The 20 Best Movies of 2023 So Far

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor
and Keith Kimbell, Metacritic Film Editor – July 1, 2023

Which films impressed critics during the first half of the year? In the gallery on this page we rank the highest-scoring movies debuting in theaters (or straight to VOD/streaming) between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2023. Titles are ranked by their Metascores as of June 30, 2023 and must have a minimum of 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible for inclusion.

5 of 21 photo by Factory 25

83Queens of the Qing Dynasty

(#16) Canadian writer-director Ashley McKenzie’s follow-up to 2018’s Werewolf follows Star (Sarah Walker), a neurodivergent teen who forms a surprising relationship with An (Ziyin Zheng), an international student from Shanghai who is assigned to watch her while she’s in the hospital. It’s another distinctly offbeat but tender film about two outsiders on the fringes of society from McKenzie.

Queens is not yet available to stream.

“Hopeful and deeply emotional, McKenzie has crafted a film that feels like a fairytale for these isolating times. It reminds us how much we need each other in order to flourish and fully know ourselves.” —Jourdain Searles, IndieWire

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