Finally. 2023 was the year that had cinephiles excitedly cheering: “Cinema is back!”
With some lauding it as the best year for movies since the iconic 1999 slate (making the skeptics go “not so fast…”), it has definitely been a big year for blockbuster earnings and box office smashes.
Here’s what UAE moviegoers took to theaters to watch and rewatch in 2023 (according to Box Office Mojo by IMDB Pro):
10. Avatar: The Way of Water
Dir. James Cameron / UAE Box Office: $4,073,186
Despite a release date of December 15, 2022, James Cameron’s decade-in-the-making sequel to his commercial hit Avatar (2009) swims past The Little Mermaid (11th with $3,829,983) and The Equalizer 3 (12th with $3,791,035) to land 10th on this year’s charts.
9. Leo
Dir. Lokesh Kanagaraj / UAE Box Office: $4,108,218
Indian filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj’s action-thriller about a humble cafe owner turned drug cartel target lands at #9 on the list. Leo saw a massively successful year, becoming the highest-grossing Tamil-language film of 2023 and the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023.
8. Barbie
Dir. Greta Gerwig / UAE Box Office: $4,238,121
Barbie (and Ken) have arrived! A summer of hot pink, Beach (noun), and being Kenough made Greta Gerwig the first woman to direct a $1 billion film – the worldwide highest grosser of 2023. Despite a delayed release date in the region, Barbie sits at #8 on the UAE list, earning $4,238,121 (and counting) across local theaters.
7. John Wick: Chapter 4
Dir. Chad Stahelski / UAE Box Office: $4,511,330
The fourth installment in the neo-noir action thriller franchise brought vengeance to the screens and audiences to theater seats. It is the highest grossing installation in the franchise so far, with a spin-off slated for June 2024 and a fifth film currently in development.
6. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Dir. Christopher McQuarrie / UAE Box Office: $4,800,000
After a dramatic fued with fellow summer release Oppenheimer over IMAX screens, Tom Cruise’s seventh Mission Impossible title soared to 6th on the UAE’s year-end box office. Partially filmed in Abu Dhabi, MI:7 is the franchise’s most critically acclaimed film yet, with a direct sequel set to be released in 2025.
5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Dir. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic / UAE Box Office: $6,401,660
Following the critical and commercial failure of Super Mario Bros. (1993), Nintendo was understandably hesitant to license its titles for film adaptations. 30 years later, they caved, and the rights fell into the hands of Illumination and Universal Pictures; a decision that has definitely payed off, with the animated adventure-comedy film ending the year at number 5 in the UAE and number 2 globally. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the only animated film to make the top 10 list this year.
4. Fast X
Dir. Louis Leterrier / UAE Box Office: $7,014,729
Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Fast X was the fourth highest grossing film in the UAE this year. However, with a massive budget of $340 million and a total global box office grossing of $714.1 million, the 10th Fast and Furious film made Universal Studios a very modest profit. It’s all about family though, right?
3. Oppenheimer
Dir. Christopher Nolan / UAE Box Office: $7,908,168
A 3-hour long, half black & white biopic about the man who designed the atomic bomb disguising as a summer blockbuster – and succeeding at that – was completely unheard of before 2023. With some marketing help from the internet and the Barbenheimer cultural phenomenon, the undisputed King of IMAX Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer ranked 3rd on box office charts in both the UAE and globally.
2. Pathaan
Dir. Siddharth Anand / UAE Box Office: $8,191,759
When Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Salman Khan share a screen, audiences will surely flock to movie theaters. Pathaan was the second highest grossing film in the UAE this year, and has already made history as the third-highest-grossing Hindi-language film of all time, as well as the sixth-highest-grossing Indian film of all time.
1. Jawan
Dir. Atlee Kumar / UAE Box Office: $9,192,754
We can’t exactly say we’re surprised to see Shah Rukh Khan occupying the top 2 spots on this list. Dispute having made almost 100 films in his career, the UAE can’t seem to get enough of the 58-year old Bollywood legend. Jawan enjoyed historic box office numbers this year, making it the highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the second-highest-grossing Hindi-language film of all time, and the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of all time.