Every Universal Pictures Movie Of 2023 So Far Ranked By Box Office
In the late 2000s, Universal Pictures was in a rut. One of the longest-running American movie studios had endured several box office duds and features with budgets that spiraled out of control. At the time, it seemed like this slump would last forever. Cut to the past few years, however, and Universal has become a box office heavyweight capable of cranking out $2.4 billion in a single year in North America alone. Even in the wake of the pandemic, the studio has secured two consecutive years with $1.5+ billion in domestic hauls. The latter of those two years — 2023 — has been an especially impressive stretch for the studio, thanks to Universal releasing some of its biggest movies in history.
In ranking all of Universal's 2023 titles from lowest to highest grossing at the domestic box office, one can see this studio is as capable of releasing a box office misfire as any other. However, the biggest moneymakers from Universal in 2023 demonstrate a willingness to embrace both fresh new properties and motion pictures for many different types of moviegoers. Plus, examining the various box office achievements of Universal Pictures in 2023 makes its days of being in financial decline seem like even more of a distant memory.
12. The Last Voyage of the Demeter
In recent years, Universal Pictures has scored some of its biggest successes of all time through sleeper-hit horror movies like "Get Out" and "Halloween." However, not every Universal horror film has turned into a box office phenomenon. Case in point: "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," which grossed just $13.6 million domestically. A disastrous haul for a movie that cost $45 million to make, "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" didn't stick around in theaters for long. Its box office was so poor that the feature only spent three weeks in wide theatrical release. This was despite the movie getting mixed reviews that were still significantly better than those received by more lucrative 2023 Universal Pictures titles like "Five Nights at Freddy's."
A handful of people gravitating towards "Demeter's" bleak vibes, though, weren't enough to counteract fatal problems ingrained into the feature. Outlets like Deadline noted that audiences didn't care for such a grim-looking horror movie and that general moviegoers didn't understand its connection to the Dracula mythos. Plus, the $45 million budget "Demeter" reminded studio executives that horror fare is much more reliable when it's cheap (see: the $12 million price tag of "M3GAN"). Unfortunately for "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," the scariest thing about this movie was its box office haul.
11. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
For the longest time, it looked like there was no way any DreamWorks Animation would be able to dethrone "Sinbad: Legend of the Sevens" for the title of lowest-grossing DreamWorks project domestically. In the 2020s, though, two projects from the studio have made less in North America than "Sinbad," with summer 2023's "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken" earning the dishonor of being the lowest-grossing DreamWorks title ever in this territory. With just $15.7 million domestically on a $70 million budget, "Ruby Gillman" was a catastrophic failure. For comparison's sake, "Ruby Gillman" made less in its entire theatrical-exclusive domestic run than "The Boss Baby: Family Business" did in its domestic opening weekend (and the latter title was simultaneously released on Peacock).
Opening "Ruby Gillman" just weeks after "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" and "Elemental" in June 2023 did "Ruby Gillman" absolutely no favors. However, even with so much competition to contend with, this film also struggled thanks to a marketing campaign that seemed aimed only at the youngest possible viewers. While past DreamWorks Animation hits like "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Kung Fu Panda" resonated with moviegoers of all ages, "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken" had way more limited appeal. No wonder its box office results were also restricted.
10. Renfield
After "The Invisible Man" became a hit in February 2020, it looked like Universal Pictures had finally cracked the code on how to make the Universal Monsters work as modern film stars. Putting these characters into low-budget scary features rather than big expensive blockbusters was a recipe for box office success. However, the failure of the 2023 title "Renfield" suggested that Universal still hasn't got a foolproof recipe for making its most beloved characters palatable to 21st-century audiences. Even with a considerable $86 million budget promising moviegoers a lot of spectacle, "Renfield" grossed just $17.1 million, way beneath the North American hauls of duds like "Dracula Untold" and "The Mummy" (2017).
The folks behind "Renfield" likely overestimated the general public's familiarity with the film's titular character lifted from Dracula mythos, while Nicholas Hoult's lack of experience as a solo leading man also didn't help the project attract more business. Plus, for those looking for twisted ultra-violent scares in April 2023, "Evil Dead Rise" was the movie to see, not "Renfield." After this gigantic financial loss, perhaps it's time for Universal to put its vintage monster characters to rest in a nice coffin somewhere.
9. Strays
It's easy to see why executives at Universal Pictures would've thought "Strays" was a slam-dunk. After all, the studio had lots of success with R-rated comedies like "Ted" and "Good Boys," which wrung jokes out of adorable, seemingly innocent protagonists saying foul-mouthed things. Translating that style of comedy to a bunch of dogs couldn't miss at the box office ... right? However, in its August 2023 theatrical run, "Strays" crashed and burned with just $23.9 million, a lifetime domestic haul barely above the $21.4 million North American opening weekend of "Good Boys" in 2019.
Costing $46 million to make, "Strays" was no "best in show" at the box office. But what led to moviegoers refusing this raunchy comedy? Part of it was simply the movie's marketing struggle to give it a discernible identity (beyond the presence of an R-rating) that would differentiate itself from other talking dog movies. It didn't help that Will Ferrell (who voiced the feature's primary canine) has been on a box office cold streak, with "Strays" failing to suggest this actor has any significant box office clout in the 2020s. There was no shortage of reasons why a seemingly surefire comedy hit like "Strays" was abandoned by general audiences.
8. Knock at the Cabin
The 2023 M. Night Shyamalan movie "Knock at the Cabin" concerns the impending end of the world, but its box office haul was far from apocalyptic. Grossing $35.3 million on a $20 million budget, "Knock at the Cabin" proved perfectly respectable in its theatrical run, even if it came in behind almost all other Shyamalan directorial efforts. "Knock at the Cabin" registered as the filmmaker's lowest-grossing movie domestically since the $305,704 haul of his directorial debut "Wide Awake" in 1998. Even if it came in behind the North American hauls of reviled Shyamalan titles like "After Earth" and "Lady in the Water," the smaller price tag of "Knock at the Cabin" ensured it wasn't a total box office loss.
Why did "Knock at the Cabin" fail to hit the box office highs of "The Visit" or "The Village"? The biggest culprit is likely a simple one: The premise wasn't as instantly compelling to people as the hooks of other Shyamalan features. "Signs" boiled down to being a realistic intimate alien invasion movie, "Split" was about being held captive by somebody with split-personality disorder, but "Knock at the Cabin," by contrast, had a more complicated premise. Past Shyamalan hits were also headlined by massive movie stars like Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, and Samuel L. Jackson, which was the kind of star power "Knock at the Cabin" lacked.
7. The Exorcist: Believer
On the surface, the box office run for "The Exorcist: Believer" looks perfectly acceptable. Grossing $61 million in North America as of this writing, the feature has doubled its $30 million budget in just this territory alone. Meanwhile, "Believer" has left all other "Exorcist" sequels in the dust at the domestic box office, an impressive feat given how cursed these installments have been. However, larger circumstances do cast a shade of disappointment over these numbers. Namely, "Believer" made noticeably less than all three of Blumhouse's "Halloween" films, which were all also directed by David Gordon Green.
"The Exorcist: Believer" didn't just disappoint compared to those "Halloween" legacy sequels, though. Universal Pictures plunked down a massive $400 million in 2021 for the rights to produce a trilogy of "Exorcist" sequels. With that kind of cash on the line, the studio was clearly hoping that "The Exorcist: Believer" would do better than coming in just behind fellow Blumhouse title "The Visit" in North America. "The Exorcist: Believer" still did fine business in general, but the forces that spurred the movie's creation do add some dark clouds over its box office run.
6. Cocaine Bear
The plot of "Cocaine Bear" is evident in its title. It's about a bear who goes on a rampage after doing lots of cocaine. It's a simple premise that could be easily marketed to the masses. The mixture of hardcore violence, a wild critter going mad, and cocaine proved to be an enticing one to moviegoers. "Cocaine Bear" snorted up a robust $64.3 million in North America alone, a great haul for such an oddball R-rated movie. It's especially solid, considering the fact that horror comedies like "Cocaine Bear" are often a tough sell to the general public — the idea of wringing laughs out of people's misery doesn't always translate to audiences.
Thankfully for everyone at Universal who threw money into "Cocaine Bear," this Elizabeth Banks directorial effort made way more than usual for a black comedy while its box office gross put it among the biggest comedy movies released into theaters in 2023. While some modern comedies have struggled to attract theatrical audiences, this film's promise of a CGI bear tearing into people offered the allure of spectacle for ticket-buyers. Armed with a title that told prospective audiences everything they needed to know, "Cocaine Bear" hit a nice high at the box office.
5. M3GAN
Who knew people would be so enamored with a robot girl dancing? The marketing campaign for the horror movie "M3GAN" leaned heavily on the sight of a mechanical being shimmying in a hallway before continuing her brutal rampage. It was a moment that could've registered as just disposable silliness in the wrong hands, but in the context of the broader "M3GAN" marketing campaign, it promised lots of campy horror fun to moviegoers. It was also a strikingly original scene that made "M3GAN" immediately different from all other modern horror films in the marketplace. Such a distinctive promotional campaign proved critical in giving "M3GAN" a massive boost at the box office.
Grossing $95 million in North America, "M3GAN" was a massive smash hit even in the esteemed pantheon of Blumhouse Productions horror features. "M3GAN" outgrossed other Blumhouse hits like "Halloween Kills" and "Insidious Chapter 2," which were deeply connected to beloved franchises, a sharp contrast to the decidedly original "M3GAN." Offering something new for audiences, not to mention appealing to teenagers with its PG-13 rating, ensured that "M3GAN" would become one of Universal's biggest sleeper hits of 2023.
4. Five Nights at Freddy's
For an entire generation of younger moviegoers, "Five Nights at Freddy's" wasn't just another video game adaptation. It was a seismic cinematic event, the thrilling ascension of a beloved collection of lore into the realm of theatrical cinema storytelling. This was exemplified by the opening weekend haul of "Five Nights at Freddy's," which hit a staggering $80 million after just three days of release. That was the biggest domestic opening weekend for a live-action movie adaptation of a video game by a considerable margin, and the second biggest North American debut for any video game movie ever (only behind the opening weekend of fellow 2023 Universal title "The Super Mario Bros. Movie.")
Sure, "Five Nights at Freddy's" dropped like a stone after its opening weekend, but given its meager $20 million budget, nobody at Universal or Blumhouse Productions will be complaining. With $112 million accumulated in North America alone to date, the extreme success of "Five Nights at Freddy's" can be chalked up to not only the massive fanbase of its source material but also the idea to drop the feature over Halloween weekend. Clearly, "Five Nights at Freddy's" was a cinematic event moviegoers couldn't get enough of.
3. Fast X
Being the third-biggest (to date) movie for Universal Pictures in 2023 would normally be enough to qualify "Fast X" as a massive hit. However, this title's seemingly massive $145.9 million domestic haul actually left a lot to be desired. For starters, it cost a staggering $340 million to produce, which meant that the North American gross didn't come close to helping "Fast X" turn a profit (international numbers helped make up some of the difference). Meanwhile, "Fast X" made less than nearly all of its predecessors at the domestic box office and barely eked out ahead of the lifetime gross of the original "Fast and the Furious" from 2001.
Now on its tenth installment, the "Fast & Furious" movies are not as excitingly fresh or original as they used to be for general moviegoers. More tepid reviews for this installment didn't help turn the tide of disillusionment people have been developing for Dominic Toretto's exploits, while the lack of major new gimmicks in the "Fast X" marketing campaign further diluted this project's appeal. In years past, the "Fast & Furious" movies were box office champions, but in 2023, "Fast X" got lapped by countless other features financially, including other Universal Pictures tentpoles.
2. Oppenheimer
At this point, it's common knowledge that "Oppenheimer" is one of the most successful movies of 2023. However, it's astonishing to consider just how lucrative this project truly was. While director Christopher Nolan has helmed many hit movies in the past, "Oppenheimer's" $324.4 million domestic performance put it ahead of the box office hauls of all but two of his preceding movies. Even massive successes like "Dunkirk" and "Inception" couldn't hold a candle to the gargantuan ticket sales of "Oppenheimer." Meanwhile, in the pantheon of R-rated movies, "Oppenheimer" was the seventh-biggest title ever at the domestic box office.
The 12th-biggest movie in history for Universal Pictures in North America, "Oppenheimer" was an astonishing hit, especially given that it was a talky drama aimed at grown-ups that ran for over three hours. The success of this project can be attributed to many things, including Nolan's following as a filmmaker and the notoriety of Oppenheimer as a historical figure, but opening against "Barbie" especially helped. The "Barbenheimer" phenomenon increased the profile of "Oppenheimer" and helped to put the feature on the radar of many people who might have otherwise never given this drama a second thought. Riding that wave of hype ensured that "Oppenheimer's" box office run surpassed all expectations.
1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The first time the Mario games were translated to the big screen, the result was "Super Mario Bros.," which only grossed $20.8 million domestically. 30 years later, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" from Universal and Illumination attempted to make the character work as a theatrical attraction once again, though this time the plumber's universe was entirely animated. The prospect of seeing a "proper" adaptation of the Mario mythos was always going to have a lot of sway for the general public ... but who knew there would be such incredible demand for this video game character on the big screen?
Amassing a gargantuan $574.9 million in North America alone, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" was a jaw-dropping hit that rewrote the book on how much money video game movies could possibly make. It also left all other Illumination features in the dust, with "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" making over $200 million more than the previous highest-grossing Illumination title in North America, "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Mario has been such an enduringly popular character that there was always going to be a massive core demo for "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," but the film's box office haul got a major boost from how many adult moviegoers it attracted. Having a broad appeal beyond just families ensured that "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" didn't repeat the financial missteps of the original Mario feature from 1993.