To no one's surprise, the highest-grossing films of 2023 — The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Barbie — were the biggest box office winners and the biggest net profits of the year.
Deadline has been reporting on the biggest winners and losers of 2023. Disney was a huge loser thanks to flops such as The Marvels, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Wish, and Haunted Mansion.
As for winners, Illumination, Universal, Warner Bros, and Sony were the biggest winners.
The most profitable movies of 2023
Deadline revealed their bracket of the highest net profits of 2023. Leading the way was The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Other entries included some of 2023's other biggest hits such as Barbie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($559 million)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was the most profitable film of 2023, per Deadline. It was the second highest-grossing film of 2023, grossing over $1.36 billion worldwide. The film also made another $340 million from home entertainment, television, and streaming.
Granted, the film did cost quite a bit. Illumination/Universal spent over $400 million on the film, including $100 million for production costs and $150 million for prints and ads. Still, the film resulted in a net profit of $559 million, the largest figure of 2023.
Barbie ($421 million)
Barbie was the highest-grossing film of 2023, making over $1.4 billion worldwide at the box office. It made another $150 million and $200 million from home entertainment and television and streaming, respectively, for Warner Bros.
The film was a pricey investment. Barbie cost $145 million to produce and its prints and ads cost another $175 million. Warner Bros shelled out a total of $588 million, resulting in a net profit of $421 million. That was still good enough for the second most profitable film of 2023.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($328 million)
While Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a hit, grossing $384 million, its sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, was an even bigger one. The film made over $690.9 million worldwide at the box office in 2023.
Sony spent $270 million on the film, including a $100 million budget, and the film still turned a net profit of $328 million.
A third film in the series is on the way. Perhaps Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will top its predecessor and turn an even bigger profit.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ($204.5 million)
In a surprising move, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem came in at no.4 on the list. The film turned a net profit of $204.5 million for Paramount.
Mutant Mayhem made just $181.9 million at the box office. However, it took home $100 million from television and streaming and an additional $135 million from merchandise. That helped elevate the film's total revenue to $369 million.
Oppenheimer ($201.9 million)
Best Picture winner Oppenheimer closed out the top five with a net profit of $201.9 million for Universal. The historical epic cost Universal a total of $520 million, including $170 million in prints and ads, but had a total revenue of $721.9 million.
Oppenheimer had a highly successful box office run, grossing over $970 million worldwide. Deadline's report also indicates that the film made a lot from home entertainment ($130 million) as well as television and streaming ($170 million).
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer opened opposite of Greta Gerwig's Barbie on July 21, 2023. The film also led the way with 13 Oscar nominations in 2024, winning seven including Best Picture and Best Director.
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