Identifying the top ten films of 2023 is fairly easy. I’ve assigned a certain random order, but the directors (in the same order) are Ridley Scott, Alexander Payne, Martin Scorsese, Bradley Cooper, Chris McQuarrie, Chris “infuriating sound mix” Nolan, Luca Guadagnino, David Fincher, Ari Aster and Roman Polanski.
The most likely Best Picture winners (Oscar to be handed out in March of ’24) are obviously Napoleon, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers, Oppenheimer and Maestro.
What am I missing at far as the likely creme de la creme are concerned? I’ve listed 51 films here — there are several I’ve ignored. A little more comprehensiion is required.
Utterly Safe Bets (10)
Napoleon (Apple, undated)
The Holdovers (Focus, undated)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple/Paramount)
Maestro (Netflix, undatedf)
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (July 14)
Oppenheimer (July 21)
Challengers (August 11)
The Killer (Fincher/Netflix, undated)
Beau Is Afraid (A24)
The Palace (Roman Polanski)
Respectable Sounding (6)
Megalopolis (if it opens in ’23…who knows?)
Steve McQueen’s Blitz
Asteroid City (Wes Anderson)
Poor Things
How Do You Live?
May / December (Todd Haynes)
Decent Potential (3)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30)
Barbie (July 21)
The Zone of Interest
Possibles but Cuidado (8)
Magic Mike’s Last Dance (Feb. 10)
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Feb. 17)
Chevalier (Apr. 7)
Renfield (Apr. 14)
No Hard Feelings (June 23)
The Flash (June 23)
Next Goal Wins (Sept. 22)
Dune: Part Two (Nov. 3)
Bullshit brigade (17)
M3gan (Jan. 6)
80 for Brady
Knock at the Cabin (Feb. 3)
Cocaine Bear (Feb. 24)
Creed III (Mar. 3)
John Wick: Chapter 4 (Mar. 24)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5)
Book Club 2: The Next Chapter (May 12)
The Little Mermaid (May 26)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2)
The Marvels (July 28)
Haunted Mansion (Aug. 11)
A Haunting in Venice (Sept. 15)
Kraven the Hunter (Oct. 6)
The Exorcist (Oct. 13)
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Nov. 17)
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 25)

Get Outta Here! (7)
Scream 6 (Mar. 10)
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (Mar. 17)
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Mar. 31)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Apr. 7)
Fast X (May 19)
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (June 9)
Wonka (Dec. 15)
Here’s Jordan Ruimy’s 2023 list, posted on 12.26.22. 80 films in all.