2023 was a fascinating year to be an observer of the film industry. With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, there was a new normal to be established. Through extended strike action, we saw the writers and actors guilds win important protections not just against the coming influence of A.I., but the industry’s economic shift toward streaming rather than theatrical release as its focal point. We saw the once great studio Warner Brothers further destroy its reputation by continuing to shelve already completed films for tax write-offs. We saw Marvel Studios stumble for the first time, seemingly having over-saturated and exhausted their audience. And while big I.P. franchise pieces from DC, Marvel, Pixar and Disney failed to meet expectations, the Barbenheimer phenomenon created a level of broad excitement about going to the movies that hadn’t been seen for a decade. Depending on how the industry responds to all of the above, it could end up being an historically significant year. 

The Doctor of Movies blog went a bit quiet in 2022. Work and life meant that I didn’t have the capacity to be regularly writing reviews, so I gave myself a pass. That didn’t mean I wasn’t watching movies though. I set myself a challenge this year: each week I would try and watch at least one new release film, one older film that I hadn’t seen before, and one rewatch. I ended up doing a bit more than that most weeks with the result being that I ended up watching 270 films for the year, including 80 new releases.