingers are tightly crossed that the combination of Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Michelle Rodriguez and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page can finally conjure up a genuine hit.

Every movie by Your Name director Makoto Shinkai ranked, from good to great

The choice to play the innately campy material for laughs, as well as mystical adventure, could be the answer, especially under the stewardship of the creative team behind The Lego Batman Movie and Game Night. (Opens March 30).

2. The Super Mario Bros Movie

Sure, everybody loves Nintendo’s heroic Italian plumber and his loyal brother Luigi, but who can forget the epically abysmal live-action adaptation from 1993?

Wisely, this new film is reverting to animation, with powerhouse Illumination – creators of the Minions – at the helm.

Eyebrows were raised at the casting of Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as the Mario brothers, but the trailers look fast and fun enough to attract a huge, enthusiastic crowd. Let’s just hope the results are more Wreck-it Ralph and less Emoji Movie. (Opens April 6)

3. Renfield

Nicolas Cage is Count Dracula. If that isn’t incentive enough to be first in line on opening day, this might not be the film for you.

Renfield is a present-day reimagining of Bram Stoker’s seminal vampire tale, this time focusing on the Transylvanian lord’s obedient familiar, played here by Nicholas Hoult. Awkwafina also stars in the pitch black horror comedy that promises to let the laughs and blood flow in equal measure.

Chris McKay, who also penned the coming Dungeons & Dragons reboot, directs from a script by Rick and Morty scribe Ryan Ridley. (Opens April 13)

4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Director James Gunn’s last hurrah before leaving Marvel to become co-chairman at rival DC Studios is also touted as a final outing for the Guardians, at least in their current iteration.

This time, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista) and the rest of the gang must defend one of their own, when Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is forced to do battle with his past.

Zoe Saldana returns, and Will Poulter joins the fold as antagonist and fan favourite, Adam Warlock. (Opens May 3)

5. The Little Mermaid

Disney continues to mine its vaults of animated classics, reworking some of their most treasured creations in new live-action adaptations, and next up is this all-singing all-dancing take of their 1989 smash hit.

Internet trolls caused a furore when African-American actress Halle Bailey was cast in the lead role of Ariel, because presumably, fantastical water nymphs are supposed to be white.

Rob Marshall (Chicago) directs, with Melissa McCarthy as villainess Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian the crab. (Opens May 25).

6. Fast X

It’s the beginning of the end for Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his adopted family of car thieves turned international crime fighters in the first half of a two-part finale to this insane franchise juggernaut.

Jason Momoa is the latest A-list beefcake enlisted to go up against our hot rod heroes, as the son of the Brazilian drug lord they stole a bank vault from way back in the fifth movie.

Not that it matters. Buckle up as plot takes a back seat to audacious action sequences and unbridled machismo as the world is saved once again a quarter mile at a time. (Opens May 31)

7. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Of all the many Spider-Man incarnations that have bombarded film-goers over the past two decades, nothing has topped 2018’s Oscar-winning animated feature, in which Miles Morales’ web-slinger first encountered the multiverse.

The inevitable sequel finally arrives, after being delayed for more than a year due to the pandemic.

This time, Miles (voiced by Shameik Moore) is convinced by Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) to venture into the multiverse and join forces with the pan-dimensional Spider-Force to stop a new supervillain. (Opens June 1)

8. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

With the arrival of the seventh entry in the Transformers franchise, it remains a series struggling for legitimacy.

All five of the Michael Bay-directed movies fell foul of the critics, while audiences flocked to them around the world. Ironically, 2018’s Bumblebee was met with a much warmer critical reception, but struggled to find an audience.

This time out, Creed II director Steven Caple Jnr takes the reins for a ’90s-set adventure inspired by the Beast Wars storyline that introduces alien robot warriors disguised as giant animals. (Opens June 8)

9. Strays

After being abandoned by his owner, rejected dog Reggie teams up with a litter of other strays to take his revenge on the owner who never wanted him.

Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx and Randall Park headline the voice cast in this foul-mouthed stoner comedy that looks to subvert the traditional wholesome, family-friendly dog movie with something closer in spirit to Ted than Marley and Me.

Despite its deft blend of real animals, animatronics and CGI, best leave the kids at home this time. (Opens June 8)

10. The Flash

One of the final remaining entries in the soon-to-be-rebooted DC Extended Universe, The Flash looked to be in serious jeopardy following the increasingly erratic behaviour of its star Ezra Miller.

But here it comes, and promises to be a treat for long-time fans, not least because the film features Michael Keaton reprising the role of Batman for the first time since 1992.

In the movie, Barry Allen (Miller) travels back in time to save his mother’s life, doing irreparable damage to the timeline in the process. (Opens June 15)

11. Elemental

Pixar’s latest animated extravaganza takes place in a world where inhabitants are made of fire, water, earth and air, and live together peacefully.

A mismatched love story at its heart, Elemental is the story of Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis), a fire element, and Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a water element, who meet by chance and take an immediate shine to one another, only to be forced to navigate the trials and tribulations of their different backgrounds.

Details remain thin on the ground, but Pixar’s hit rate is too strong to ever count them out. (Opens June 15)

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