There are many exciting stars rising in Hollywood, and one of the brightest is Lily Gladstone. While the actress has been putting in work for some time now, she’s really emerged as a powerhouse performer over the past several years. She’s played supporting and leading roles, with her most notable of the latter being Killers of the Flower Moon, the critically acclaimed historical epic. Gladstone – who uses “she” and “they” pronouns – is blazing trails for other Indigenous actors, and we’re going to lay out some of the work she’s done.

Certain Women (2016)

What It’s About: In the state of Montana, three women experience life’s ups and downs, specifically when it comes to personal and professional affairs. Their tales collectively paint a portrait of small-town living in the United States.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Movies: Gladstone gives a moving performance as Jamie, a ranch worker who strikes up an interesting relationship with a young lawyer teaching an education law class in her town. The actress plays the role with extreme sincerity and a firm level of tenderness.

• Stream Certain Women on Pluto TV
• Stream Certain Women on AMC+

Billions (2019-2023)

What It’s About: An ambitious hedge fund manager attempts to make a name for himself within the financial space and doesn’t mind resorting to questionable methods to achieve his goals. At the same time, he comes into conflict with a hard-nosed U.S. attorney who holds disdain for rich people.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Shows: The actress guest-starred on several episodes as the mistress of the aforementioned U.S. attorney, but she’s still mesmerizing. She really makes the most of her time on screen, which is a testament to her talents.

• Stream Billions on Paramount+
• Stream Billions on Hulu

Room 104 (2020)

What It’s About: Various people find themselves as guests at a motel, where they stay in the titular room. Just about anything can happen when people visit the place, with some visits playing out more smoothly than others.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Shows: After having a vocal cameo as a dispatcher during her first appearance, Gladstone played a prominent role on Season 4’s “The Night Babby Died.” She plays one of two longtime pals who reconnect over a video game, and gives a truly affecting performance.

• Stream Room 104 on Max

The Last Manhunt (2022)

What It’s About: In the early 1900s, a young man and woman make their way across the American west after the former unintentionally kills the latter’s father. The two subsequently go on the run and find themselves contending with dangerous forces.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Movies: While Lily Gladstone’s turn as Maria marks another supporting role for her, she shines when she is on screen. She plays a mother caught between her daughter’s desire for the freedom to love who she wants and her husband’s aim to stick to their established culture. Gladstone’s Maria also serves as a conduit through which to convey the injustices experienced by Native Americans.

• Stream The Last Manhunt on Tubi

The Unknown Country (2022)

What’s It About: Following the death of her grandmother, a young Indigenous woman takes to the road in the hopes of making her way to Texas. Along the way, she comes across a plethora of interesting people and even reconnects with the family she’s long been estranged from.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Movies: To put it simply, Gladstone shines in the lead role of Tana, helping to turn her into a multidimensional character. Gladstone deftly conveys the grief her character shares while not allowing that mourning to define Tana – who also experiences moments of sheer joy and comfort. All in all, the Scalped alum presents an incredibly complex portrait of an Indigenous woman.

• Stream The Unknown Country on MUBI

Quantum Cowboys (2022)

What’s It About: Told through the lens of live-action and 12 styles of animation, this psychedelic film tells the story of two men who make their way across Southern Arizona in the 1870s in order to locate a musician. Along the way, they also meet an enigmatic woman, whom they assist in reclaiming her land.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Movies: The ever-so-cheeky Linde represents one Lily Gladstone’s lighter roles, and she imbues the character with plenty of dry humor as well as sincerity. It’s a refreshing performance from Gladstone, who in some ways, plays the straight woman amid some of the film’s off-the-wall antics.

• Stream Quantum Cowboys on Prime Video
• Stream Quantum Cowboys on Peacock
• Stream Quantum Cowboys on Tubi

Reservation Dogs (2022-2023)

What’s It About: Four Indigenous teens have various misadventures while coming of age on an Oklahoma-based reservation. In the process, they not only find themselves in some trouble but learn more about themselves and forge intergenerational relationships through their culture.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best TV Shows: Gladstone only guest-starred in two episodes (“Offerings” and “Dig”) during the show’s three season-run, but the work she puts in is downright impeccable. She plays the role of Hokti – a medicine woman serving time in prison – who serves as a mentor of sorts to one of the main characters, Willie Jack. Gladstone’s work is nothing short of soulful, and it should’ve won her an Emmy.

• Stream Reservation Dogs on Hulu

Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023)

What’s It About: Against the Osage Murders that took place in 1920s Oklahoma, Ernest and Mollie Burkart engage in a romance and start a family. However, their relationship is tested, as Ernest gradually becomes more embroiled in the machinations of his devious uncle.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Movies: Martin Scorsese’s well-reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon serves as a grand showcase for Lily Gladstone’s acting abilities, as she breathes stunning life into Molly. Whether she’s deftly delivering dialogue or sitting in silence and using her body language, she’s remarkable. It’s unfortunate that her work didn’t win her an Oscar in 2023, but her performance in this (intimidatingly) long film will certainly stand the test of time.

• Stream Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+

Fancy Dance (2024)

What’s It About: A woman, who finds herself caring for her young niece in the aftermath of her sister’s disappearance, sets off to find her missing ahead of a powwow. During their travels, the aunt and niece grow closer and gain a stronger sense of the distinct characteristics that Indigenous women possess.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best Movies: This marks yet another raw leading performance for Gladstone, who plays the role of Jax. A supreme sense of warmth emanates from the character, who wants nothing more than to do right by her niece. To put it simply, this is one of Gladstone’s most sentimental performances, and it needs to be seen.

• Stream Fancy Dance on Apple TV+

Under the Bridge (2024)

What’s It About: Based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book of the same name, the limited series centers around the true story of Reena Virk – a 14-year-old girl who never returned home after attending a party and was later discovered to have been murdered. The case is investigated by a local police officer and chronicled by a fictionalized version of Godfrey.

Why It’s One Of Lily Gladstone’s Best TV Shows: As officer Cam Bentland, the actress brings a sense of urgency and intensity. There’s also a layer of vulnerability, which is especially present when Cam interacts with childhood friend Rebecca. Those who watch the series won’t be surprised at all as to why Gladstone received an Emmy nomination for her work.

With so much great work under her belt already, it’s somewhat wild to think that Lily Gladstone is just getting started. Here’s hoping she continues to deliver great work for years to come.

Many of the best movies ever made are over three hours long. It’s not unusual for the greatest Best Picture winners to be longer than three hours, for example. Here is our list of 32 movies that prove that being long often means being great. 

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

Epic in scope and epic in length are usually the first two things you think about with Lawrence of Arabia. Not only is it one of the best movies ever, it’s one of the longest. Clocking in at an astounding 227 minutes, the nearly four-hour movie never lags or gets boring. Peter O’Toole is brilliant as T. E. Lawrence and the cinematography is among the greatest ever seen on film. It’s truly a masterpiece. 

The Right Stuff (1983)

One of the great injustices by the Academy was rewarding Terms of Endearment the Best Picture award in 1984 over The Right Stuff. History has since proven which of the two is more enduring, and it's the one that is one of the best movies about the Cold War. With a running time of 192 minutes, it still feels too short to learn everything about the early days of the US space program. The pacing is perfect. 

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

The MCU’s Infinity Saga constituted a whooping 22 films, and the pinnacle of the story came in the 21st movie, Avengers: End Game, in 2019. Befitting its status as the endgame, as it were, this entry in the MCU cannon stretches out just over three hours. While it’s long for a superhero movie, it never feels bloated. While it’ll never be considered one of the best movies of all time by critics, fans certainly do. 

Gone With The Wind (1939)

The longest movie to ever win the Best Picture Oscar is Gone With The Wind, at almost four hours long, if you include things like the opening overture and the intermission. It was a long day at the movies back in the ‘30s when this Civil War epic was released, but that didn’t deter anyone. To this day it is still the most financially successful film ever, when factoring in inflation. 

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

It’s hard to believe director Martin Scorsese and the cast of The Wolf Of Wall Street managed to keep up the frenetic pace of that movie for three hours. It’s a white-knuckle ride through the ups and downs of the main character, Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, that never gives the audience a chance to catch its breath. 

Oppenheimer (2023)

The 2024 Best Picture winner, Oppenheimer is truly a masterpiece. On its surface, a three-hour movie about theoretical physics and congressional hearings sounds about as fun as a root canal, but in the capable hands of director Christopher Nolan, it just pops off the screen. Across the three hours, only a few minutes of which is the actual bomb going off, the movie takes audiences on an amazing journey and never lets up. 

Schindler's List (1993)

The 195-minute epic Schindler's List might be director Steven Spielberg’s greatest achievement, and that is really saying something, given Speilberg’s amazing career. Not only did the director make it long, but the decision to make it black and white was also bold. It certainly proved that audiences in 1990 were able to handle all of it, most importantly the weighty nature of the film. It’s a movie that is really hard to watch twice, but everyone needs to see it once. 

The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003)

To its fans, there is no better cinematic trilogy than Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. The finale of the series The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King took home the Oscar for Best Picture which was as much a tribute to the whole franchise as it was reward just it. With a runtime of just over three hours, it’s the longest of the trilogy and for many, the best. 

Dances With Wolves (1990)

Kevin Costner has made a few epics in his career, but his first was Dances With Wolves. Costner directed and starred in the Civil War-era epic that clocks in at one minute over three hours. It was an enormous hit when it was released in 1990, making hundreds of millions on a $22 million budget. It cleaned up at the Oscars as well, taking home seven of the 11 that it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner. 

Malcolm X (1992)

Spike Lee’s most ambitious movie to this day is 1992’s Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington as the titular character. At 202 minutes, it’s also Lee’s longest movie. The movie is a deep dive into the life and politics of Malcolm X, the controversial Civil Rights leader in the 1960s. Washington, and the rest of the cast, is brilliant and Lee’s direction is perfect for the subject matter.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

It’s rare in this world that a sequel meets or, in some opinions, surpasses the original, but The Godfather Part II falls into that category. While the original Godfather is long, with a running time of just under three hours, The Godfather Part II is almost 3 and a half hours. It has a lot of story to tell, jumping back and forth between Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and a young version of his father, Vito, played by Robert De Niro. 

Ben-Hur (1959)

In the golden age of Hollywood, sprawling epics weren’t unusual, but Ben-Hur stands out for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the insane chariot race that even many decades later is one of the most exciting things ever filmed. It’s rare for a film to go longer than 3 and a half hours, but Ben-Hur does. 

The Irishman (2019)

Martin Scorsese is usually considered one of the finest directors of the last five decades, and while The Irishman isn’t one of his best, it’s still really, really good. It’s also one of his longest, clocking in at 209 minutes as it tells the huge story of mobster Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and the murder of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). 

The Deer Hunter (1987)

Have you ever wondered what it was like to attend a Russian Orthodox wedding…in real time? That’s what you get with The Deer Hunter. Okay, so it’s not really “real-time” but it sure feels like that. Still, the movie, with a runtime of 184 minutes, is one of the most intense movies in the history of film and one of the best movies about Vietnam. It’s a harrowing journey for every character in the movie and for audiences along for the ride. 

JFK (1991)

Oliver Stone’s JFK is not the most historically accurate movie ever made, but it is endlessly entertaining. The all-star cast and wild story made for a very fun movie. So fun, in fact, that viewers hardly notice the three-hour-plus runtime. 

Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023)

Director Martin Scorsese loves to make long movies. His 2023 masterpiece Killers Of The Flower Moon is no exception. There is a lot of story to tell in Killers, so the director needs every bit of the 206 minutes it takes to tell it. The acting performances are amazing and the period set pieces are beautiful. All in all, it’s everything you want from an epic. 

Gandhi (1982)

Ben Kingsley's performance in Gandhi is fantastic. Playing a mythical figure like Mahatma Gandhi can’t be easy, but he brings everything to the role. The film itself is one of the best biopics ever produced, and with a runtime of 3 hours and 11 minutes, it gives audiences everything about the Father of India’s life from a student in London to the leader of the most effective non-violent uprising in human history.

Titanic (1997)

A huge boat deserves a huge movie, and there is none bigger than James Cameron’s Titanic. The insanely popular movie, which won 11 Oscars and has made over $2 billion at the box office will forever be considered as one of Hollywood’s greatest triumphs. The gaudy box office numbers are matched by the film’s length, which totals 3 hours and 15 minutes. Interestingly, the actual Titanic took less time to sink, at 2 hours and 40 minutes. 

Cleopatra (1963)

At over 4 hours long, Cleopatra is epic in every single way. The production was legendary, as it was way over budget and took way longer than it was supposed to take. Elizabeth Taylor is amazing, as are Richard Burton and Rex Harrison. The movie was a huge hit, but only a moderate financial success because of the budget overruns, but it is truly one of the best of old-time holidays.

Gettysburg (1993)

One of the longest movies ever produced by Hollywood is Gettysburg, the Civil War epic that tells the story of one of the most important battles in United States history. It is revered by Civil War buffs and historians for it’s accuracy in portraying the battle from both sides of the conflict. With the theatrical release coming in at 4 hours and 12 minutes and the directors cut adding another 20 minutes or so, it’s a movie that takes commitment, but that commitment is rewarded. 

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Director David Lean is no stranger to long movies. The scope of many of his movies is huge and Doctor Zhivago is no exception. Long heralded as a true Hollywood classic, Doctor Zhivago isn’t the best of Lean’s movies, and it hasn’t aged as well as some of his other films, but it’s still a fantastic movie even at 192 minutes. 

The Green Mile (1999)

This one is the most surprising in the list, because it doesn’t feel like a 3-hour+ movie, but it is. The Green Mile is beloved by many, especially Stephen King fans, who rank it among the best of the many movies adapted from his books. Michael Clarke Duncan shines in this movie, along with the rest of the great cast, in a story that pops all the way through its long runtime. 

Magnolia (1999)

Paul Thomas Anderson is not afraid to make a long movie, but surprisingly the only one of his films to surpass the three-hour mark is Magnolia. It’s a movie that has a lot of story to tell, so the runtime is justified and the acting performances along make it all worth it. 

Avatar: Way Of The Water (2022)

Avatar: Way Of The Water’s 3 hours and 12 minute running time didn’t intimidate audiences, who turned out in droves to see the follow-up to also wildly popular Avatar. The movie made more than $2 billion at the box office, which is just incredible for a movie of its length. 

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

No one ever expects a comedy to run more than three hours, but It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is well over in some of its versions. There have been multiple versions released, but the longest is the 197-minute version released by the Criterion Collection in 2014. The original version released in theaters was a mere 159 minutes long. 

Spartacus (1960)

Despite their epic nature, Stanley Kubrick’s films are typically right around a tight two hours. The one exception is Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas and Sir Laurence Olivier. The film, with its legendary “I am Spartacus” scene, is the longest of Kubrick's career at 3 hours and 17 minutes. 

Judgment At Nuremberg (1961)

Reaching just under the 3-hour mark, Judgment at Nuremberg is a minute short of the mark meant for this list, but it’s such an epic movie, that we couldn’t leave it off. Director Stanley Kramer brought in an all-star cast including Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster, among others, to tell this important story of the Nazis on trial after World War Two. 

Hamlet (1996)

Hamlet is probably William Shakespeare’s most revered work and Kenneth Branagh’s treatment of it on film is worthy of the play’s status. It’s a truly epic production with an unbelievably talented cast including Branagh as the titular Prince of Denmark. It’s also just over four hours long, as the first and to-date only full version of the play put on film. 

Che (2008)

Depending on how you count Che, it’s either two movies, Part 1 and Part 2, each about a hundred and 135 minutes long, or, as director Steven Soderbergh intended, one 267-minute movie. The scope of the movie is, obviously, huge, as it follows the revolutionary life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, played by Benicio del Toro. It’s a serious commitment, but worth it, like so many of the movies on this list. 

The Seven Samurai (1954)

Akira Kurosawa is easily the most influential and revered Japanese filmmaker in history and one of his most loved films, The Seven Samurai, is also one of his longest. The movie runs 207 minutes and there is never a dull moment. It’s easy to see why Kurosawa has had such an effect on those who have followed him. 

Ryan's Daughter (1970)

Though it was not as critically acclaimed as his other films, David Lean’s Ryan's Daughter is still a really good movie. Audiences thought so too and despite the long running time, 195 minutes in the original theatrical release, it thrived at the box office. 

Logistics (2012)

Thought to be the longest movie ever made, the documentary Logistics has a full running length of 35 days and 17 hours. It follows, in reverse chronological order, a product made in China, shipped to Sweden, and purchased in a store, in real-time. From the store to the truck to the container ship to the Chinese factory. If it sounds boring, well, yeah, much of it is, but it's completely fascinating and there are shorter, edited versions available online to get a sense of the scope. 

Usually, when filmmakers set out to produce an epic three-hour movie, they have a story in mind that needs that long to tell. Not everyone loves them, but as these movies prove, it often works.

The Best Actress category for the 2024 Oscar nominations was a tough one this year. You had Emma Stone portray Bella Baxter’s emotional and intellectual journey in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things. Then there was Lily Gladstone, who portrayed the pain the Osage Nation went through in the captivating Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moon. After Stone became the one to win the Oscar that night, Gladstone had a touching moment with Scorsese, who consoled her after her loss.

Lily Gladstone stood up and cheered when her Oscar-nominated bestie Emma Stone’s name was called out as this year’s Best Actress. You can tell the La La Land actress herself was taken by surprise when she was declared the winner. The Blackfeet Nation actress may not have won that night, but it was shown in The Hollywood Reporter's behind-the-scenes clip that she was consoled by her Killers of the Flower Moon director. Take a look at the heartwarming moment below:

While we can’t hear what was said between the two, I'd like to believe Martin Scorsese shared positive words with his star as the conversation ended with a sweet hug. Even if Lily Gladstone wasn’t recognized as Best Actress this year, her nomination itself was still historic for recognizing Native Americans. Gladstone took to an X post saying she left the Oscars ceremony "feeling the love."

As Lily Gladstone was among this year’s Golden Globe winners for her Killers of the Flower Moon performance, many were shocked that the Certain Women actress didn’t win. Movie fans, of course, took to social media to express their disappointment that the first Native American woman to be nominated for an Oscar didn’t make history being the first to win the golden trophy. After all, that honor has only been done by Dances with Wolves’ Wes Studi, who won an Academy Honorary Award in 2019. At the same time, social media users didn’t dispute Emma Stone’s talents in achieving her win.

Don't think Lily Gladstone's Oscars loss means we won't be seeing any more of her. She still has plenty of impressive projects under her belt that are sure to give her more recognition for the gifted actress she is. So far, Gladstone will be part of your 2024 TV schedule with a role in the crime drama Under the Bridge, which comes to your Hulu subscription in April. 

The Room 104 actress will also re-team with Martin Scorsese in a very different movie called The Memory Police about a writer shielding her editor from political forces on an unnamed island. Gladstone also has the upcoming Sundance film Fancy Dance coming to Apple TV+, and will reunite with her Unknown Country director Morrisa Maltz in Jazzy. As you can see, there will be plenty of Lily Gladstone to go around.

Lily Gladstone may not have gone home with an Oscar, but she still “felt the love” that night after a behind-the-scenes video showed her being hugged by Martin Scorsese after the loss. Her upcoming projects are sure to win the hearts of more critics and audiences. To see the movie that gained her recognition this past awards season, Killers of the Flower Moon is available to watch with your Apple TV+ subscription.

In 2024, Lily Gladstone received a history-making Oscar nomination for her celebrated performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. Though the actress of Piegan Blackfeet, Nez Perce, and European heritage didn’t end up winning the Best Actress category (Poor Things’ Emma Stone took home the trophy), her being nominated for one of the biggest awards in the industry was a massively inspiring story, one that will surely be impactful for years, if not decades, to come.

Over the years, there have been an admittedly small number of Native Americans and Indigenous North Americans who have been honored at the Academy Awards. Despite there being a short list, the impact and legacy of those who came before Gladstone and her contemporaries is something special. Here are their names and their on-screen accomplishments.

The 1931 Western, Cimarron, Was The First Film About Native Americans To Win Best Picture

Nearly 100 years before Killers of the Flower Moon was released and received 10 Oscar nominates, Wesley Ruggles’ 1931 Western, Cimarron, became the first movie about Native Americans to be named Best Picture. Just like Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour epic about a long-overlooked series of murders, this film starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne was also set deep in the heart of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. 

As Time Magazine described at the time of Cimarron’s release, the Best Picture winner centers on a man whose unwillingness to cheat the local Osage out of their oil profits cost him his political aspirations.  

Will Rogers, Born In The Cherokee Nation, Hosted The 6th Academy Awards In 1934 

Will Rogers, one of the most famous vaudeville performers in American history and prolific film actor in the early days of Hollywood, was one of the first Native Americans honored at the Academy Awards. But, instead of being named Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, or winning in of any of the other categories, Rogers, who was born and raised in the Cherokee Nation, served as the host of the 6th Academy Awards in 1934.

Rogers became the first and only host of Native American heritage to host the awards show, and, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter at the time, the emcee was in “ribbing” form throughout the ceremony, though he was also able to handle the more serious moments of the night as well. 

Chief Dan George Became The First Indigenous North American Best Supporting Actor Nominee With Little Big Man In 1971 

In 1971, Chief Dan George, a leader of the Tse-lal-watt Tribe in British Columbia, Canada, became the first Indigenous North American to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his decorated performance in Little Big Man. In the film, George took on the role of Old Lodge Skins, the tribal leader who served as the father figure for Dustin Hoffman’s Jack Crabb, a.k.a., Little Big Man.

George passed away a decade after being nominated for an Oscar, and was quoted in his New York Times obituary as saying that he took up acting at the age of 62 “to do something that would give a name to the Indian people.”  

Dances With Wolves Won Best Picture At The 1991 Oscars, The Second Movie About Native Americans To Win The Award

Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves won seven Academy Awards at the 63rd Oscars, including Best Picture, making it only the second film about Native Americans to win the top honor, according to Time Magazine. The sprawling epic, which also earned Costner the Best Director award and a nomination for Best Actor, is still considered one of the best Western films and best depictions of Native American culture and history to this day.

Also nominated was Graham Greene, who was up for Best Supporting Actor at the ‘91 Oscars. The Oneida-born Canadian actor became one of the few Indigenous North American actors to be nominated in either of the acting categories. Since then, he’s continued to give commanding performances in movies like Wind River and shows like The Last of Us.

In 2019, Wes Studi Became The First Native American Actor To Receive An Honorary Oscar

In 2019, Wes Studi was honored at the 11th Annual Governors Awards when he was given an honorary Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Board of Governors during a ceremony also celebrating Geena Davis, David Lynch, and Lina Wertmuller, according to Deadline. Studi was born in the Cherokee Nation and appeared in Academy Award winners Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans throughout his career.

As reported by The Oklahoman newspaper following the October 2019 ceremony, Studi was honored by costars like Christian Bale and Q’orianka Kilcher, as well as former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo before he accepted the honorary Oscar, the first for a Native American actor.

Lily Gladstone Became The First Indigenous American Actress Nominated For An Oscar In 2024

After winning a Golden Globe and several other accolades for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone made history in early 2024 when she became the first Indigenous American Best Actress nominee in Academy Awards history. And though she didn’t win the award, Gladstone was perfect in her performance as an Osage woman who never backs down or loses herself in light of the systematic murder or her family, friends, and community by greedy bad players.

Her Golden Globe win was also historic, according to Deadline, as no Indigenous woman had ever won Best Actress in the ceremony’s 80-year history.

Scott George, The First Native American Nominated For Best Original Song, Performed At The 96th Academy Awards

Lily Gladstone wasn’t the only person associated with Killers of the Flower Moon to make history at the 96th Academy Awards, as Scott George, who wrote the Oscar-nominated Best Original Song “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” became the first Indigenous nominee in the category. On top of that, George also became the first member of the Osage Nation to be nominated for an Academy Award.

George, along with the Osage Singers, performed “Wahzhazhe” at the March 2024 ceremony in front of Hollywood’s biggest stars and with millions watching from home around the world. It should also be noted that the late Canadian composer and The Band musician, Robbie Robertson, who had collaborated with Martin Scorsese extensively before his 2023 passing including the Killers of the Flower Moon score, had Cayuga and Mohawk heritage on his mother’s side. 

On top of honoring these decorated actors, performers, and musicians, the Academy Awards has also served as a platform for others to raise issues concerning the treatment of Native Americans in the past. The most notable example of this is Sacheen Littlfeather, who appeared on behalf of Marlon Brando to refuse his Best Actor Oscar at the 1973 Academy Awards.

The 2024 Academy Awards are in the book and while overall the year held surprisingly few surprises, the second-to-last award of the night is the one that has people talking. The Best Actress category was as stacked as ever, with two powerhouse performances among an incredible list of nominees. Emma Stone ended up taking the statue home for her performance in Poor Things, which shocked a lot of people, including, it would seem, Stone herself.

Lily Gladstone made history with her nomination for Killers of the Flower Moon as the first indigenous person nominated for an Academy Award. Many fully expected she would be the first indigenous actress to win an Oscar until Emma Stone’s name was called. And while nobody is discounting what was a truly remarkable performance by Stone, many on Twitter still think that the award should have gone to Gladstone…

There have certainly been years where an Oscar went to a movie that ultimately did not stand the test of time the same way one of the other nominees did, and many seem to think that’s what happened here. It doesn’t appear that anybody feels Emma Stone’s performance was anything less than extraordinary. Still, they do think that Lily Gladstone had already made history in the role, and should have done the same with the award. As another person tweeted:

Certainly, Lily Gladstone had to be seen as a front-runner for the Oscar, she had won several Best Actress awards over the last few months. She and Stone were the two most likely to take the Oscar home. Gladstone had a lot of people invested in her story, so it would seem many feel something is missing since the story did not end in the way it would have been written. Case in point: this tweet.

Of course, not everybody views the situation in quite the same way. While so many thought Lily Gladstone would win, despite Emma Stone’s stellar performance, some argue on Twitter that despite Gladstone’s stellar performance, Emma Stone was incredible in Poor Things and fully deserving of the win…

Ultimately, nobody may be as shocked by the outcome as Emma Stone herself. She seemed legitimately shocked to hear her name called on Oscar night, and there’s an argument that even Stone believed Gladstone would take home the Oscar, so she wasn’t ready when her name was announced. As another tweet pointed out

One person who doesn't seem too upset by Emma Stone's win is Lily Gladstone herself. She looked thrilled for her friend, and Stone and Gladstone have become friends over the last few months as they vied for awards together.

Awarding the best in cinema is always tough, every nominee is great and arguably deserving of winning. On the one hand, there usually isn’t a bad choice to make, but it also means others are always left out. Lily Gladstone didn’t make history as an Oscar winner, but she did make history. 

Awards season can be a cutthroat, competitive thing, but no one seemingly told Best Actress frontrunners Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone that. 

Like their fellow 2024 Oscar nominees, The Holdovers' Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Oppenheimer's Emily Blunt — who have buddied up even though they're going head-to-head in the Supporting Actress category — Gladstone and Stone have become "fast friends" through the whole awards campaign process. The Killers of the Flower Moon leading lady recently revealed as much in Vanity Fair’s 2024 Hollywood Issue, where she shared that the acclaimed actresses have been bopping around town wearing matching friendship rings: 

Of course, "Infinity Stones" plays on both stars' surnames, a fact that interviewer Katey Rich pointed out when suggesting that they bring another famous Stone—Sharon Stone—into their friendship fold. Gladstone joked: 

Lily and Emma have been neck-and-neck throughout the 2024 awards season. The former scooped up the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her captivating work as Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese's acclaimed dark Western. And Stone took the Globe for Best Actress in the Musical or Comedy category, as well as the BAFTA and the Critics' Choice Award, for her bold, brazen performance as Bella Baxter in the seductively weird Poor Things. 

The decorated duo is honored in the same category at both the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards on February 24 and the Oscars next month, on March 10. But whoever wins—Maestro's Carey Mulligan, Anatomy of a Fall's Sandra Hüller and Nyad's Annette Bening join them in this year's Best Actress category at the Academy Awards—Gladstone proclaims she's found "a sister in all this" in Stone. She previously told The Washington Post: 

Gladstone has received public support from another famous friend too: her Killers of the Flower Moon co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. She noted how the notoriously press-shy movie star has been uncharacteristically showing up to more industry events this promo season to give his lesser-known co-star a boost, telling Vanity Fair: 

If Lily Gladstone does take home the gold on Oscar Sunday for her acting opposite Leo, she will make history, becoming the first Native American woman to win Best Actress. And she'll undoubtedly have her pal Emma Stone cheering her on while she does it. Or if the equally worthy Emma is the one at the podium at this year's ceremony, Lily will surely return the favor. They, and we, will be happy either way!

A wide array of people from various walks of life have made considerable contributions to cinema. Unfortunately, some tend to get overlooked compared to others. One could certainly argue that films centered around Indigenous culture can fall through the cracks. There are plenty of great motion pictures that spotlight the native experience and do so in incredibly nuanced ways, leading to some of the best western movies of all time, among other genres. 

On that note, we’re going to take some time to highlight and honor such productions. So, without further ado, let’s discuss the best movies about Native Americans. 

Powwow Highway (1989)

Surely, you may be familiar with road trip comedies like Vacation and Tommy Boy, but you may not have heard of Powwow Highway. Jonathan Wacks’ movie sees a man go on a road trip with his childhood friend to help his sister, who’s been arrested as part of a plot initiated by land developers. This is a funny and sentimental story that emphasizes the importance of friendship and family. Those elements and the film’s warm depiction of Native American culture make this a refreshing piece of work. 

Stream Powwow Highway on The Criterion Channel.

Dances With Wolves (1990)

Dances with Wolves remains one of the most famous entries in Kevin Costner’s filmography. In the movie, the actor/director plays a Civil War soldier who forges a connection with Lakota Indians and eventually integrates into their society. This is the definition of a sweeping epic, and it’s hard not to become engulfed in the filmmaking that’s on display. It would be irresponsible not to mention the fact that Costner’s Oscar-winning movie falls into the age-old “white savior” trope. Yet the emphasis on Indigenous culture is strong, and there are great performances from native actors like Graham Greene and Tantoo Cardinal. 

Stream Dances with Wolves on PlutoTV. 

Stream Dances with Wolves on Tubi.

Black Robe (1991)

One notable entry from the ‘90s is Black Robe - a historical drama helmed by Tender Mercies director Bruce Beresford. It centers on a missionary, who – while seeking to establish a mission in 17th century New France – makes his way through the wilderness with the aid of Algonquins. Beresford succeeds in highlighting the subtle nuances of the Eastern Canada-based natives, and there are even portions of the film that are spoken in Algonquin, Mohawk and Cree dialogue. On the whole, this is a well-made and well-acted film.

Stream Black Robe on Tubi.

Stream Black Robe on Prime Video.

The Last Of The Mohicans (1992)

When it comes to Michael Mann’s body of work, The Last of the Mohicans stands as one of his defining films outside of the crime genre. A somewhat loose adaptation of the 1826 novel of the same name, this epic tale sees three members of the Mohican tribe attempt to protect a British colonel and his two daughters. Action and romance abound in Mann’s ambitious flick, which features excellent performances from the great Russell Means and Wes Studi. And, of course, Daniel Day-Lewis gives one of his most memorable performances.

Rent/Buy The Last of the Mohicans on Prime Video.

Smoke Signals (1998)

I’m a sucker for a good coming-of-age dramedy and, if the same is true for you, then you should really check out Smoke Signals. It’s a road movie about two young men who take a cross-country trip to retrieve the ashes of the man who served as a father figure to both of them. In addition to the winning performances and keen direction from Chris Eyre, what makes this movie shine is the complex way in which it tackles themes of familial ties and cultural identity. In many ways, this feels like a precursor to the FX show Reservation Dogs (which similarly focuses on intergenerational relationships).

Rent/Buy Smoke Signals on YouTube.

Rent/Buy Smoke Signals on Prime Video.

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)

You won’t find too many films that are as intense and raw as Zacharias Kunuk’s 2001 epic. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner provides a detailed look at Inuit culture through the eyes of the eponymous character – who finds himself on the run after getting on the bad side of his tribe’s leader. Steeped in Inuit mythology, Kunuk’s feature is effectively shot and features some unforgettable performances. This is a production you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve screened it.

Stream Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner on Apple TV.

Skins (2002)

In addition to Smoke Signals, Chris Eyre is also known for crafting Skins, though the 2002 drama film is a major departure from his earlier work. This is a gritty flick about a Lakota tribal officer who seeks to balance his responsibilities to his job and his commitments to caring for his alcoholic brother. The movie is a brutally honest look at reservation life while shedding light on how factors such as poverty and alcoholism impact the people who live on them. Eyre clearly wanted viewers to walk away pondering a few topics, and you’ll likely do just that after you see.

Stream Skins on Prime Video.

Stream Skins on The Roku Channel.

American Native (2014)

American Native is probably one of the best documentaries about Native American history. At the center of this doc are the Ramapough Mountain Indians of New York and New Jersey, who seek to be recognized as a genuine tribe. What director Steven Oritt presents to his audience is a well crafted movie that chronicles a group of people seeking to hold on to their cultural identity in the face of various obstacles. It’s a bittersweet piece of work that’s definitely worth your time.

Rent/Buy American Native on YouTube.

Rent/Buy American Native on Prime Video.

Mekko (2015)

Years before he co-created Reservation Dogs (which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription), Sterlin Harjo wrote and directed Mekko, and it’s somewhat different from the delightful and insightful TV series. In the film, the titular protagonist looks for purpose and wrestles with inner demons after serving a long prison sentence for killing his cousin. Though it differs from Rez Dogs on many levels, it’s similar in that it feels authentic and is grounded in character work. Rod Rondeaux’s excellent performance in the lead role alone is enough to warrant a watch.

Stream Mekko on Tubi.

Stream Mekko on The Roku Channel.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)

Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao may get a lot of mainstream recognition for having helmed Marvel Studios’ Eternals, but we can’t forget that she made her name in the world of indie filmmaking. Her feature film debut was Songs My Brothers Taught Me – a film that mostly focuses on the relationship between Lakota Sioux siblings. Zhao’s film is so skilfully written and directed, and what really makes it shine is her naturalistic approach to the work. That includes her tendency to cast people who have little to no formal acting experience in the lead roles. It’s a tragic story, to say the least, but one that’s also incredibly warm.

Rent/Buy Songs My Brothers Taught Me on Prime Video.

Rent/Buy Songs My Brothers Taught Me on Apple TV.

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World (2017)

Music lovers are sure to enjoy what Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World has to offer. The film is a compelling look at the various Indigenous musicians from across North America who have left their marks on rock music. A number of famous rockers receive the spotlight here, including Robbie Robertson, Stevie Salas and Buffy Sainte-Marie. This award-winning doc from Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana is very informative and has a lot to offer viewers – even those who aren’t as well versed in this genre of music.

Stream Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World on Prime Video.

Rent/Buy Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World on YouTube.

Wind River (2017)

Wind River is easily one of the greatest productions from Taylor Sheridan, the mastermind behind the massive TV franchise that is Yellowstone. It’s a chilling crime drama that follows an FBI agent and wildlife tracker as they seek to solve the murder of a teen girl from the titular Native American Reservation. Sheridan’s script and direction are perfect as are the performances of Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Graham Greene and the rest of the cast. To put it honestly, the story is emotionally raw and serves as a brutal reminder of the frequent neglect that Indigenous women face.

Stream Wind River on Prime Video.

Stream Wind River on Apple TV.

The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open (2019)

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn’s The Body Remembers When the World Broke is a particularly personal and affecting film. It focuses on two Indigenous women whose paths intersect in an interesting way. While they both differ when it comes to their social statuses and life experiences, both must grapple with the effects of domestic violence. This is a thoughtful film that leaves one with a lot to ponder and, while it’s not always easy to watch, it’s definitely necessary viewing material.

Stream The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open on Apple TV.

Prey (2022)

I’m not sure if audiences knew what they were getting with Dan Tractenberg’s Prey, but what they received is one of the best movies in the Predator franchise. A prequel to the first four films, it turns the focus to Naru, a young Comanche woman living in the Northern Great Plains in the 1700s. The lives of the aspiring hunter and her people are ultimately threatened due to the presence of one of the franchise’s infamous extraterrestrials. Trachtenberg’s direction is so sharp and, while he provides plenty of sci-fi action, he also doesn’t shy away from highlighting Indigenous culture. But the weight of the film really lies upon the shoulders of lead actress Amber Midthunder, who makes Naru an incredible character -- and action hero. 

Stream Prey with a Hulu subscription.

Stream Prey with a Disney+ subscription.

Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023)

Martin Scorsese has crafted his fair share of historical dramas over the course of his illustrious career, and while it may be one of his more recent films, Killers of the Flower Moon is one of the most captivating among the bunch. The tragic film is based on David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book and chronicles the Osage Nation murders of the early 1900s. The focal point of the film is the relationship between Molly and Ernest Burkhart, whose marriage is marked by love, abuse and betrayal. Scorsese dove head first into Osage culture for this feature, and it really shows. There are also stunning performances from the impeccable cast, including the masterful Lily Gladstone.

Stream Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+.

There’s still a long way to go when it comes to representation for Indigenous people on the silver screen. However, as we look to the future, let’s not overlook the cinematic gems that have been mentioned here as well as other features that exist. Do yourself a favor and check them out, as they’re definitely worth your time.

Watch Killers Of The Flower Moon

Watch Killers Of The Flower Moon: Synopsis

A compelling account of the oily depths of American greed, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and a phenomenal Lily Gladstone, Martin Scorsese’s 26th feature film has been picking up award nominations left, right and center. And its impressive 10 Academy Award nods have only highlighted the film’s social and historical significance.

The 2017 book on which Killers of the Flower Moon is based concerns the “Reign of Terror” that blighted Oklahoma's Osage Nation from 1921 to 1926. When the Osage found oil on their land, they immediately became some of the richest people alive. Yet white settlers soon descended like locusts and conspired to inherit their wealth – by any means necessary.

DiCaprio stars as WWI veteran Ernest Burkhart, whose uncle William – the ever-excellent Robert De Nero – is a prominent member of the community who’s inveigled himself into the Osage’s confidences. So when Ernest and Osage woman Molly (Gladstone) fall in love and get married, William manipulates Ernest into orchestrating her family’s murder in the hopes of inheriting their fortune.

The Los Angeles Times praised Scorsese’s ability to “bring an entire bygone era to rich, teeming life, just before he chokes it off with an all-consuming stench of death.” And he’s aided in no small part by an excellent ensemble, including DiCaprio, De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers and John Lithgow. 

Yet Gladstone is the film’s standout, giving a performance of “tragic force” (The Guardian), quiet integrity, and simmering pain. Consequently, she made history by becoming the first Native American to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Catch Scorsese’s blistering, Best Picture nominee now – with as many bathroom breaks as you please - with our guide below, which explains how to watch Killers of the Flower Moon online with a subscription to Apple TV Plus.

How to watch Killers of the Flower Moon online

Killers Of The Flower Moon is available to stream now on Apple TV Plus.

An Apple TV Plus subscription costs $9.99/£8.99/AU$12.99 per month. But, if you're new to Apple TV+, you can try it first for free with an Apple TV Plus free trial.

While new subscribers can try Apple TV Plus for FREE for 7 days, it's also worth noting that, if you've recently bought another Apple product (e.g. iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV) or intend to, you'll automatically be entitled to three free months of Apple TV Plus.

Killers Of The Flower Moon Trailer

Killers Of The Flower Moon Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart
• Robert De Niro as William King Hale
• Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart
• Jesse Plemons as Thomas Bruce White Sr.
• Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q
• John Lithgow as Peter Leaward
• Brendan Fraser as W. S. Hamilton
• Cara Jade Myers as Anna
• JaNae Collins as Reta
• Jillian Dion as Minnie
• Jason Isbell as Bill Smith
• Scott Shepherd as Byron Burkhart
• Everett Waller as Paul Red Eagle
• Pat Healy as John Burger
• Martin Scorsese as radio show producer

Lily Gladstone made Oscar history by being the first Native American woman to be among the 2024 Oscar nominees for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. Her performance as Osage Nation member Mollie Burkhart has been adored by the Academy, audiences, and critics alike. With this Oscar nomination, big things are coming to Gladstone’s career, like getting to re-team with Scorsese on a very different kind of movie.

To go from roles in indie films to putting her name on the map by starring in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is an incredible feat for Lily Gladstone. Not only did her performance as Mollie Burkhart snag her a ton of wins and nominations, but she’s already got a new project lined up. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Montana native actress will star in the sci-fi film The Memory Police which will adapt Yoko Ogwawa’s 1994 sci-fi novel. 

Other than getting to work with The Handmaid’s Tale’s Reed Morano, who will be directing the upcoming movie, Gladstone will have another chance to work with none other than Martin Scorsese himself, as he's set to be an executive producer. With these two teaming up once again, I’m sure their working dynamic will prove powerful. It also proves that the Oscar-winning director can’t find himself to stay away from his Killers of the Flower Moon cast as he’ll be working with Leonardo DiCaprio again for another Apple movie called The Wager. 

Along with Gladstone joining The Memory Police, Being John Malkovich’s Charlie Kaufman will be penning the script. The Yoko Ogwawa novel is about an unnamed island where all of its inhabitants are suffering from collective amnesia with a law enforcement organization making sure it stays that way. A writer decides to shield her editor from the Memory Police as he still has his memories. 

It looks like we'll get to see Lily Gladstone play more of a heroic role in a world very different than her previous works. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing the talented actress in a whole new light with this next movie as she heads into the sci-fi realm.

So far, Lily Gladstone has been receiving a ton of accolades for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon. Earlier this month, she became a 2024 Golden Globe winner for Best Actress in a Drama, delivering an excellent speech about how her pride in representing the Blackfeet Nation through her win. 

Gladstone was also recognized as Best Actress at the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle. During the critics’ screening of the latest Scorsese film, CNN’s Brian Lowry called the Best Actress nominee “the real star” of the movie. I have to agree. Gladstone genuinely gave an emotionally heartbreaking performance of a woman seeing her whole world falling apart while trying to survive the harm done to her and her people. Through heart-wrenching cries or a subtle look, she truly gave it her all.

With an Oscar nomination under her belt and a new sci-fi film on the way, Lily Gladstone’s career is soaring to great heights. I can’t wait to see what other roles she decides to take in the near future. 

To see her Oscar-nominated performance in Killers of the Flower Moon all you need is an Apple TV+ subscription. Also, make sure to check in with our 2024 movie releases in case Gladstone and Martin Scorsese’s next collab, The Memory Police, turns up there.

Oscar "snubs" have become the talk of the town this week following the announcement of the 2024 Academy Award nominations on Tuesday, January 23.  Movie fans—including, oddly, Stephen King—are irritated over those Barbie slights (including Greta Gerwig being oddly left out of the Best Director category), that total May December shutout (including Charles Melton's extraordinary supporting work), and the fact that presumed Best Actor frontrunner Leonardo DiCaprio completely missed in that category. 

Instead, this year's Best Actor's race seems to be an ironic switcheroo from the 2005 Oscars, when one of Paul Giamatti's most acclaimed performances was snubbed in favor of other nominees, including DiCaprio. Now, Leo's MIA in the Best Actor category, but Giamatti is in for his role as strict boarding-school teacher in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.

DiCaprio, who reunited with his frequent collaborate Martin Scorsese for the haunting historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon, was thought to be an Oscar shoo-in for his role as Ernest Burkhart. Many cinephiles even predicted that the trophy would be a battle between Leo and his Inception co-star Cillian Murphy, who leads Oppenheimer as the titular "father of the atom bomb." Instead—in a category that also includes Maestro's Bradley Cooper, Rustin's Colman Domingo and American Fiction's Jeffrey Wright—it's looking like Murphy's main opponent come Oscar night will be Giamatti.

It's a change of luck for Giamatti who 19 years ago, after winning at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, was shockingly passed over for a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars for his critically acclaimed work in yet another Payne collaboration: the wistful, wine-sloshed drama Sideways. (The actor would receive a Supporting Actor nod for Cinderella Man a year later.)

The category lineup included Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland), Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby), eventual winner Jamie Foxx (Ray) and, yes, Leonardo Dicaprio for The Aviator. At the time, Giamatti was cheeky about the Sideways snub, self-deprecatingly telling The New York Post in 2006: 

However, the actor was seemingly more earnest about the possibility of a nomination this time around. Giamatti told The Associated Press back in December: 

That possibility became reality on Tuesday, with not only Giamatti scoring a nomination for The Holdovers but also his co-star Da’Vine Joy Randolph (for Best Supporting Actress), writer David Hemingson (Original Screenplay), editor Kevin Tent (Film Editing) and the film itself for Best Picture. You can catch Giamatti's now Oscar-nominated performance by streaming The Holdovers with a Peacock subscription. 

And though, sadly, Leonardo DiCaprio didn't get individual recognition this year, the Killers of the Flower Moon crew has plenty of reasons to celebrate: the film received a whopping 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Lily Gladstone, Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro and Best Director for Martin Scorsese. See for yourself if you think Leo deserved that Oscar snubbing by tuning into Killers of the Flower Moon, now available to view with an Apple TV+ subscription. 

Awards Season is in full swing, and we've already seen the Golden Globe Winners and also the Emmy winners be announced before our eyes. But for many the Academy Awards is the main event, and offer a dream come true opportunity to snatch that trophy. The Oscars finally aired March 10th on ABC, and we finally have some winners. As Awards Season come to a close, here are the results of Hollywood's biggest night. 

It's been a great year for movies, including the oft-talked about Barbenheimer event, which saw both Barbie and Oppenheimer opening on the same weekend. Then there's Killers of the Flower Moon, as well as acclaimed international titles like Anatomy of a Fall. While moviegoers plan how to watch the Best Picture Oscar nominations, below are the official Oscar winners:

Best Picture

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

Best Director

Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

Best Actress

Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
WINNER: Emma Stone, Poor Things
Carey Mulligan, Maestro

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamotti, The Holdovers
WINNER: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
WINNER: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actor

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

Best Original Screenplay

WINNER: Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives

Best Adapted Screenplay

WINNER: American Fiction
Barbie
Opppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

Best Animated Feature

WINNER: The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best International Feature Film

Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Teachers' Lounge, Germany
WINNER: The Zone of Interest

Best Documentary Feature

Bobi Wine: The People's President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
Winner: 20 Days in Mariupol 

Best Production Design

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
WINNER: Poor Things

Best Cinematography 

El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Best Costume Design

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Opppenheimer
WINNER: Poor Things

Best Film Editing

Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Best Makeup And Hairstyling

Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
WINNER: Poor Things
Society of the Snow

Best Score

American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Best Original Song

"The Fire Inside", Flamin' Hot
"I'm Just Ken", Barbie
"It Never Went Away", American Symphony
"Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)", Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: "What Was I Made For?", Barbie

Best Sound

The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible-  Dead Reckoning Part 1
Oppenheimer
WINNER: The Zone of Interest

Best Visual Effects

The Creator
WINNER: Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1
Napoleon

Best Animated Short

Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
WINNER: War is Over!
Pachyderm

Best Documentary Short

The ABCS of Book Banning
The Barber Of Little Rock
Island In Between
WINNER: The Last Repair Shop
Nai Nai and Wai Po

Best Live-Action Short Film

The After
Invincible
Night of Fortune
Red White and Blue
WINNER: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

There you have it! The votes are official, and we have a new batch of Oscar winners this year. The race (and Awards Season) have come to an end, and trophies have been snatched. For now, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. Let's just hope we don't have another Oscars slap situation coming down the pipeline.

This year marks 35 years since Leonardo DiCaprio first got his Hollywood career going, and wow has it been an incredible one thus far -- I mean just look at the list of Leo's best films! From being “King of the World” in Titanic to his latest Martin Scorsese collaboration, Killers of the Flower Moon, it’s no wonder the Oscar winner is such a beloved Hollywood actor. On Thursday night, the beloved performer appeared at the Palm Springs International Film Festival to attend its Awards Gala, and he was met with a question about his lasting fame. 

During the event, Killers of the Flower Moon, which has had critics raving, was honored with the “Vanguard Award.” Upon entering the festival, Leonardo DiCaprio was met with a herd of fans, with whom he took the time to meet and sign autographs with at the star-studded event. Following that, the actor was asked if he ever gets used to greetings like that when he appears somewhere. Here’s what he said: 

As DiCaprio told Entertainment Tonight, the buzz at the Palm Springs Film Festival does not measure up to what his daily life looks like. The actor doesn’t find himself constantly at big events signing autographs and getting to take the stage at the Palm Springs Film Festival to earn recognition. DiCaprio also shared that he was rather “surprised” at all the people who turned up at the Awards Gala, saying the festival was “kind of going off.” 

It’s an interesting response to hear from the actor, because when we think of him and see him in situations, it’s almost always a glitzy one that could make one believe that it's his life all the time. The truth is, while I’m sure the actor has a lavish life, between his multiple houses, including a Palm Springs retreat to call his own, DiCaprio surely spends a lot of his time doing normal mundane things like us. And, when he’s at work, he’s on a set that is away from a swarm of fans, so apparently he’s not constantly faced with the level of fame he actually has. 

The truth is, Leonardo DiCaprio has been famous since he was in his twenties. Chances are he’s had to find ways across three decades to find normalcy in life and not feel like the famous person he is all the time. He is known for being choosy when it comes to his appearances or even what roles he chooses to play, so his response to being famous does make sense. 

Leonardo DiCaprio better get used to this attention though, because he’s among 2024's Golden Globe nominees for Flower Moon, airing this Sunday on CBS and for those with a Paramount+ subscription, and he is expected to be part of the greater award season. You can check out his performance in Killers of the Flower Moon with an AppleTV+ subscription come January 12. Plus, make sure to check out the 2024 movie schedule, so you can catch whatever project he does next that could draw this kind of attention. 

Lily Gladstone’s chilling performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has made the talent a frontrunner during the 2024 award season set to honor the best achievements in film from the 2023 movie release schedule. Ahead of the Oscars this spring, Gladstone is entering the ongoing conversation about gendered award categories, as the actor discusses her own preferred pronouns. 

In this year’s Best Actress race, Gladstone’s performance in Killers of the Flower Moon (one of our voted best movies of 2023) seems to currently be neck-and-neck with Emma Stone’s work in Poor Things. As we await Hollywood to make its selections this season with award shows like the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and the Oscars, Lily Gladstone weighed in with their personal relationship with gender. 

Why Lily Gladstone Prefers She/They Pronouns

When Lily Gladstone recently spoke to People, the actor expressed feeling comfortable with being referred to with both “she” and “they” pronouns. When discussing why, the Killers of the Flower Moon star shared how it stems from her background growing up on the Blackfeet Nation reservation. In their words: 

As Gladstone shared, in the Blackfeet Nation, gender is not classified in the binary of simply male and female as many see it. Lily Gladstone, who grew up on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana for the first ten years of her life, went on to explain that in most Indigeneous languages, rather than identifying others as “he” or “she,” “they” is used to distinguish all people. As Gladstone continued: 

Gladstone shared that her grandfather’s Blackfeet name meant “Iron Woman,” because of the way “he kind of carried himself” along with saying that “lots of women” in the Blackfeet Nation are given men’s names if they fulfill “more of a man’s role in society as far as being a provider, warrior” and such. To Gladstone, their chosen pronouns is a way of “decolonizing gender” for themselves. 

The Killers Of The Flower Moon Star Shares Thoughts On Gendered Award Categories 

With Gladstone’s gender identity in mind, the Killers of the Flower Moon actor also weighed in a growing Hollywood conversation about whether award shows should be gendered. They explained,

Gladstone makes some solid points. Whereas she appreciates some of the expansion outside of the gender binary with titles like “performer,” they also understand the problems if “actress” was taken out of the industries category because it could alienate those who take pride in being called the title and lead to “erasure” of women at award shows. It’s certainly a layered topic that we imagine the filmmaking industry will continue to discuss for years to come. 

You can now rent or buy Killers of the Flower Moon on digital and get an AppleTV+ subscription in anticipation for the movie soon coming to the streaming service (at an unknown date).  

Lily Gladstone is getting standout acclaim for her work in Killers of the Flower Moon as wealthy Osage woman Mollie Kyle, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio's Ernest Burkhart, Mollie's duplicitous husband. And it turns out, the actress has a deep love for her co-star's other standout performance in Titanic, as she has a VHS of the film. Let's just say I love this '90s nostalgia for Titanic just as much as both actors' performances in Martin Scorsese's latest movie.

Even more exciting than the awards buzz that's been humming around the 37-year-old actress — she's already scored a 2024 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress— was the mere chance to meet the Titanic icon, Gladstone recently revealed to People: 

Can't you feel all the '90s nostalgia? I sure can. DiCaprio, of course, starred as the romantic artist Jack Dawson in the 1997 James Cameron-directed epic, opposite Kate Winslet's debutante Rose DeWitt Bukater.

Gladstone praised both Winslet and DiCaprio's performances in the beloved drama, but though she admitted that the character of Jack Dawson "was great," she didn't crush on the character like the millions of other '90s-era moviegoers who fell for the Hollywood heartthrob. The actress said she would "project" her childhood crushes onto Jack, but that she never crushed on Leo's character himself: 

The Montana native also revealed to the outlet that Titanic wasn't the first time she saw DiCaprio act onscreen, citing his early films like the 1993 coming-of-age drama What's Eating Gilbert Grape—for which the then-19-year-old actor received his first Academy Award nominations, becoming the seventh-youngest Best Supporting Actor nominee—and the 1996 Shakespeare remake Romeo + Juliet, which "she loved." 

However, it was actually another one of young Leo's '90s roles that Lily cited as her favorite from the acclaimed actor: the 1998 action drama The Man in the Iron Mask, in which DiCaprio played both King Louis XIV and his twin brother Phillippe. 

Along with loving DiCaprio's work in the '90s, Gladstone also praised her Killers of the Flower Moon co-star's recent work, him switching roles in the Martin Scorsese movie and pushing back against the "white savior" narrative found in so many films focused on indigenous communities. 

Now it looks like Lily will very likely be joining her Titanic fave in the Academy's storied history: she is this year's Best Actress frontrunner in 2024 Oscar conversations, and DiCaprio will likely be nominated for his Killers performance as well, adding to a decades-spanning Oscar resume that includes five nominations and one win, for The Revenant. 

Overall, I'm so here for Lily Gladstone's appreciation for her co-star's career, especially all those '90s movies, and I can't wait to see how her career flourishes, just like DiCaprio's did because of films like Titanic. 

If the cinematic landscape of 2023 were to be described as a buffet, I could say that I’ve been feasting since January. I make a goal every year to see as many new releases as I possibly can so that I have the best possible context to judge my favorites, and I managed to squeeze in 138 screenings in the last 12 months. Naturally, I ended up seeing a lot of movies that I didn’t like at all, but there was also more than enough greatness out there to make a challenge out of determining my Top 15.

It took a lot of thinking, taking into consideration many different factors, but as I look back on 2023, these are the titles that stand out as the best that I saw.

15. The Zone Of Interest

I heavily debated whether or not The Zone Of Interest would make my Top 15 list this year. Rewatchability is an element that is kept in heavy consideration when I sort out my favorites, and I can say with authority that I will not watch Jonathan Glazer’s latest film ever again. That being said, I’ve never had an upsetting cinematic experience on the level of what it delivers, and my inability to shake it deserves recognition. Any horror filmmaker will tell you that what’s not shown on screen is always more terrifying than what’s revealed, and The Zone Of Interest is 106 minutes of imagined nightmares conjured from simple train whistles and the distant popping of gunshots. It’s a painful watch, but one that is also so foreboding as a metaphor for the present that it demands to be viewed.

14. Perfect Days

Contentment is undervalued in an ambition hungry society, and that’s what makes Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days so beautiful. Kôji Yakusho's Hirayama has what many would consider to be an objectionable job – cleaning public toilets in Tokyo – but he is so at peace with the world that it doesn’t matter. Not only does he take pride in his work, but he finds satisfying joy in the simplicity of classic rock cassettes, photographing trees, and eating a nice meal at a familiar restaurant. It’s poetry and cinematic meditation that heals the soul.

13. Sanctuary

Without actually checking, I’d wager that the majority of the end-of-year lists I’ve written for CinemaBlend over the last decade-plus have featured at least one single setting drama/comedy where characters have to sort out their issues together while literally or metaphorically locked together in a space. Director Zachary Wigon’s Sanctuary scratched that itch for me in 2023. Christopher Abbott and Margaret Qualley make an incredible duo as a soon-to-be wealthy and powerful heir and the dominatrix who is desperate to stop him from severing their relationship. The cat-and-mouse games are thrilling and funny in equal measure, and it manages to successfully land on what seems from the outset would be the least likely conclusion to the narrative.

12. John Wick: Chapter 4

Truth be told, I am a John Wick fan who went into John Wick: Chapter 4 with a bit of dread. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is my least favorite movie in the series, and I largely attribute that to its length and it becoming a tad exhausting by the end. Chapter 4 is 38 minutes longer, but the difference is that it earns every second. The outrageous, bold set pieces orchestrated by the brilliant Chad Stahelski and his production teams all stand among the best in the franchise, and witnessing the skills of Donnie Yen is literally jaw-dropping.

11. Godzilla Minus One

In Takashi Yamazaki Godzilla Minus One, the presentation of the titular King of the Monsters is phenomenal. Not only do we get to see a cool evolution for the creature, as he goes from being as big as a house to as big as a skyscraper, but the terror he unleashes when he is on land hits like a truck. But that’s not what makes the film great. Instead, that’s the story of Ryunosuke Kamiki's Kōichi Shikishima and his search for redemption after shirking his mission as a kamikaze pilot. It’s impressive how emotional it is, and his relationship with Minami Hamabe’s Noriko Ōishi is one of 2023’s greatest cinematic romances.

10. Dream Scenario

Between the memes and his most over-the-top performances, it’s easy to forget that Nicolas Cage can deliver a tremendous turn when paired with the right material – but he’s been working to remind us in recent years, most notably in 2021 with Pig, and now with Dream Scenario. It’s a movie about public perception and one’s inability to control it, and Cage is remarkable as he rides the wave of fame that comes from first appearing in people’s dreams and then in their nightmares. With a demonstrated skill for capturing the surreal and blending comedy, horror and drama, writer/director Kristoffer Borgli instantly emerges as a talent to keep an eye on.

9. Anatomy Of A Fall

As someone who doesn’t watch legal dramas or police procedurals on television, I appreciate a well-made feature courtroom drama, and this year I saw two: William Friedkin’s The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (which just missed out on inclusion on this list), and Justine Triet’s tremendous Anatomy Of A Fall. In the latter, it’s fascinating by itself to witness trial proceedings in a foreign country, but what makes the movie special is both its gripping maintained mystery concerning the truth behind the crime, and its genius, natural approach to exposition. Enthralling details about the potential murder and the relationship between the victim and his wife, who is accused of murdering him, are slowly unveiled, and each revelation sucks you in deeper. Sandra Hüller delivers one of the best performances of 2023.

8. No One Will Save You

I knew I loved Brian Duffield’s No One Will Save You as soon as the end credits started to roll, appreciating its daring creative choices and the spectacular performance from star Kaitlyn Dever – but my appreciation for it grew stronger as my brain chewed on it. More than just being a rad home invasion thriller and a terrific use of classic grey aliens, it’s a superbly crafted meditation on grief that sees its protagonist progress through the five stages via her battles with extraterrestrials. Duffield shows no sign of a sophomore slump, and I hope it’s getting people to check out his stellar directorial debut, Spontaneous.

7. The Holdovers

After watching The Holdovers, one dominant thought that came to mind was, “Why have Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti not made five movies together at this point?” They’re obviously great independently, but they clearly evoke the best from each other – first demonstrated in Sideways and now once again 19 years later. Giamatti is genius as the principled, strict, lazy-eyed and malodorous Paul Hunham, but not to be overlooked are the incredible Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa. Together, they play three broken individuals who begin to find some emotional rehabilitation while trapped together at a private school during winter break, and their healing is magic.

6. May December

I love how hard it is to get a total grip on Todd Haynes’ May December. On the one hand, there’s the staggering dramatic work from Charles Melton as the mentally and emotionally stunted Joe Yoo – the victim of a stolen childhood. On the other hand, you have Juliane Moore’ Gracie staring into a refrigerator with concerns about hot dog quantity (amid a soap opera-esque musical cue) and Natalie Portman’s Elizabeth getting way too far into her craft while discussing acting with a class of high school students. You’d think that these tones would viciously clash, but they instead harmonize to make one of the most compelling, messed-up movies of 2023.

5. Talk To Me

As evidenced by both this list and my ranking of 2023’s best horror movies, this year was tremendous for terrifying original films, and the king of them all is Talk To Me. It has it all: a deeply considered mythology with creative iconography that serves as a smart metaphor, an amazing performance from an up-and-coming star in Sophie Wilde, and some of the most disturbing imagery that was projected in theaters over the last 12 months. The work of directors Danny and Michael Philippou suggests an exciting understanding of the genre, with instincts that lead them away from clichés, and I’m thrilled to see what they cook up for the announced Talk To Me 2.

4. Saltburn

There are few things more exciting for a cinephile than discovering a new filmmaker with sensibilities directly tuned into one’s own, and I felt that glorious feeling in my gut when first watching Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman – my #1 film in my Top 10 from 2020. In 2023, Saltburn has only affirmed my feelings. The shocking soulnessness of Rosamund Pike’s Elspeth Catton nicely sums up the pitch black comedy that Fennell aims for in her work, but the truth is that during my first watch, there was a big, dumb grin on my face through every diabolical twist and example of deviant behavior that the film had to offer. It’s deliciously fucked up, and that’s 100% my jam.

3. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

From Fast X to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning to Rebel Moon, this was a big year for the advancement of serialization in cinema, but of the many “Part 1s” that came out in the last 12 months, none fully satisfied like Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. There is certainly a lot more story to tell and a cliffhanger that requires conclusion, but I was blown away by Miles Morales’ scary first taste of independence and adulthood, and the growth we see in Gwen Stacy as she repairs her relationship with her father. It’s also the most visually dazzling film of the year and introduces one of my favorite big screen characters of 2023 (Daniel Kaluuya’s Hobie Brown a.k.a. Spider-Punk), so it’s really been a lock for my Top 5 since June.

2. Killers Of The Flower Moon

David Grann’s book Killers Of The Flower Moon is an objective view of history that unfolds akin to a whodunit. It presents the shocking details of the horrible crimes that occurred in the Osage Nation while painting a picture of life at the time and the extreme prejudices that were held against Native Americans. It’s a powerful work, but Martin Scorsese’s adaptation packs an even more forceful punch with its horrifying subjective perspective. Witnessing the cruelty, hate and disgusting brazenness of Robert De Niro’s William Hale and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart adds whole new layers to the murders that contradict the notions of the American Dream, and the striking visual beauty and intense ugliness create an incredible contrast that keeps you enraptured for the full 206 minutes.

1. Poor Things

First watching Dogtooth in 2010 and having my mind blown by the creative brilliance of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos, I never would have guessed that he would eventually find his perfect muse in Emma Stone… but here we are. The two conjured gilded wickedness together in 2018 with The Favourite, but with Poor Things they have mined a diamond. The strange tale of the Frankensteined Bella Baxter is as weird as it is empowering, as her innocence and naivety lead her down paths that are exciting, terrifying, heartbreaking and just about always super horny. It’s audacity is deliriously hard to fathom minute-to-minute (in the best way), and I can’t wait to watch it over and over again.

As evidenced by all of these excellent titles 2023 was another great year for film, and I look forward to seeing what the 2024 movie calendar has in store.

In 2023, the staff here at CinemaBlend watched a lot of movies. Between us all, we screened over 270 titles – with over 1,500 screenings/streams counted. We all have individual favorites from a wide variety of genres (as evidenced by our lists of the best action movies of 2023, the best horror movies of 2023, the best animated movies of 2023, the best comedies of 2023, the best sci-fi movies of 2023 and the best thrillers of 2023), but there are certain titles that we love as a collective, and that’s what this ranked feature represents.

Every year, we maintain a screening log where members of the CinemaBlend staff keep track of all the movies we’ve seen and rate them on a one (bad) to five (perfect) scale. Only features that have been watched by five or more members of our team qualify for consideration, and the average score is taken unweighted. When sorted, what we get is CinemaBlend’s ranked favorite films of the year, and below is our Top 25.

#25. May December

Average Score: 3.85/5

There were many incredible performances featured in movies of 2023, but three of the best can alone be found in Todd Haynes’ wild May December. Charles Melton is ultimately the brilliant standout as the emotionally stunted and manipulated Joe Yoo, but both Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore do phenomenal work as a pair of world-class manipulators that finds an ideal balance between sinister and comedic.

“Twenty-three years after Gracie (Julianne Moore) began a relationship with middle-schooler Joe Yoo (Charles Melton), Natalie Portman’s Elizabeth meets the family in May December to learn as much as she can about Gracie before portraying her in a movie about their scandalous ripped-from-the-headlines relationship. The plot is salacious, the performances award-worthy (Melton in particular is drawing a lot of praise) and the levels of manipulation and tragedy are hard to stop thinking about, making this not just one of the best Netflix movies of 2023 but one of the best movies of the year overall.” – Heidi Venable, Content Producer

#24. Polite Society

Average Score: 3.875/5

Nida Manzoor's Polite Society isn’t satisfied with merely being a killer action movie or a funny coming-of-age comedy: it succeeds at being both. There’s a tremendous earnestness and sweetness to the sibling relationship between Priya Kansara’s Ria Khan and Ritu Arya’s Lena Khan – the former being concerned about the latter’s blossoming romance/forthcoming wedding – and it’s amazing to see the film not be afraid of getting a bit silly when it comes Ria’s badass martial arts skills.

“There are plenty of coming-of-age films in existence, but Polite Society has a special style and charm. This delightful flick sees a British-Pakistani teen who dreams of being a stuntwoman get more than she bargained for when she tries to figure out why her older sister has suddenly given up her dreams in favor of marriage. Director Nida Manzoor tells a thrilling tale about loyalty, perseverance and sisterly love. The strong performances, pitch-perfect humor, well-choreographed fight sequences and sweet examination of Pakinstani culture make this a unique experience.” – Erik Swann, Senior Content Producer

#23. Priscilla

Average Score: 3.917/5

“Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla tells the other, lesser-known half of Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s story – focusing on the internal battle faced by the wife of The King (Jacob Elordi), especially when she was left alone as he gallivanted around the world. This film thrives on the introspective energy for which Coppola is known, combined with Cailee Spaeny’s breakthrough performance as Priscilla Presley. The A24 project works as a searing and beautiful juxtaposition to 2022’s Elvis, as it shows the story of a queen caught up in the ivory tower of Graceland.” – Riley Utley, Weekend Editor

“Priscilla is the perfect counterpart to 2022’s bodacious Elvis, and better yet, it provides the audience with a story in greater need of being explored. Witnessing Priscilia Presley’s personal life unfolding is an eye-opening experience that adds additional layers and depth to a persona that fans have always adored without venturing too far below the surface. Paired with excellent visuals, beautiful costume design, and an impeccable performance from Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla is among Sofia Coppola’s best films, and sends my emotions into a tailspin in the best way.” – Alexandra Ramos, Content Producer.

#22. Dream Scenario

Average Score: 3.917/5

There’s only so much control a person has when it comes to their own public perception, and that idea is explored brilliantly in writer/director Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario. The film does an excellent job capturing the full and wild complexity of its central premise, with protagonist Paul Matthews unwittingly just showing up in random people’s dreams and nightmares, and two years removed from the excellent Pig, Nicolas Cage delivers yet another stellar turn that stands among the best of his career.

“Let’s admit it: We all dream about Nicolas Cage, all of the time. Well, I at least dream of Cage landing in ideal roles like the one he plays in Kristoffer Borgli dark, surreal Dream Scenario, which casts Cage as a forgettable wallflower who learns that he’s been turning up in everyone’s dreams. Cage thrives when asked to play eccentric weirdos, especially when he’s matched with a storyteller who can continuously raise the bar of unpredictability the way that Borgli does. Don’t sleep on Dream Scenario; it’s Cage at his wackiest.” – Sean O'Connell, Managing Editor

#21. Rye Lane

Average Score: 3.929/5

“Charming” is a word that immediately charges to mind when one thinks about director Raine Allen-Miller’s Rye Lane. Audiences don’t exactly get to spend a great deal of time with David Jonsson’s Dom and Vivian Oparah’s Yas, with the movie taking place over a single day, but that proves to be more than enough time for us to fall in love with them (as they fall in love with each other). The movie is equal parts funny, dramatic, and sweet, and it leaves you with a wonderful warm feeling as the credits end.

“Rye Lane is easily one of the best rom-coms of the year, and it’s unlike any other. The story follows Dom and Yas on one eventful day right after they both get cheated on. From record stealing to karaoke to a really awkward dinner, this film from Raine Allen Miller is a delightful candy-colored time filled with dry humor and lots of heart. David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah’s chemistry bursts off the screen as the lead couple, and it’s impossible to tear your eyes away from the screen as these two fall out of love with their exes and in love with each other.” – Riley Utley, Weekend Editor

#20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Average Score: 3.933/5

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has been beloved for decades, but fans have never seen anything quite like Mutant Mayhem, which is a remarkable success. The movie seemingly learned all of the right lessons from the outrageous animation of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and ends up being a special mix of ugly and gorgeous – a perfect level to strike for a film about a group of mutated, sewer-dwelling protagonists. And not only is it wonderful to simply visually absorb, it’s also one of the funniest films of 2023.

“I never would have guessed when I was repeatedly binge watching the first three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies as a child that it would take another 30+ years for my absolute favorite film from the TMNT universe to be created. Not unlike what we’ve recently seen with the Spider-verse films, the animation is at a level that blew my mind and that I didn’t believe was possible. From the plot to the jokes and even the character development, Mutant Mayhem has some real turtle power.” – Cody Beck, Director Of Product

#19. Rustin

Average Score: 4/5

You may not be aware of Bayard Rustin, a man seemingly deemed too controversial for history textbooks, but in that way, George C. Wolfe’s Rustin is revelatory, as it shines a spectacular light on an unappreciated hero of the Civil Rights Movement. Colman Domingo’s turn as the titular activist is one of the best of the year – unbridled and beautiful in equal measure – and the man’s depicted efforts to organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is ceaselessly compelling.

“Films occasionally fix injustices, and Rustin marks one of those occasions. George C. Wolfe, Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black create an uplifting and transformative Civil Rights movie. It powerfully and entertainingly teaches audiences about the hero who Bayard Rustin was. Colman Domingo has always been a force, but Rustin allows him to take the spotlight he so rightfully deserves. The fantastic performances, interesting storytelling techniques and the encapsulating and moving narrative make this one of the best movies of 2023.” – Jerrica Tisdale, Freelance Writer

#18. Theater Camp

Average Score: 4.038/5

In a year with big studio musicals like Wonka and The Color Purple, Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s Theater Camp is the title that spoke most to the genre lovers on the CinemaBlend staff in 2023. It makes fun use of the mockumentary format, delivers silly-yet-grounded conflict, and features a number of impressive vocal performances.

“Theater Camp is made for theater kids, by theater kids, which is why it’s such a spot-on fantastic comedy. Directors Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman help imbue the film with the energy of beloved improvised riots like Best in Show, and it capitalizes on its casts’ comedic and theatrical talents, with standout performances from Noah Galvin, Ben Platt, Ayo Edebiri and Gordon. Throw in some legitimately incredible musical numbers, and you have a niche and hilarious experience worthy of a Tony (yes, a Tony).” – Riley Utley, Weekend Editor

#17. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Average Score: 4.071/5

Thanks to his work on screens big and small as well as his incredible efforts as an activist, you may think that you know Michael J. Fox, but Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie proves otherwise. Witnessing both the horrors of Parkinson’s Disease and the fortitude of Fox’s spirit are breathtaking to behold, and the work of director Davis Guggenheim and editor Michael Harte exploring and representing the actor’s personal life with his film and television work is brilliant.

“Whether you grew up watching Michael J. Fox in Family Ties, Back to the Future and other classics, or you developed an appreciation for his work in the years since, there’s no denying he’s one of a kind. Narrated by Fox and featuring footage from his past work, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie takes audiences through key moments across his life, including his incredible career as an actor, as a family man, and as someone diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Thanks largely to Fox’s candidness, humor and charm – both as subject and narrator – the documentary is insightful, nostalgic and genuinely inspiring.” – Kelly West, Asst. Managing Editor

#16. No One Will Save You

Average Score: 4.091/5

If Kaitlyn Dever being a phenomenal talent is a secret, it’s an open one, as she has been delivering remarkable performances for years now – but No One Will Save You is her best work yet. She only has one line of dialogue (which never feels like a gimmick within the high concept plot), and that just helps you register her next level capacity for emotional expression. It’s both awesome sci-fi and terrifying horror, and you’re going to find it on a lot of CinemaBlend’s Best of 2023 lists.

“No One Will Save You is an instant horror classic. Written and directed by Brian Duffield, the movie begins as a standard house invasion horror flick, but Kaitlyn Dever's protagonist Brynn soon discovers that she's not being robbed, and that the intruders are actually deadly humanoid aliens. Tension expertly builds throughout the movie's runtime, with Dever offering an outstanding performance with almost no dialogue.” – Corey Chichizola, Movies Editor

#15. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

Average Score: 4.125/5

To think that we almost didn’t get James Gunn’s vision for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a wild thing to think about in light of the fact that there is an argument to be made that it’s the best trilogy closer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The unconventional, flashback-heavy structure delivers the heart-wrenching story of Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon, and the artistry and accomplishments with the digital character are extraordinary. It’s a beautiful, funny and passionate blockbuster that further proves nobody makes comic book movies like Gunn does.

“The two previous Guardians of the Galaxy movies are among my favorites in the MCU, so the expectations were set high for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. I wanted a satisfying conclusion to this emotional trilogy. I needed these damaged souls to find closure. And, of course, I also wanted a fun and exciting science fiction superhero adventure. Somehow James Gunn and his band of miscreants stuck the landing. Vol. 3 is everything it needs to be and more. It's a great movie on its own, but also a wonderful ending to a beautiful three-film story.” – Dirk Libbey, Content Producer

#14. The Holdovers

Average Score: 4.143/5

On a certain level, The Holdovers is frustrating. After all, it’s been nearly 20 years since the release of Sideways, and the new film demonstrates that writer/director Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti are a match made in heaven. It’s a simple movie, but one that manages to surprise nonetheless, and Giamatti’s career-best performance is matched by a tremendous wprl from Da'Vine Joy Randolph and a turn that is going to make Dominic Sessa an instant star.

“With the most Paul Giamatti role that ever Paul Giamatti-ed, The Holdovers could have just been a vehicle for its star's individual greatness. Instead, it's a beautiful and moving ensemble that also features fantastic performances from Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa. Their fully realized characters feel so authentic, which is what makes their struggles to become newer versions of themselves so relatable. I loved it. You will too.” – Mack Rawden, Editor In Chief

#13. Talk To Me

Average Score: 4.192/5

Talk To Me marks one of the most exciting directorial debuts in the genre in recent years, along with Jordan Peele, Ari Aster and Jennifer Kent. As possession becomes a metaphor for party drugs, some remarkable scares and brutality are unleashed – including some images that have remained tattooed on our eyelids since first seeing the film in July.

“Horror has been experiencing a renaissance for years now, and A24 emerged as the prime studio for new, thrilling genre efforts – with Danny and Michael Philippou's Talk to Me a prime example. One of the most chilling horror flicks of the year follows a group of teenagers who are in possession of a creepy embalmed hand that allows spirits to temporarily possess others' bodies, as displayed in a variety of chilling sequences. But practicing the occult casually gets the characters into deep, existential trouble, and viewers are taken on a dark ride to the final gut-punch of Talk to Me's twist ending, which has no doubt inspired horror fans to repeatedly re-watch the movie.” Corey Chichizola, Movies Editor

#12. The Iron Claw

Average Score: 4.25/5

“If professional wrestling was treated with the reverence that writer/director Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw trades in, I’d have probably grown up as a loyal fan. The biographical drama covers the ebbs and flows of the Von Erich family dynasty with tenderness and humanity, rejecting the overblown tendencies biopics lean on to heighten drama. Through an ensemble cast that boasts the likes of Jeremy Allen White, Holt McCallany, and Maura Tierney, a saga of family triumph and tragedy is given awesome form – but perhaps most impressive is the performance from Zac Efron, which not only delivers extreme physicality, but also stoically anchors the entire tale.” – Mike Reyes, Senior Movies Contributor

“In a year full of great biopics, none managed to rock me to my core – not even Oppenhiemer – like The Iron Claw, which easily succeeds as one of the best A24 movies yet. The film focuses on the Von Erichs, from their success in the wrestling ring to their struggles with tragedy outside of it, featuring a career-defining performance by Zac Efron and equally impressive turns from Jeremy Allen White, Lily James, and others. With The Iron Claw, Sean Durkin crafts a moving, devastating, but overall inspiring tribute to one of wrestling's most famous families.” – Jason Wiese, Content Producer

#11. Killers Of The Flower Moon

Average Score: 4.278/5

There’s an idea that money equates to power in American society, but Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon is powerful cinema that unveils how the horrors of racism wholly undermine that clichéd notion. The unabashed greed and hate represented is a punch to the chest, and witnessing full depths of evil in the true crime story from the point of view of the monsters who committed the acts is chilling.

“Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is a grueling, expansive, and exhilarating thriller that examines the banality of evil and how power, greed, and self-righteous ideologies can corrupt one group and cause so much pain to another. Brilliant performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and standout Lily Gladstone, who is the heart and soul of this three-and-a-half hour epic, make this one of Scorsese’s best in recent memory. It’ll break your heart, it’ll make you laugh, but most of all, it sheds light on one of America’s darkest chapters.” – Philip Sledge, Content Producer

#10. John Wick: Chapter 4

Average Score: 4.294/5

Just how much more can Keanu Reeves’ John Wick endure? That was a reasonable question to ask going into John Wick: Chapter 4, and it’s jaw-dropping to witness the answer. Not only does the movie feature spectacular set pieces and introduce the franchise’s best side character (Donnie Yen’s Caine), it delivers an ending so perfect that one hopes it will be able to live as the epic series’ conclusion.

“Rarely has an action series consistently improved on itself with each installment and revolutionized the genre as a whole like director Chad Stahelski's epic John Wick saga. After seeing Keanu Reeves' fourth outing as the vengeful, dog-loving assassin, it feels safe to call John Wick is the greatest action franchise of all time. John Wick: Chapter 4 is easily the series' best in my eyes, with a breakneck pace that serves its three-hour runtime beautifully; a complex and truly sinister villain played by Bill Skarsgård; and the franchise's most gorgeously constructed and exhilarating fight sequences yet.” – Jason Wiese, Content Producer

#9. Nimona

Average Score: 4.3/5

Tradition can be a dangerous thing – particularly if it serves to blind people to historic horrors or arrest natural progression in society. Brought to life with stunning design and animation, Nimona is a wonderful expression of this lesson. Riz Ahmed's Ballister Boldheart and Chloë Grace Moretz’s titular shape-changer make one of 2023’s best cinematic duos, and the story’s narrative twists are dazzling to behold.

“Nimona is a miracle of a movie not just because it’s downright entertaining, but also because it nearly didn’t get finished due to Blue Sky Studios’ closure. This beautifully animated and well-voice-acted feature is set in a medieval-futuristic kingdom and tells the story of a knight who, after being framed for murder, must team up with an unpredictable shapeshifter to clear his name. This film skillfully blends action, humor and honest sentiment to produce a story about a unique and endearing friendship. It feels like an old-school flick with some new-school sensibilities, and that combination makes it refreshing.” – Erik Swann, Senior Content Producer

#8. The Boy And The Heron

Average Score: 4.333/5

“It’s been a decade since legendary animation filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement, so I’m completely overjoyed he has graced us with a new, great masterpiece in The Boy And The Heron. While it’s a return to form in many ways – from visually-striking landscapes, to mouth-watering food moments, to beloved magical little guys – it’s so much more than a nostalgia trip. It’s a complex meditation on grief for both the one’s we love most and the nature of our existence on Earth, unfolding as a sweeping adventure into a realm between space and time. It's a gorgeous, captivating and comforting new favorite of mine.” – Sarah El-Mahmoud, Staff Writer

“Whimsical and heartwarming are two words that commonly are used to describe films that come from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. While these are accurate, they do not do justice to the beauty and heart of The Boy and the Heron. Fans will recognize the layered style of storytelling that breaks your heart and still give you hope for better things. Miyazaki touches on grief, growing up, family (both the one you’re born into and the one that you make), and finding hope where it looks like there isn’t any. Additionally, there are some bright and funny moments, which rounds out the story as a whole.” – Tiffney Carter, Social Media Editor

#7. Barbie

Average Score: 4.346/5

From the moment that Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were first spotted in full costume while filming on location, Barbie looked like it was going to be something special, and it delivers on every ounce of its promise. Greta Gerwig does masterful work balancing a silly comedy based on a doll line with messages about feminism and the patriarchy, and it has one of the best final lines of 2023.

“Barbie arrived in theaters in a blaze of pink, and the Margot Robbie-led movie broke records to become the highest-grossing film of 2023. The project is much more than just bright colors and box office wins, however, with Greta Gerwig directing a heartfelt film that swerves from silly to sad to surprisingly musical from scene to scene. I never knew that I needed a movie that could impart powerful messages (with the help of supporting performances by America Ferrera and the scene-stealing Ryan Gosling as Ken in particular) while also dropping a joke about Barbie, fascism, and Benito Mussolini, but Barbie delivers.” – Laura Hurley, Senior Content Producer

#6. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Average Score: 4.429/5

“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour wasn’t just a movie — it was a whole event. Audiences transformed theaters into raucous concert venues as they danced in the aisles and exchanged friendship bracelets with fellow Swifties. And as Taylor Swift walks fans through her discography on screen, it’s impossible not to appreciate how she’s grown and evolved as an artist over the past 17 years. After such a unique moviegoing experience, it’s not hard to see why this is the most successful concert film in history.” – Heidi Venable, Content Producer

“There's concerts... and then there's Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Amidst the phenomenon of an artist touring across the globe with a nonstop three-and-a-half hour show, Taylor Swift immortalized her biggest year yet with an even more impressive showcase of her larger-than-life powers with the Eras Tour movie. From flexing her muscles to ‘The Man’ to commanding all ten heart-wrenching minutes of "All Too Well," this big-screen experience proves once and for all that Taylor Swift has nothing to prove; she's an artist of a generation and this jaw-dropping concert film is bejeweled pop star bliss. – Sarah El-Mahmoud, Staff Writer

#5. Poor Things

Average Score: 4.45/5

It feels like it was only yesterday that Emma Stone was capturing our hearts as the lovable Jules in Superbad, but it’s remarkable to see the talent that she has become. She delivers one of the wildest and boldest performances of the year as the Frankenstein-ed Bella Baxter, and her bizarre coming of age is the perfect blend of enlightening and odd.

“Billed as a Frankenstein narrative, Poor Things offers so much more than a family monster tale. Its whimsical scenescapes, absurd comedy, tender-yet-horny moments, and its commentary on societal restraints all make it one of the standouts of 2023. Emma Stone is truly weird and wonderful, but shoutouts should also go to Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Suzy Bemba, Ramy Yousseff, Kathryn Hunter and more. It’s an oddball movie that may polarize some, but should just as equally land ripe on many top 10 lists.” – Jessica Rawden, Managing Editor

#4. Oppenheimer

Average Score: 4.452/5

Cinema can be a powerful tool in reflecting upon the darkness of history, and we saw that exhibited in devastating fashion this year with both Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. The latter is a gripping drama about one of the most important people in human history as he goes from trying to save the world to realizing he may have ended it – and the devastating journey is captured with immense energy by one of Hollywood’s few remaining auteurs.

“Whenever anyone talks about why Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is so impressive, the usual suspects come out to play. It’s visually stunning, Nolan’s dedication to practical effects shines through, and the insanely talented cast doesn’t miss a beat in their performances. But when I think about why I love this movie so much, it comes down to Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer. It enlightens us about the past, while hoping we can use its lessons to create a better future for us all.” – Mike Reyes, Senior Movies Contributor

#3. Past Lives

Average Score: 4.688/5

Life is long and full of diverse and interesting chapters, and Celine Song’s Past Lives is a gorgeous cinematic representation of that idea. It’s a romantic drama that’s anything but formulaic, as its setup with an emotional love triangle manages to avoid clichés at every turn and become something fresh and soul-touching.

“Past Lives irrevocably broke me in the best way possible. The best way to watch Past Lives is to go into it blind as I did, because what you expect it to be is nowhere near what it actually is: a painful story about missed opportunities, finding contentment, and learning to love both the past and the present. Greta Lee gives a captivating performance and shares perfect chemistry with both Teo Yoo and John Magaro. Celine Song’s directorial debut knocks it out of the park, and A24 struck gold with this heartbreaking drama.” – Alexandra Ramos, Content Producer

#2. Godzilla Minus One

Average Score: 4.75/5

In a year when many mega-blockbusters fell on their face, Godzilla Minus One is a breath of fresh air. It was made without an extraordinary budget, but it feels as epic as any of the nine-figure titles that we’ve seen from the franchise, and the King of the Monsters has rarely felt more dangerous. The secret weapon, however, is the film’s dedication to its human character – who we desperately want to see survive the seemingly ceaseless onslaught of terror they face during World War II and its aftermath.

“Godzilla has been rampaging across silver screens for nearly 70 years, so it’s hard to make each new entry stand out from the previous movies. Thankfully, Godzilla Minus One more than accomplishes this goal, not only featuring plenty of tense and thrilling action centered on the titular monster, but also depicting many compelling human characters in post-World War II Japan, with Ryunosuke Kamiki's Kōichi Shikishima and the exploration of his trauma being the primary focus. There’s a good reason why so many consider this to be the best Godzilla movie yet, and it may end up holding that title for a long time.” – Adam Holmes, Senior Content Producer

#1. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Average Score: 4.880/5

In a year full of “Part 1s,” none dazzled quite like Spider-Man: Across The Universe, which received 20 perfect “5” scores from the 24 members of the CinemaBlend staff who watched it. The animation is dazzling, with Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk being one of the most impressively designed characters in memory, and the sheer depths of both the narratives and heroes are spellbinding.

“The list of sequels that successfully surpass their predecessor is relatively short, but Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse belongs on it – which is impressive, given how revolutionary, boundary-pushing and entertaining Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is. A fresh directing team brings significant innovation to the world-building within this movie’s multiverse, but the film also keeps focus on Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and those he cares about. Every new realm we visit boasts a creative visual landscape, leading up to an explosion of clever Spider-Man references and gags in the movie’s action-packed third act. It’s one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made.” – Sean O'Connell, Managing Editor

For a look at the year ahead, check out our 2024 Movie Release Calendar.

Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is an absolute tour de force, a movie with an intimidating runtime that will be nominated in most if not all of the major categories at the 96th Academy Awards. The book-to-screen adaptation of David Grann’s enthralling non-fiction work that detailing the Osage Murders and the birth of the FBI left no stone unturned in its retelling of the cruel and vicious killings. The same is also true in regard to its exploration of the Native American tribe at the heart of its story.

While you wait for Killers of the Flower Moon to eventually join Apple TV+'s best movies on the streaming platform, now is as good time as any to watch a handful of documentaries that shed light on both the Osage Murders as well as other aspects of Native American history and culture. These seven films shed light on the rich cultures of the various tribes and their respective places in American history. So let's talk these out.

Osage Murders (2022)

Though rather short (it’s barely 13 minutes long), the documentary titled Osage Murders, provides an incredibly detailed and thorough dive into the systematic killings of wealthy members of the Native American tribe in the early 20th century. Directed by Dan Bigbee Jr., it focuses on the real-life events that would later appear in Killers of the Flower Moon, including the harrowing explosion at the Smith home in Fairfax. 

There's a keen focus on the prominent families who made up the Osage population in the Oklahoma town as well as their history, culture and tragic deaths, which were the basis for Martin Scorsese’s crime epic. This insightful and well-made short film is a tremendous watch for those captivated by Scorsese's latest and want to learn more about the stories that inspired it.

Stream Osage Murders on PBS.

Native America (2018 - 2023)

While Osage Murders mostly focuses on a single topic, the PBS docuseries Native America has a much larger scope and spends a considerably larger amount of time detailing practically every aspect of the American Indian experience dating back centuries. With episodes exploring the vast kingdoms and empires spread across the Americas to more modern times, it's next to impossible to come out of this experience not knowing more than you did going in. 

If you're in search of a better understanding of Native American tribes and want greater context for the events depicted in Flower Moon, there are few better documentary series worth checking out.

Stream Native America on PBS.
Buy Native America on Amazon.

American Experience: We Shall Remain (2009)

Since its debut in 1988, PBS’ American Experience series has spent countless hours telling all kinds of stories about important and interesting events and people from the nation’s storied history That's included everything from the Civil Rights Movement to various military conflicts to pop culture. In 2009, the producers of the program turned their attention to Native American history with the multi-part series subtitled We Shall Remain.

Throughout five episodes ranging from 60 to 90 minutes in length each, this outstanding exploration of the Native American experience dives into the history and culture of various tribes that have all called the North American continent home. Starting in the 17 century and going to the American Indian Movement’s last stand at Wounded Knee in 1973, the series focuses on the triumphs and tragedies of America’s first inhabitants and what they’ve faced over the years.

Stream American Experience: We Shall Remain on Hoopla.
Stream American Experience: We Shall Remain on PBS.
Buy American Experience: We Shall Remain on Amazon.

The American Buffalo (2023)

If you are a fan of Ken Burns’ various documentaries like The Ninth Inning, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, The War and The Civil War, then the decorated documentarian’s 2023 effort, The American Buffalo, is worthy of a watch (if you haven’t already). Though its primary focus is on the buffalo throughout this three-part film, it also spends a large portion of its runtime discussing the interconnectedness of the animal and various Native American tribes.

The project details the symbiotic relationship of animal and man and the way in which American Indians honored the beast that sustained them for years. There's also focus placed on how the arrival of American business interests put both man and animal in jeopardy. All in all, the film provides greater context for Martin Scorsese’s sprawling epic of greed and evil.

Stream The American Buffalo on PBS.
Buy The American Buffalo on Amazon.

Reel Injun (2010)

Directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, and Jeremiah Hayes, the 2009 documentary, Reel Injun, chronicles the portrayal of Native people in various Hollywood movies. Through extensive interviews with filmmakers and actors like Graham Greene, Clint Eastwood, and several others, the documentary pieces together how depictions of Native tribes, have changed over the years. Films like Flower Moon flipping the narrative, allowing for more realistic portrayals that are representative of the people as opposed to having White men in makeup using terrible accents.

This is a particularly interesting documentary to check out after the 2023 new movie release for several reasons. First, it’s fascinating to see how depictions of Native people have evolved to what we saw in Martin Scorsese’s movie and, secondly, this production features interviews with the late Robbie Robertson, the former member of The Band and Scorsese’s longtime collaborator, who scored the new film.

Stream Reel Injun on Prime Video.
Stream Reel Injun on Tubi.

America's Hidden Stories (2019 - 2023)

The Smithsonian Channel’s America’s Hidden Stories series has spent three seasons diving into historical events and people who don’t seem to get enough attention as those with more well-known stories. The show’s third season opens with “The Osage Murders,” a documentary directed by late filmmaker David Bishop that detailed the reign of terror depicted in Killers.

David Bishop, a member of the Osage tribe who passed away a few weeks before the documentary aired, uses his time to explore the dark period in the reservation’s history. He also dives into his own family’s journey through extensive interviews and a visit to the land. This is a historical and personal account worth watching.

Buy America’s Hidden Stories on Amazon.

What Was Ours (2016)

Mat Hames’ 2017 documentary film, What Was Ours, follows a group of Native Americans as they travel to the Field Museum in Chicago in hopes of finding artifacts taken from Shoshone and Arapaho tribes in Wyoming years earlier. These ancestral items, like the journey to find them, teach the documentary’s subjects about their history and themselves along the way.

Far more personal and introspective than other documentaries on this list, What Was Ours still focuses on the big picture of Native history and culture, as well as the steps taken to preserve it for future generations.

Stream What Was Ours on Prime Video.

Just like Killers of the Flower Moon and its great depictions of Native American characters, these seven documentaries do a fantastic job of telling the story of Native people, their history and their culture. And while we don’t yet know when Martin Scorsese’s movies will be streaming for those with Apple TV+ subscriptions, these non-fiction series and films are more than enough to hold viewers over.

One of the most powerful performances among the 2023 new movie releases is Lily Gladstone’s role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. In the award contender, the actress plays Mollie Burkhart, a member of Oklahoma’s Osage community that owned lucrative oil headrights. In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Mollie’s husband, Ernest Burkhart, who became the center of a series of murders of the Osage people. Gladstone spoke about how with DiCaprio’s role, the actor helped bring a more authentic depiction of these historical events to life. 

Before Killers Of The Flower Moon started captivating audiences on the big screen when it hit theaters last month, the film adaptation of David Grann’s novel had been in the works since 2016. During the production process, a lot reportedly changed script-wise. I reported back in 2021 that DiCaprio had switched roles during development, and Gladstone spoke to this when she took the stage at Variety’s Power of Women event. As she shared: 

Lily Gladstone was one of the distinguished honorees at the event held at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles, California. Along with Variety also awarding big names such as Billie Eilish and Margot Robbie, Gladstone took the stage to speak about the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. She continued to praise DiCaprio’s role in Killers Of The Flower Moon, saying this: 

FBI agent Tom White was ultimately played by Jesse Plemons, who is getting plenty of praise for his performance, but as a secondary character in Killers of the Flower Moon. Rather than centering the movie on the FBI’s investigation, Scorsese’s over three-hour epic focuses primarily on the inside job of sorts Ernest Burkhart commits after marrying the Osage woman. Gladstone continued: 

CinemaBlend’s own Killers Of The Flower Moon review gave the movie a perfect five out of five, saying it was under strong contention to be the “best movie of the year.” Critics have widely celebrated Scorsese’s latest as well, and it’s widely expected the movie will be a major Academy Awards contender during the 2024 award show. During the event, as DiCaprio stood off to the side, Gladstone spoke to the actor, saying this: 

You can experience DiCaprio and Gladstone’s affecting performances in Killers Of The Flower Moon, now playing in theaters. 

It was a dreadfully slow weekend at the theater, with no major blockbusters on the slate after Dune: Part Two had its premiere delayed to 2024. Instead, Blumhouse’s video game adaptation, Five Nights at Freddy’s, was able to maintain its animatronic hold on the box office, winning the No. 1 spot despite a huge (and anticipated) drop-off from its opening weekend haul. In fact, the top three remained unchanged, with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Killers of the Flower Moon taking silver and bronze, respectively. While the titles may have stayed the same, the dollar amounts earned in the U.S. and Canada fell by half. 

There was some good news, however, for a couple of new movies, so take a look at the chart below, and then we’ll get into some analysis.

Five Nights At Freddy’s Simultaneous Theatrical/Streaming Release Causes Huge Decline In Week 2 Ticket Sales 

Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Five Nights at Freddy’s may have prevailed as the hottest ticket this weekend, but it’s hard not to see its simultaneous release to streaming as a missed opportunity. After a domestic opening of $78 million, earnings fell a steep 76 percent in its sophomore weekend to just $19.4 million, per The Numbers — a dive that our own Eric Eisenberg saw coming a mile away when he wrote about it following FNAF’s big box office debut. 

Despite less-than-enthusiastic reviews for Blumhouse's latest, the loyal fanbase of Scott Cawthon’s brainchild — brought to the big screen by Emma Tammi — thought the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was great. So while there’s no way to tell how many of those die-hard fans opted to stay home on opening weekend and enjoy the film via their Peacock subscription, the most recent numbers seem to indicate pretty strongly that’s what happened on Week 2. 

In addition to not drawing in first-time viewers, my guess is that this is a fanbase that would have likely been game for repeat screenings at the theater, but they are instead opting for the convenience of streaming at home. However, the box office’s loss is Peacock’s gain, as it took less than a week for Freddy’s to become the streamer’s most watched title of all time, according to NBC. 

All the wins FNAF has seen might be enough to keep Blumhouse execs from wondering “what if” regarding how much money they left on the table with the Peacock release. The movie cost only $20 million to make, and when adding in international numbers, it’s already made a worldwide total of $217.1 million through two weeks — second in 2023 horror offerings only to The Nun II, which stands at $265.8 million. 

It’s also possible that the streaming release may not be fully responsible for the 76 percent dip. Horror movies traditionally take a hit on the weekend after Halloween.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Stays Strong In Possibly Its Final Weekend, But Killers Of The Flower Moon Appears To Be In Trouble 

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour saw only a small dip in its Week 4 numbers, as Swifties continue to make their friendship bracelets and show up for the concert experience. Ticket sales fell just 13 percent to bring in another $13.5 million domestically (which is quite fitting since, as any Swiftie can tell you, 13 is the music icon’s favorite number). This marks the end of the concert film’s announced four-weekend run, so we’ll expect to see a decline here next week.

Globally, the movie stands at 19th overall for 2023 releases (just one spot ahead of Five Nights at Freddy’s) with $231.1 million. The Eras Tour became the most successful concert film of all time, more than doubling the earnings of the previous record holder, 2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. I’m excited to see what Beyoncé can do to keep this genre growing, with her Renaissance concert film due in theaters December 1.

Meanwhile, the latest offering from Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon, earned another $7 million in the United States and Canada on its third weekend. The film previously dropped 61 percent in the weekend following its debut, so this week’s 25 percent decline is much more palatable. However, with just $52.3 million domestically and $119.1 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo, it doesn’t appear that Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro are going to be able to make up the reported $200 million spent in production. 

Priscilla Exceeds Expectations On Wide Release, And Sundance Award-Winner Radical Is Off To A Surprising Start 

Cailee Spaeny impressed the critics with her portrayal of Elvis Presley’s wife in Priscilla and, while its first wide-release weekend wasn’t quite enough to crack the top 3, I don’t think anybody’s complaining about fourth place. The biopic, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, brought in $5 million domestically, exceeding what was expected. In addition to the positive reviews, it didn’t hurt that A24’s name was attached to the project, as the studio has put out some of the most innovative and thought-provoking films of the past decade.

The Mexican dramedy Radical also can claim bragging rights in its opening weekend, making $2.7 million and sneaking into the top 5 — a rare occurrence for a Spanish-language film. The earnings are especially impressive when you consider that the movie was shown in only 419 theaters. Anticipation for the movie likely grew after it won the Festival Favorite Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The movie stars Eugenio Derbez as a teacher whose out-of-the-box teaching methods inspire his sixth-graders and help them achieve their full potential.

The decision to push Dune: Part Two to next year made for a pretty slow weekend at the box office. Stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya and other members of Dune 2’s all-star cast are considered integral to the success of the sci-fi sequel, and with the SAG-AFTRA strike ongoing, Warner Bros. made the call to wait until they can help promote the film. However, hopefully things will pick up at movie theaters long before then, as there are still plenty of new titles to come on the 2023 movie release schedule. 

Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Cera will hit the big screen next week, along with The Marvels, so be sure to check back here next Sunday for more Box Office analysis. 

After Brendan Fraser joined the list of 2023 Oscar winners for his acclaimed performance in The Whale, he continued The Brenaissance by appearing in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon as the lawyer of Robert De Niro’s character. However, despite the historical drama’s incredible reviews, some are criticizing The Mummy star’s performance in the film. Now, the director has defended the actor while speaking about their movie, and I really hope his kind words put an end to this debate. 

Criticism surrounding Fraser’s performance as lawyer W.S. Hamilton stems from people calling it “baffling,” and claiming that it feels “cartoonish,” per Lad Bible. While some found his role in the movie over the top, many came to the actor’s defense, including Scorsese, who said:

Fraser appears in the scene where DiCaprio's cheracter Ernest takes the stand to testify against his uncle (who is played by Robert DeNiro). The 2023 Best Actor Oscar winner plays the lawyer defending De Niro’s character, and he works really hard to clear the man’s name, despite him being 100% guilty. As the director said, The Whale star “brought the whole scene down on Leo,” and added intensity to it. To this, Martin Scorsese explained why he felt the performer was a good choice for the role of the defender, saying:

It’s hard to argue with Martin Scorsese’s high praise. He’s worked with the best of the best, and hearing him speak so highly of Brendan Fraser shows just how talented the actor is. However, to many of us that talent has been clear for a long time, and these kind words from the director are simply an added bonus, and enough to put this debate about Fraser’s performance to rest. 

Killers of the Flower Moon is a captivating big-screen experience, and Fraser’s character (and his acting choices) add intensity to the climactic scene where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character testifies against De Niro’s. He’s commanding and loud, and it adds a new dynamic to the film. Honestly, I don’t see why people felt the need to criticize the Academy Award-winning actor and his performance. To me, he was giving the same level of commitment as the leads of the film, and he fit right in. Clearly, Martin Scorsese agrees with this notion too.  

If you want to go see the film that will likely be among some of Apple TV+’s best movies, you can currently catch Killers of the Flowers Moon in theaters. It will also be available through an Apple TV+ subscription in the near future. 

I know it’s not just me that’s noticed big movies are getting longer. In the recent words of the great Alexander Payne: “There are too many damn long movies these days.” I think about sitting down for all 180 minutes of Oppenheimer, 182 minutes of Avengers: Endgame and 192 minutes of Avatar: The Way of Water, and that’s over nine hours of my life to think about. So when I took a gander at the runtime of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which is an epic 206 minutes long, I was very much intimidated about being in a theater for all that time. 

As a movie buff and a professional who reports on the film industry for a living, despite the runtime slump of Killers of the Flower Moon, I decided to stick it out and go to the dang thing. Goodness knows I’m not going to be able to focus on it at home once it reaches Apple TV+. Also, I was really interested in seeing the story, which based a nonfiction crime book come to life through the filmmaker’s perspective, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone as the stars. While I was not stoked for the runtime going in, I need to share my thoughts about my experience after taking it in. 

Generally, I’m Not A Fan Of Long Movies

I’m a big fan of movies that don’t overstay their welcome. Oftentimes I think when directors come out with overlong runtimes, they need to put their egos aside and learn to edit themselves rather than keeping audiences hostage for longer than one needs to. Now, Martin Scorsese defended the Killers of the Flower Moon runtime when he shared that people often sit in front of the TV for that long, and thus should be able to "give cinema some respect."

But when it comes to being in a movie theater, where it's likely I’m going to need to use the bathroom within three hours (as someone who hydrates like they are supposed to), get hungry or get bad luck and be seated next to someone annoying, it's really not the same as being at home. If theaters and filmmakers reinstated intermissions, however, I’m happy to withdraw most of what I just said. 

How Killers Of The Flower Moon Commanded My Attention

When I sat down for a 6 p.m. screening with my popcorn and drink, as soon as it began, I noticed myself thinking about the runtime and getting worried if I’d regret my evening plans. But I was easily swept up in the storytelling that takes audiences back to 1920s Oklahoma at a time when the Osage Nation were wealthy people following the discovery of oil under their land. 

I have not read the book the movie was based on, and thus was not necessarily familiar with this point in history where indigenous people in the United States held power and wealth. I was immediately drawn into learning about it, and Scorsese masterfully found a way to immerse one in that history while also developing an intriguing cast of characters. Once the setting was established, the first scene with DiCaprio’s Earnest and De Niro’s William Hale introduced a dynamic between family members that only became more interesting as the movie progressed. I realized it's not long just to be long; there's a lot to tell here. 

Why Scorsese Earns Every Minute Of Flower Moon 

After coming out of Flower Moon, I’ll say something I rarely say about movies that long: it earned every minute! I did leave briefly in the middle of the movie to go to the bathroom and refuel my drink, but I don't think I missed anything massive. I truly felt like Scorsese made the movie so long because he wanted to honor the true story and develop the circumstances of the Oklahoma murders of the Osage people, get into the specifics of the investigation, and honor the emotions involved across multiple parties. I’m so happy I experienced it in theaters. 

I went away from the movie wanting to learn more about the topic along with learning what, why and how these horrible events at the time took place and why I was unfortunately just being exposed to it, while also finding it entertaining and not really feeling the runtime. (We've all been in one of those movies.) Where was this in my high school history classes? 

Why I Actually Appreciate It As A Long Movie 

With Flower Moon, there were a lot of distinct decisions in the editing room (and in the script writing stage, especially considering the movie was rewritten during development) to faithfully tell the story from multiple perspectives rather than focus more on the investigation like the book apparently does. 

I found Flower Moon also earned its runtime by telling such a complex and compelling story. It felt like the runtime was a device that the filmmaker used to his advantage to communicate the exhaustion of the onslaught of grief and trauma Lily Gladstone’s Molly is going through as she watches much of her family die at the hand of the white men close to her. Scorsese told The Irish Times that the horror movie Midsommar was an inspiration for the pacing, and I can totally see why that choice was made and how it worked on me. Because for Molly, what’s going on is a horror movie, and illustrating her experience through runtime was so clever! Of course, we are talking about Scorsese here.

Yes, I would watch an entire miniseries on the subject, but for three and a half hours, Scorsese commanded the attention of a big screen, where I was fully discouraged to look at my phone. There’s something especially powerful about experiencing this film in all of its glory in a theater. I’d also say this topic deserves three and a half hours of your time, especially if you live on what once was indigenous land, and Scorsese absolutely makes a good use of its runtime. 

Check out CinemaBlend’s Killers of the Flower Moon review, as it’s most certainly one of the best 2023 new movie releases thus far.  

The new film Killers of the Flower Moon may be one of Martin Scorsese's best movies and is already getting strong positive reactions from critics. It seems all but certain that both Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, along with Scorsese himself, will be in the Oscar conversation again this year. And it seems DiCaprio certainly put himself through something of a physical ordeal for the new movie, as he gets spanked in the movie by De Niro, in a scene that required Leo to pad his rear.

Flower Moon cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto recently spoke with Insider and he talked about a scene in the film that surprised him because it wasn’t in the book the film is based on. In the sequence, De Niro’s character punishes his nephew, played by DiCaprio, by literally spanking him with a large paddle. DiCaprio made the decision to pad himself, which seems like a smart call, because according to Prieto, the scene took a few takes, and De Niro did not hold back. The cinematographer explained…  

It probably makes for a better scene to film if you don’t have to make De Niro hold back or edit around him smacking his grown nephew. So the rear-end padding was probably the way to go. Still, one assumes Leo could have talked about other options that didn't involve him getting spanked by an Oscar winner, but that apparently would never have entered into the actor’s head. 

Honestly, the padding couldn’t have been that significant, as it would have been noticeable on screen, so if De Niro really was spanking DiCaprio hard, he probably still felt it. Honestly, considering what DiCaprio put himself through for The Revenant, getting spanked was probably no big deal so this was likely just another day at the office for him. Though honestly, spanking a grown man had to be a pretty weird experience for De Niro as well.

Watching DiCaprio get spanked may be one of the more memorable moments in Killers of the Flower Moon, but it certainly sounds like the new Martin Scorsese movie is one that is quite memorable for a number of reasons. Critics who have seen Killers of the Flower Moon are giving it rave reviews, calling it one of the best movies ever made by this collection of stars who have made more than their share of great movies in the past. CinemaBlend's own Eric Eisenberg Flower Moon review gave the film five stars. The movie is in theaters now and will arrive on Apple TV+ at some point in the future.  

Killers of the Flower Moon had a big opening this weekend, giving Martin Scorsese his biggest box office weekend since Shutter Island in 2010. This is a win for the 3.5 hour period drama, which still put audiences in seats despite its length and somber subject matter. It is also a win for audiences who were able to witness what critics are calling a masterpiece from the famed filmmaker. The film is being heavily discussed online, and it seems like everyone can agree on at least one thing, that Jesse Plemons is magnificent in the film. 

Many took to X (formally Twitter) to give their hot takes on the Leonardo DiCaprio-led epic, and while lots of actors are getting plenty of love for their work in the film, Plemons’ introduction two thirds of the way through was a welcome surprise for many audiences. He shows up with a little over an hour left, but uses his screen time to really shine, and this didn’t go unnoticed. Fans not only highlighted his performance, but also his costume that made his first scene incredibly memorable. One X user said:

Playing off of such a magnetic performer like DiCaprio is no easy feat, but Plemmons does so with ease, stealing the show for a chunk of the third act. For context, the character actor plays FBI agent Tom White, who goes to Osage territory in Oklahoma to investigate the mysterious murders happening throughout the film. He’s a commanding presence, and is a great juxtaposition to DiCaprio’s bumbling, easily manipulated “Earnest” character. Some even claimed he gave one of the best performances they’d ever seen, tweeting:

Another fan on X used a reaction meme from Top Gun: Maverick, to show how their interest was immediately captured when Plemons came on screen.

For some, this was their introduction to the Oscar nominee, who has become a staple of character dramas over the years. One fan, who seemingly was seeing him for the first time, was so captivated by the actor’s performance, that he became an instant favorite of theirs, tweeting:

• Me: I don't know who Jesse Plemons is. 
• Me: watches a movie where he has like ten minutes of screen time
• Me: I would *die* for national treasure Jesse Plemons. 

Lastly, one user echoed the point that even though Plemmons was a late entry to Killers of the Flower Moon, he still was able to showcase his acting chops in a big way. They said on X:

While his strength as an actor may have come as a surprise to those less familiar with his work, those who were already fans of Plemons were likely less surprised. He has been cast in the films of auteur directors like Paul Thomas Anderson, Jane Champion, Steven Spielberg. And this is the second time he has worked with Scorsese. He even reportedly turned down playing a major role in Jordan Peele’s Nope to work on this film. He is an unstoppable force that is finally getting the attention he deserves, and even in a sea of Academy Award-worthy performances by DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro, he still is able to stand out. His scenes alone are worth the price of admission. 

You can see Jesse Plemons, and the rest of the all-star cast of Killers of the Flower Moon, by checking out the film playing in theaters nationwide. The crime drama will also be available to Apple TV+ subscribers in the near future. Fans of the actor should also check out our feature on what else to watch if you like the Breaking Bad star. 

Earlier this summer, Hollywood managed to pull off a major counterprogramming win. Greta Gerwig's hot pink and funny Barbie opened in theaters alongside Christopher Nolan's heavy and serious Oppenheimer, and their powers combined created the record-breaking box office force known as Barbenheimer. It was a rather magical thing to see in the movie world, and this weekend has seen a similar situation play out in vibe with the big wins being Sam Wrench's splashy Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Martin Scorsese's intense historical epic Killers Of The Flower Moon. 

Check out the numbers for the films in the domestic Top 10 below and join me after for analysis.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Concert Film Takes A Big Dip But Easily Holds The Top Spot At The Box Office

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was the lone new wide release when it hit theaters last weekend, and as expected, it played like gangbusters. Swifties from around the country swarmed in cinemas to watch, and the end result was the movie almost instantly becoming the most successful concert film of all time. When the final figures came in, the film made a shocking $92.8 million (just a little over $7 million less than what Jon M. Chu's Justin Bieber: Never Say Never brought in during its entire theatrical run).

Now, the movie in its second weekend, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has fully secured its place in the record books... though the ticket sales according to The Numbers suggest there there was definitely a drop off in excitement.

The early box office numbers for the last three days show that the concert recording added another $31 million to its domestic earnings, bringing the overall gross to $129.8 million. That's a 67 percent weekend-to-weekend drop, which is pretty significant considering most movies look for something in the 50-60 percent range.

So what caused this dip? It may just be a regression to the mean after an extremely hyped opening. The release of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was hyped as an event unto itself – like a concert playing around the country simultaneously – and the response was for audiences to go and expect a concert-like experience with the community of Swifties. Because what's still playing on screen is the exact same show, that same kind of atmosphere was always going to be hard to replicate in Week #2, and that explains why there was a steep drop in ticket sales.

What will be interesting to see is if this second weekend box office performance ends up having an impact on the strategies for releasing future concert films – for example, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. Like the case with Taylor Swift, there is every expectation that the Beyhive will be fully activated when the movie hits theaters in the first weekend of December... but how will AMC Theatres go about getting those fans back for a round two one week later? That will be an interesting situation to monitor as we get closer to it. 

Factoring in ticket sales from foreign markets, Taylor: Swift: The Eras Tour has made $142.3 million to date, and as Hollywood shifts its perception on the box office potential of concert movies, we'll have to wait and see how long that record is held.

Martin Scorsese Has His Biggest Opening Weekend Since Shutter Island With Killers Of The Flower Moon

While perhaps not having the biggest impact overall, one also can't forget that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour had some significant competition in wide release this week. Killers Of The Flower Moon has been hailed as one of the best movies that Martin Scorsese has made, which is saying a hell of a lot considering his filmography, and it would appear that buzz had a significant impact on the release's box office performance.

It was reported this Saturday that Killers Of The Flower Moon would be making an estimated $24 million this weekend, and while the early numbers suggest that it has fallen a tad short of hitting that figure, there is a big positive takeaway available to observe. For starters, the three-and-a-half hour film based on a harrowing true story just had the biggest opening weekend for a Martin Scorsese-directed feature since Shutter Island arrived on the big screen in 2010. That movie ended up making $128 million in the United States and Canada and just short of $300 million worldwide.

There is, of course, a big catch here: the film's budget. As noted by Variety, Killers Of The Flower Moon cost $200 million to make – which was partially due to COVID-19 related delays during production, similar to circumstances faced by James Mangold's Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny and Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part 1. It seems unlikely that the movie will ultimately be seen as profitable during its box office run (especially when publicity and marketing costs are also calculated in), but one must also factor in that Paramount and Apple partnered on the project, which will eventually be getting a release on Apple TV+. It's also very much a clout release that is expected to get a whole lot of attention in the coming months as Best Of The Year lists are put together and awards are handed out.

Spooky Season Box Office Numbers Are Getting A Bit Flat

It's no secret that horror is in a good place box office-wise at the moment, but what's interesting to observe about the Top 10 this weekend is that Hollywood may have jumped the gun when it comes to spooky season 2023. Halloween is now just a little over a week away, and excitement about releases like David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer, Kevin Greutert's Saw X, Kenneth Branagh's A Haunting In Venice and Michael Chaves' The Nun II is already dwindling – as evidenced by the six/seven-figure ticket sales in the last three days.

It makes one wonder if there was a whole lot of potential squandered when films like Danny and Michael Philippou's Talk To Me and Justin Simien's Haunted Mansion were inexplicably released during the summer.

The industry's last big wide release swing at the end-of-the-month holiday will be Emma Tammi's Five Nights at Freddy’s, which is based on the hit video game series and will be in theaters this Friday, October 27. How will it shake up the Top 10? Head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday to find out, and learn about all of the big movies heading to the big screen in the weeks and months ahead with our 2023 Movie Release Calendar.

Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon is now playing in theaters. How will it do alongside the second weekend of Taylor Swift’s massive The Eras Tour movie? Per the latest projections, the true crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro may not necessarily make blockbuster numbers or anything, but it’s certainly ready to hold its own.

Over the summer, expectations surrounding the commercial viability of a three-hour historical drama blew the industry away when Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer had an $80 million domestic debut next to Barbie, which was amplified by “Barbenheimer” double features. According to Deadline, Killers Of The Flower Moon won't go head-to-head against the father of the atomic bomb. It will reportedly make around $24 million in its debut weekend. 

The projected opening weekend will place Killers Of The Flower Moon at No. 2 behind The Eras Tour concert movie, which is conversely expected to make $32 million in its sophomore weekend. This follows a record-breaking first weekend that scored the singer the best opening for a concert film ever with $97 million domestically and an overall $123.5 worldwide. 

The projections for Scorsese’s latest movie aren’t mind-blowing, especially when one factors in its reported $200 million production budget, but Flower Moon does sit at three hours and 26 minutes and tells the story of the Osage murders that took place during the 1920s, after all. The movie beats the runtime of recent long blockbusters like Avatar: The Way Of Water (3 hours and 12 minutes) and Avengers: Endgame (3 hours, 2 minutes). Plus, Scorsese’s movie is set to become available to stream with an Apple TV+ subscription at some point, but the service has yet to announce an official at-home release date. 

Killers Of The Flower Moon may perform modestly to its potential due to the movie opening during the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike as well. As the actors union continues to picket Hollywood studios in hopes of fair compensation in the streaming era, Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro were barred from promoting the movie. The cast also boasts Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser, who all would have normally taken part in a press tour to get the word out about the Hollywood release. 

Despite quite a few factors acting against Flower Moon, across the board, critics seem to love Scorsese’s latest movie, with CinemaBlend’s own Killers of the Flower Moon review awarding the film a perfect five out of five stars. The new release has been a longtime passion project of Martin Scorsese’s considering the filmmaker has been working on it since 2017. The writer/director adapted David Grann’s nonfiction book with Eric Roth and worked closely with Osage Nation’s Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, along with numerous consultants. You can check it out in theaters now. 

Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” (starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone) hits theaters this weekend. The film is filled with incredible performance after incredible performance from both its lead and supporting cast. Its tragic true story deserves the extended runtime Scorsese presents us, and we are sure to continue discussing “Killers of the Flower Moon” throughout the awards season. 

Join us this week for our full, spoiler-free reviews of one of this year’s best, and stick around once you’ve seen the film for our more in-depth thoughts in the spoiler section. 

Timestamps (approx. only)

• 00:00:00 - Intro 
• 00:06:09 - ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Review (Spoiler-Free)
• 00:34:50 - SPOILER!
• 01:03:41 - Jake Interviewed Martin Scorsese!
• 01:07:33 - Outro

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Martin Scorsese, one of the greatest living filmmakers, is back with his first movie in four years, Killers of the Flower Moon. The highly-anticipated crime epic, which tells the story of the Osage tribe finding great wealth and the greedy and power-hungry white men who married into their families before killing them off, is one of those movies that is best watched on the big screen, despite being nearly three-and-a-half hours long.

As part of our partnership with AMC Theatres, where you can now purchase tickets to Scorsese’s first movie starring both Robert De Niro and Leonardo Dicaprio, two of his most prolific collaborators, we’ve put together a rundown of several ways Killers of the Flower Moon captivates on the big screen. This long, violent, and incredibly emotional true crime story is one for the ages, and one cinefiles and general moviegoers will surely enjoy…

Killers Of The Flower Moon Has A Massive Scope And Scale

One element of Killers of the Flower Moon that makes a strong argument for seeing it on the big screen is the scope and scale of Martin Scorcese’s latest feature film. Whether it’s with the various ceremonies involving the Osage Nation (more on this aspect in a bit) or those wide shots showing off the rapid growth of Fairfax, Oklahoma, the movie provides a feast for the eyes. It’s easy to draw comparisons to movies like Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood and Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven in this regard, as like those two period dramas, Scorsese’s latest effort throws you into the vastness of wide open spaces.

Though the Apple Original Film will eventually be available to watch at home, one can’t help but wonder if it will be the same captivating experience as the one on the silver screen.

The Flashes Of Action Are Brilliant

Killers of the Flower Moon is a long, violent movie with flashes of action that are up there with anything else Martin Scorsese has created throughout his storied career. Without getting into spoiler territory, there are two scenes in the movie that really provide an enthralling and mesmerizing experience when it comes to the speed and action featured in these sequences.

Early on in the movie, when Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) are speaking in the middle of town, several race cars come zipping by along with a massive crowd of the spectators and bettors. After the camera pans across the boomtown, the audience is taken along for the ride in a short yet exhilarating set piece.

Another comes later in the movie when the Bureau of Investigation (the original name of the FBI) comes to town to investigate the various murders of wealthy members of the Osage Nation. This montage is up there with something shown in Goodfellas or Casino, and instantly kicks up the film’s pacing, leaving you dazzled in its wake.

The Film Takes You Into Osage Country

Killers of the Flower Moon spends a large portion of its runtime introducing the people and history of the Osage Nation, fully immersing the audiences in its ways and traditions. From the opening scene and throughout the rest of the movie, there are sequences so beautifully crafted by Martin Scorsese and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto that it’s almost impossible to leave the experience without a better understanding of Native American tribe. 

This is their world, and we, the audience, are invited to live in it for a few brief hours. Rich colors in art and ceremonial outfits are eye-popping on the screen whenever we’re taken into Osage Indians’ homes and ceremonies. In fact, there are times in which it’s easy to forget that we’re watching a movie, as opposed to being there in person.

There Are Moments Of Deafening Silence 

There are loud and chaotic sequences throughout Killers of the Flower Moon, several of which could best be described as four-dimensional symphonies as they carry the audience away with all sorts of sights and sounds. At the same time, there are just as many where the late Robbie Robertson’s score goes silent, the actors quit talking, and we’re left to contemplate some of the movie’s key moments on our own with not one sound. This deafening silence, which often adds a tremendous weight to any cinematic experience, adds a whole other layer to the epic drama.

This is especially true in several of the scenes showing the violence and aftermath of Osage murders. The juxtaposition of these sequences with the flashy action creates an experience that can only really be had in a theater where dozens of moviegoers sit in a shared silence.

Killers Of The Flower Moon’s Length Works In Its Favor

While there is a case to be made about the film’s 206-minute runtime being too long, its length actually works in its favor, especially for those with the strength and fortitude to remain seated from start to finish. As is the case with some of Martin Scorsese’s previous efforts like Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Irishman, there isn’t a lot of filler, and the extended runtime allows the epic scope of its story play out.

If anything, the movie could have been longer, as there is so much that could have been explored further, especially with some of the minor characters whose stories sometimes feel partially told. If Scorsese were to come out with a director’s cut with 30 additional minutes of footage, it would add as much to the richness of its story as it would to its runtime.

The Performances Are Brought To Life On The Big Screen

There’s an argument to be made for Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of Ernest Burkhart being the best of his career, and a lot of that is because of the small characteristics and nuance of his performance. The way in which the Academy Award winner brings the character to life is something to behold, and watching it on the big screen only makes those subtle motions and gestures all the more noticeable. The same can be said with Robert De Niro’s take on William King Hale, a major power player in Fairfax.

Lily Gladstone’s portrayal of Mollie Burkhart is the stuff of wonder, and there’s a good chance her name will pop up as a strong contender for Best Actress at the Oscars in March 2024. Unlike her husband, Mollie is a woman of few words, and instead lets her actions (and reactions) speak for her. Watching the actress navigate tense and oftentimes tragic situations with poise and restraint is captivating to say the least.

Overall, Killers of the Flower Moon is one of those films that is captivating on the big screen, so much so, it becomes less of a movie and more of an experience. If you are interested in checking it out for yourself, you can go ahead and purchase your tickets at AMC Theatres.

The mere mention of a Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team-up is enough to excite most film enthusiasts, and the pair behind The Aviator, The Departed, and The Wolf of Wall Street are back together again for their seventh collaboration. The 3.5-hour epic (a runtime the filmmaker has defended), Killers of the Flower Moon has finally been screened, and the early buzz for the book-to-screen adaptation of David Grann's gripping non-fiction book makes us more excited than ever.

Killers of the Flower Moon delves into the chilling true story of the Osage Nation murders, where a series of mysterious deaths shook the community in the 1920s. The movie’s stellar cast and crew have done a spectacular job bringing this tale of conspiracy, greed, and vengeance to the big screen. With Martin Scorsese at the helm, audiences can expect nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece. Since Killers of the Flower Moon premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, critics have given the film glowing reviews. So, just how good is the movie? Let’s see what the critics have to say. 

In CinemaBlend’s review of The Killers of the Flower Moon, Eric Eisenberg rates it a perfect 5 stars out of 5, saying it’s more than just a great film, but a “vital film” coming at just the right time: 

Bob Mondello of NPR shares our enthusiasm for the film, hailing it as a "masterful" and "monstrous" exploration of greed. In his insightful analysis, he singles out De Niro's captivating portrayal of the villain. Mondello's words capture the essence of the film:

The chief film critic of the New York Times, Manohla Dargis, doesn’t mince words, calling the film an “unsettling masterpiece.” According to Dargis, the flick is a genre blend that will leave you guessing until the last frame. The critic wrote:

Jocelyn Noveck from the AP praised the actors, especially Lily Gladstone, alongside DiCaprio and De Niro. Despite a 3.5-hour runtime, the compelling storytelling left the audience craving more in this weighty tale of American history and true crime, wrapped in a tense love story:

Of course, not everyone was upbeat about the movie. While he loved Lily Gladstone's performance, calling her "the real star," CNN's Brian Lowry criticizes the film, asserting that the director's attempt at an "epic" ultimately results in nothing more than an overly lengthy production. Lowry attributes this prolonged runtime to the growing demand for content by streaming platforms. He points out:

Although the film's runtime has sparked debate, critics are primarily enthusiastic about Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. If a theater experience isn't your preference, you can wait for its streaming release with an Apple TV+ subscription. However, if you are looking to see this epic in theaters, you can go see DiCaprio and co. on the big screen right now.

Check out our upcoming movie schedule to see what else is coming to a theater near you. 

“When you get the money, you get the power.” That is a notable line from an overrated gangster film, but it succinctly sums up the ethos of capitalism. There is a generally accepted idea that great wealth equates to influence and immunity. With a bit less cynicism, it’s the American Dream: with hard work, you can achieve anything.

But this is a fallacy, and one that Martin Scorsese has boldly confronted with his new epic Killers Of The Flower Moon. Based on the book of the same name by author David Grann, the film depicts horrific true events that transpired in the early decades of the 20th century – centering on a string of murders orchestrated as part of a conspiracy to steal money and oil headrights from Osage Nation families in Osage County, Oklahoma. Per capita, the Osage were considered the wealthiest people in not just the United States, but the entire world – but all of that money meant nothing in the face of raw white supremacy.

In classic Scorsese fashion, the story is told from the perspective of the greedy and brazen men who took part in the crimes, but the pain and plight of the victims is what this movie is about, and it’s a goregeous, simultaneously gut-wrenching and eye-opening cinematic experience that, recency bias considered, will be remembered as one of the director’s greatest works.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Ernest Burkhart, a World War I veteran who moves to Oklahoma to live and work at the side of his uncle Bill Hale (Robert De Niro). Hale is the professed “King of the Osage Hills” and puts on a warming and amiable facade while interacting with his native neighbors, but the reality is that he wants nothing more than to take every penny they have, and he is limitlessly unscrupulous in his efforts to achieve his goal. Within moments of Ernest being in his home after first arriving in town, Hale begins making efforts to bring his relative into the fold as a part of his treachery.

Working as a chauffeur, Ernest meets Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), a wealthy, quiet and wary Osage woman, and flirtation ultimately leads to romance, which leads to marriage. They start a family together, but unbeknownst to Mollie, Ernest is wrapped up deeply in Bill Hale’s avarice-fueled conspiracy, and tragedy after tragedy begins to befall her and her kin – beginning with the execution-style murder of her sister, Anna (Cara Jade Myers).

Killers Of The Flower Moon's chosen point of view highlights the terrible brashness with which the murders were committed.

If entered into with limited knowledge about the murders of the Osage, David Grann’s book reads like a whodunit, laying out the timeline of events before Bill Hale is identified as a major mastermind in the mass death and Ernest Burkhart is named as his accomplice. But in presenting the killings from the point of view of the criminals, the film is a wholly different experience. Written by Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth, it’s a fascinating adaptation in the way in which it crafts a subjective perspective from an objective work of non-fiction, and while it has some moments that will be viewed as controversial, the choice drives home particularly powerful aspects of the story – particularly the flagrancy with which Hale and Burkhart operated due to their perceived invulnerability.

Part of illustrating this flagrancy means showcasing the extreme breadth of crimes committed, from executions, poisonings and bombings, to life and car insurance fraud. Along with also highlighting the government’s corrupt guardianship system and the FBI’s investigation of the killings, this unabridged approach is the explanation for the movie’s extreme runtime. But any concerns one may have about the film’s length dissipate once it is rolling. The pacing is perfection, and while the shocking murders provide exciting punctuation – shot and edited with brutal intensity – it’s truly the characters and performances that keep you gripped throughout, particularly the work by Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone.

Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio deliver some of the best performances of their career, and Lily Gladstone is phenomenal.

Killers Of The Flower Moon is the first Martin Scorsese film starring both Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, and with the two joining forces on screen after many solo efforts with the legendary filmmaker, it’s fascinating to see the director use the two actors against type. A big part of De Niro’s legacy with Scorsese are the intimidating and menacing figures he’s portrayed, from Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle to Raging Bull’s Jake LaMotta to Cape Fear’s Max Cady – but as Bill Hale, De Niro plays a the kind of evil that will warmly smile and hug you, and then keep you trapped in his embrace as his co-conspirators drive knives through your ribcage.

Similarly, Scorsese has had DiCaprio play greedy men (The Wolf Of Wall Street’s Jordan Belfort) and violent men (Shutter Island’s Teddy Daniels and Gangs Of New York’s Amsterdam Vallon), but never before have those qualities come from such a place of weakness as it does with Ernest Burkhart, who is both willingly stuck under the thumb of his uncle and a slave to his appetites. Both men are despicable representations of humanity, but the actors make them effortlessly compelling.

It’s an awesome demonstration of range from the two brilliant veterans, and you’re ultimately excited to see them face the consequences that they don’t fear, but richly deserve. That said, the emotional center of Killers Of The Flower Moon is Lily Gladstone’s heartbreaking turn as Mollie Burkhart: the movie’s powerful reflection of the horrors that the Osage experienced and the central representative for the many, many victims. Her wails as she learns about the deaths of those she loves add 50 pounds to your heart – and you marvel at her determination and fortitude as she makes every effort to uncover the truth of what’s happening as she is unknowingly poisoned by the man she loves, her face, paled by illness, captured in long, captivating shots full of pain and desperation.

It’s not all gloom. When Ernest becomes her driver and starts courting her, Mollie is standoffish, but also coy, and it’s obvious why the protagonist is enchanted by her. She has a special charm and peace to her – making it all the more terrible when those qualities are ripped away from her by seemingly endless death and destruction.

More than just a great film, Killers Of The Flower Moon is a vital film coming at an important time. There is a shocking reluctance among some people in America to properly recognize and reconcile with atrocities committed in our nation’s history, and after Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, this is the second major release of the year to provide bold confrontation with that kind of subject matter. It’s powerful and unforgettable big screen storytelling from one of the greatest geniuses to ever touch a camera, and when we look back on 2023 at the end of December, there’s a strong likelihood that Martin Scorsese’s latest will be viewed as the best movie of the year.

Along with having a career that spans decades, Robert De Niro has also been parenting for more than 50 years. Over the last five decades, he’s welcomed seven kids into the world. Now, as his latest movie, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, prepares to premiere, the 80-year-old actor is opening up about raising a new baby, and while he loves it, he said “it doesn’t get easier.”

De Niro welcomed his baby this spring. This is his seventh child, and his first with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen. While speaking with The Guardian he opened up about their baby, and what it’s like parenting. While he’s done this many times before, he explained that it hasn’t gotten easier. The Raging Bull star said:

The Taxi Driver actor explained that “you never know what’s going to happen” as a parent, but he also said he really does enjoy being a father. When asked what he loves about it, he said:

Elaborating on interacting with his seven kids, he explained that he talks to his adult children differently than how he talks to his baby. 

Robert De Niro was 28 when his first child was born in 1971, and his youngest baby was born in early 2023. 

The actor and his first wife Diahnne Abbott share Drena De Niro, who is 52, and Raphael De Niro, 46. After they got divorced, the Goodfellas actor and his girlfriend at the time Toukie Smith had twins, Julian and Aaron De Niro, in 1995, they are now 27. In 1995, De Niro, and his now ex-wife Grace Hightower had their first kid, Elliot De Niro, who is 24. Their second child, Helen Grace is 11, and she was born via surrogate in 2011. He also has four grandchildren – Drena’s son was born in 2003 and sadly passed away in July 2023, and Raphael has three kids. 

Over the years, De Niro has learned a lot about being a dad, and he opened up about the “awareness” he’s developed about parenting later in life. He also explained that overall “it’s amazing,” and he noted that he is “very happy about” being a father. 

Along with being a parent, Robert De Niro is also a very busy actor. Along with Killers of the Flower Moon, he also released another movie on the 2023 film schedule called About My Father, and he appeared in the mini-series Nada. He also has six projects in development, including Wise Guys, which should drop among 2024’s new movie releases. 

While Robert De Niro continues to raise his kids and work on various movies and TV shows, you can go see his latest movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, in theaters starting on October 20, and you’ll eventually be able to stream it with an Apple TV+ subscription. 

When Martin Scorsese’s latest movie, Killers Of The Flower Moon, had its Los Angeles premiere on Monday, its massive stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio or Robert De Niro, may not have been in attendance due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, but some key people who aided in the making of the film were there. Since the true crime drama centers on a series of Oklahoma murders in the Osage Nation during the 1920s, Scorsese consulted many members of the Osage Nation tribe, including Osage language consultant Christopher Cote. At the premiere, Cote got honest about having some “strong opinions” about it after finally seeing it.

While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter after viewing Killers of the Flower Moon at the Dolby Theater, Cote shared that he had been “nervous” about the content of the movie prior to seeing it. Now that he’s seen all three hours and 26 minutes (a runtime that the filmmaker has defended), here’s what he had to say: 

Since Killers of the Flower Moon premiered at Cannes Film Festival, critics have been giving the film glowing reviews. The leader of the Osage Nation, Chief Standing Bear, shared at the time that Scorsese’s film had “restored trust” from the tribe. While Cote applauded Martin Scorsese for consulting the Osage people and representing them in the film, he also criticized the movie making the decision to tell its story from the perspective of its white protagonist, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart, rather than Lily Gladstone’s Mollie Burkhart. As he also shared: 

Killers of the Flower Moon was written by Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth as an adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction novel of the same name. It’s been in development under Scorsese since 2017. Prior to filming the movie in 2019, The Irishman filmmaker traveled to the Osage Nation in Pawhuska, Oklahoma to meet with Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear and have discussions about getting the Osage Nation involved in the movie and hiring a variety of consultants for the production. During the making of the movie, DiCaprio once shared that it was rewritten to be “more immersed” into its Osage story. Check out the trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon:

At the premiere, Cote was not the only member of Osage Nation to share some reservations about the movie. Another Osage language consultant, Janis Carpenter, said that while she thought it was “wonderful” to see her people in the movie, there “are some things that were pretty hard to take.” 

Killers of the Flower Moon is hitting theaters this Friday, October 20. You can check out what other upcoming 2023 movies are coming soon here on CinemaBlend. 

Martin Scorsese is the embodiment of film history. Ever since his directorial debut with 1967's Who's That Knocking at My Door, Scorsese's best movies have been held in high esteem by audiences, critics, and the National Film Registry. You would think that being 80 years old would be a reason to retire. However, that’s clearly not the case for the New Hollywood era director’s style, because he’s got several projects planned after his latest movie Killers of the Flower Moon is released. However, he is aware of how “precious” time is.

In one month, Martin Scorsese will be 81-years-old. He could retire right now if he wanted to. But as he told The Times, he has several projects in the works for after Killers of the Flower Moon, however, he knows very well how “precious” time is for him. He said:

It’s very interesting how Martin Scorsese said the underlying themes of his movies center around the struggle to find ways to take care of each other. When you look back on them, it’s very true as he creates complex characters who think they’re doing the right thing, but they have unconventional methods of doing so. 

For example, Taxi Driver had the character of Travis Bickle try to save a young prostitute, but he used heavy methods of violence to make that happen. In one of the best gangster movies, Goodfellas, a close-knit community of criminals take care of each other through the means of illegal activities. The means of protection may not always be the right way to go about it, but it’s this underlying theme that turns into the heart of the story.

If the Oscar-winning director doesn’t want to slow down, then he shouldn’t have to. With his films from the last decade, like Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Killers of the Flower Moon, being complete works of art, this filmmaker is still clearly on his A-game. At the same time, it’s good that Scorsese is aware of the importance of listening to your body. But for now, it looks like the Raging Bull director has a mission to keep the cinema he grew up with alive. 

He once wrote an open letter to his daughter, Francesca, about how cinema may not be the same cinema he grew up with. But at the same time, the American director found the future bright for the industry in being able to use cost-effective ways to make great movies. It appears that Scorsese still wants to contribute to the business for as long as he can.

Martin Scorsese told The Times about a few projects that are at the back of his mind. He plans on re-teaming with his frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio for the Apple film The Wager, which is about a British ship that travels to South America in pursuit of a big treasure but gets stranded on a deserted island. The interesting part occurs when another ship washes ashore and accuses the previous ship of leading a mutiny on them in the open sea. 

Scorsese also wants to adapt Marilynne Robinson’s book Home, which is about a religious family in 1960s Iowa. The AFI Life Achievement Award recipient even told Variety that he’s considered directing and writing a movie about Jesus. It looks like we have a lot of upcoming Scorsese movies to look forward to.

Time may be “precious” for the soon-to-be 81-year-old director, but that seems to be all the more reason why he doesn’t want the upcoming film projects in his head to escape him. The 2023 movie release of Killers of the Flower Moon hits theaters on October 20th, and it will eventually land on your Apple TV+ subscription soon.

If you’re a Martin Scorsese fan, you know that Scorsese's best movies have all largely long runtimes. Not that anyone should be complaining since his films truly stand the test of time. But that doesn't mean there weren't complainers out there who pointed a finger at the three-and-a-half hour runtime of his latest movie Killers of the Flower Moon. Although the Oscar-winning filmmaker defended it with a strong point that I can kinda agree with.

Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has a runtime of three hours and 25 minutes. While some people may be hesitant about dedicating this much time to watching one single movie, the Hollywood director reflected on these criticisms to the Hindustan Times, and defended his runtime with a strong point that makes a lot of sense.

This prolific director is no stranger to providing his opinions on what great filmmaking is, as he’s spoken before about how cinemas “shouldn’t be invaded” by Marvel movies. Martin Scorsese has been a part of film history for the past 56 years coming into prominence during a time when new filmmakers were making a name for themselves. He granted us classics that had audiences racing into theaters like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Casino, Goodfellas, and much more. It’s true that no one complains about watching lengthy stage productions or binge-watching shows on their TV screens. If Scorsese needs his upcoming book adaptation to be this long in order to tell his story well, then so be it. 

Let’s take a look back at Martin Scorsese’s history with long runtimes. If you examine a ranking of Scorsese’s longest-running movies, Killers of the Flower Moon is not his longest movie. It only falls #6 being 25 minutes longer than The Wolf of Wall Street. Longer than the Apple TV+ movie would be Scorsese’s documentaries like No Direction Home: Bob Dylan and George Harrison: Living in the Material World. 

And you can’t forget about Netflix’s The Irishman which is actually three minutes longer than Martin Scorsese’s historical drama. You could argue that the runtime for the Oscar-nominated gangster drama was a problem because you’re asking streamers to sit at their homes for three-and-a-half hours to watch one movie without any distractions. But at home, you're not obligated to watch it in one sitting if you don’t want to. So the same can go with Killers of the Flower Moon when it hits streaming. If you really want an excuse to complain about a long runtime, Scorsese’s longest movie he’s ever made is his personal documentary My Voyage to Italy which runs at four hours and six minutes! But if this was the length of time that the film buff needed to get his point across about Italian cinema, he had the right to make it as long as he wanted.

If audiences have the patience to binge-watch TV series or sit through long stage productions, Martin Scorsese believes you’ll be just fine watching his movie Killers of the Flower Moon in theaters or at home. Plus, if you feel you can’t watch this upcoming movie for that long in a theater when it releases on October 20th, just see it using your Apple TV+ subscription when the film drops there at a later date.

It’s hard to believe that in about one month, audiences will finally get the chance to see the long-awaited film Killers of the Flower Moon. However, something important to know about Martin Scorsese’s latest film is it hit a few hurdles during its development. Now, its star Leonardo DiCaprio has explained why the true crime drama had to go through script rewrites.

Based on David Grann’s best-selling non-fiction book, Killers of the Flower Moon is about a series of murders inflicted on the Osage Nation during the 1920s after oil was discovered on their land. Leonardo DiCaprio was originally set to play Bureau of Investigation agent Tom White with the film’s emphasis placed on the BOI. But according to the actor’s interview with British Vogue, that point of view didn’t feel right to him. He said:

It’s incredibly understandable why Leonardo DiCaprio feels this way. As he said, he wanted to get into the importance of the crimes that occurred among the Osage tribe and delve deep into the stories about the people who were affected by it. 

Once the script went through the rewriting process, DiCaprio switched roles with The Power of the Dog’s Jesse Plemons who took over as Tom White in a reduced supporting role. The Titanic star still played the lead role but in the form of another character- Ernest Burkhart. This real-life character is married to Mollie, a member of the Osage Nation, but he is manipulated by his uncle to betray the Native American community that welcomed him. With more emphasis being placed on Burkhart’s complicated relationship with his wife, it makes sense why DiCaprio seems happier with the script.

Other prominent figures who took part in Killers of the Flower Moon felt the same way that Leonardo DiCaprio did. For example, Lily Gladstone, who is of Blackfeet and Nimíipuu heritage, told Vulture that if the story was told through the FBI’s point of view with Ernest and Mollie's roles being reduced, it would be “a white-savior story.” Director Martin Scorsese was also in agreement, and he told Time magazine that he didn’t even realize white characters were dominating the story he wanted to tell. 

Based on what critics have been saying about Killers of the Flower Moon, it appears that Scorsese and Erin Roth’s screenplay rewrite helped give this movie positive acclaim. Reviews have highlighted DiCaprio and Gladstone’s performances as the true heart of the story as well as the correct handling of the Native American characters. Killers of the Flower Moon emerges as a passion project for the Oscar-winning director in wanting to correct the wrongs Hollywood has made in the past towards Native American representation. With widespread critical acclaim and an all-star cast, I wouldn’t be surprised if this book adaptation received Oscar attention.

Changing a movie’s perspective may be an arduous task, but Leonardo DiCaprio made an excellent point about the importance of getting to the heart of a story compared to too much emphasis on the FBI’s place in it. You’ll have the chance to see Killers of the Flower Moon when it premieres on the 2023 movie schedule in theaters on October 20, and it'll eventually be available to stream with an Apple TV+ subscription. 

It’s still very early to call the Oscars race for anyone, but we are off to a great start. This year already has seen some strong contenders, from biopics like Air, to the blockbuster hit Barbie, to Oppenheimer, which contains a Cillian Murphy performance that has taken the world by storm. If one had to call the race now, Murphy would be a major favorite, as his haunting performance as the titular physicist captivated audiences throughout the film’s three hour runtime. However, a major Oscar contender is set to hit theaters this fall, and it may come down to Murphy vs. Leonardo DiCaprio at the awards ceremony. It's an Inception faceoff!

Throughout the year, websites like GoldDerby keep tabs on the Oscars conversation as more and more movies get released throughout the year. When Oppenheimer hit theaters in July, it seemed like the conversation was all about Cillian Murphy, and the other incredible supporting performances the movie also features. However, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is set to release in October, potentially giving the Oppenheimer cast a run for their money. As it stands now, the Oscars odds are in Murphy's favor despite DiCaprio previously deemed the top contender after his film’s great reception out of the Cannes Film Festival. It’s still early, and this could change when audiences see DiCaprio’s latest film. 

There are several things going for both projects, so it really may end up being a toss up. Scorsese is an Academy darling, and his filmmaking style is likely to appeal to Academy voters than Christopher Nolan’s more flashy, blockbuster style, which has historically been overlooked at the Oscars. Additionally, having a release date closer to Oscar voting may work in DiCaprio’s favor. DiCaprio’s Killers of the Flower Moon will be fresher in the minds of voters when the time comes and therefore may benefit from recency bias. 

On the other hand, Murphy is a fresh face, and the voters may favor the Irish actor due to his lack of previous recognition, considering DiCaprio already won for The Revenant. Oppenheimer also may benefit from pre-SAG strike promotion, as the strike may still be going on when Killers of the Flower Moon is released. Oppenheimer additionally was a big box office surprise hit, and may get bonus points for bringing more audiences to the theaters. 

While DiCaprio and Murphy are the clear frontrunners, there are still some dark horses to keep an eye on before calling the race. Early footage from Ridley Scott’s Napoleon suggests a sensational performance by Joaquin Phoenix is about to join the conversation, and despite controversies around Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in Maestro, voters still may respond to the Leonard Bernstein biopic. Ryan Gosling also can’t be counted out if Warner Brothers decides to campaign the Barbie star as a leading role for his infallible Kenergy. There is so much unknown currently, but we will be watching as the race evolves. 

You can check out Cillian Murphy’s Oscar-worthy performance in Oppenheimer, which is currently still in theaters nationwide. The Christopher Nolan film recently extended its 70mm IMAX run, so check it out on the biggest screen possible while you can. Leonardo DiCaprio is also still very much in the running, and you can check out his buzzy performance in Killers of the Flower Moon when it hits select cinemas on October 6th, or becomes available for AppleTV+ subscribers on October 20th. 

Cannes sported a lot of big moments this year. There was Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst walking the red carpet together, Johnny Depp’s return to the big screen with Jeanne du Barry’s premiere, and Harrison Ford getting emotional after the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. All were memorable moments, and now we can add Salma Hayek sporting not one but two completely gorgeous dresses with plunging necklines to the list. 

Salma Hayek was on the red carpet not one but two days in a row, first for the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon at Cannes and secondly for the Kering Women in Motion Dinner at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The first night, on May 20th, the actress wore a purple number with  architectural sleeves and a seriously plunging front. 

The fitted gown from Alexander McQueen sported a bit of an illusion panel near her belly presumably to help keep it in place. It also tapered down into a mermaid bottom (fitting with The Little Mermaid hitting the 2023 movie release schedule soon), which probably wasn’t the easiest dress to walk in, but certainly made for a striking red carpet photo. 

A day later, the actress was back in business, appearing in a slinky, black, long-sleeved number with an intriguing neckline. That dress had a plunging neckline, as well. I’m also obsessed with all the sequins that made the look stand out from most other black dresses meant for red carpets -- or in this case, black carpets. 

Cannes is known for its standing ovations and its myriad celebrity sightings. Amidst the glitz and glamor of the overall event, the fashion is also notable. Elle Fanning stunned in a metallic  dress that scrolled from her neck to cover her cleavage. Feather-like materials completed the skirt portion of the ensemble and certainly made for a head-turning look, but she wasn't the only woman making headlines for gorgeous looks. 

Other notable fashion moments came from Natalie Portman in vintage Dior and Brie Larson in a cat dress. But in particular I love that Salma Hayek made plunging a signature and repeatable look at the 76th film festival. 

Honestly, I was starting to think that it’s the year of the black bikini as Halle Berry and more have rocked that look, but with limited pool time in my future, I’d be totally OK if it became the summer of the plunging neckline, as well. Hayek has certainly been at the cutting edge of fashion trends in the past (she even beat Kim Kardashian to the pantashoes look), and she's certainly given me some outfit goals for the near future. 

Martin Scorsese, the legendary filmmaker behind classics like Goodfellas andTaxi Driver is back for his 26th narrative feature directing effort, Killers of the Flower Moon. Scorsese’s latest film had its glitzy premiere at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, and it received a nine-minute standing ovation from its first big crowd. But what exactly did critics think about the Leonardo DiCaprio-led upcoming book adaptation? Well, we now have our answer on that front.

The 80-year-old filmmaker has a rather squeaky clean reputation when it comes to critical reception of his work. Pair that with acclaimed actors and frequent collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, do we have a winner this time around? Overall, the movie’s first reviews are praising Killers of the Flower Moon. Let’s start with Tomris Laffly’s words via The Wrap: 

It sounds like Leonardo DiCaprio might as well be up for another Academy Award at next year’s Oscars considering the actor is definitely a standout as Ernest Burkhart, a real person who was a figure in the Osage murders that happened in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. Tomris Laffly singled out the actor for giving a nuanced performance, especially in terms of the dynamic created between Ernest and his Native American wife, Mollie, played by Lily Gladstone. The Atlantic’s David Sims also applauded Leonardo DiCaprio among other cast members. In his words: 

Robert De Niro plays William Hale, a convicted murderer and the uncle of DiCaprio’s Ernest. Hale conspired to kill several Osage Native Americans at the time for their oil headrights, as the novel’s author (who visited the set and was “overwhelmed” by it) wrote about in the true crime novel of the same name. In terms of how Killers of the Flower Moon handles its delicate subject matter, Deadline writer Pete Hammond had this to say: 

Seems like a lot of cinema lovers are really digging the crime drama thus far. However, Therese Lacson wrote on Collider that she felt like there wasn't enough focus place on the movie's Native American characters. In her words: 

That’s right, Killers of the Flower Moon is over three hours. If you’re a fan of Martin Scorsese, whose last movie The Irishman was four minutes longer, that's probably not a surprise. Let’s cap things off with a quote from The Hollywood Reporter’s  David Rooney, who spoke more on the runtime. 

As mentioned Martin Scorsese rarely disappoints, and this latest outing seems to be another solid cinematic outing for him. He produced the movie and co-wrote the script and, on top of that, he's assembled a skilled cast. Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro are joined by Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow and more. It'll be a little while before audiences will actually get to feast their eyes on the movie and, if these reviews are any indication, the wait will be worth it.

You can check out the Killers of the Flower Moon trailer right now, but as far as access to Martin Scorsese’s epic western goes, the movie is set to be released in theaters on October 6 as part of the schedule of 2023 new movie releases, and it'll eventually be available to stream using an Apple TV+ subscription.

The distinguished Cannes Film Festival continues this weekend with more high-profile movie premieres, including Martin Scorsese’s latest movie, Killers Of the Flower Moon. And among the attendees at the glamorous red carpet event on Saturday were the leads of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Let me tell you, seeing the OG Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson pose for the same event had me in my feels about Spider-Man 3. 

Kirsten Dunst walked the carpet in the France city as a date to husband Jesse Plemons, who is among the stars in Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Brendan Fraser. Variety shared a video of the married couple happily posing in formal wear at the event along with sharing another post of Tobey Maguire in attendance. Maguire is a longtime friend of DiCaprio, and he apparently went to the premiere in support of his pal whom he's been friends with since their early days in Hollywood in the '90s. 

While the coverage of the premiere didn’t see Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire crossing paths, I'll be honest, I wistfully imagined that the Spider-Man actors interacted with each other at some point during the star-studded affair. Look I know the Spider-Man trilogy is fiction and very much separate from the lives of the two Hollywood stars, but seeing them attend the same event does remind this fan of the melancholic ending of Spider-Man 3. Remember how it had the ill-fated lovers slow-dancing without much closure about where their characters would go next? I'm not over it. 

It’s no secret Spider-Man 3 is a bit of a hot mess, but more than anything it was heartbreaking to see the relationship that was built across the trilogy fall apart. Thank goodness we got Spider-Man: No Way Home back in 2021, which finally gave Tobey Maguire a chance to step into the Spidey suit again and leave a sweeter taste in the mouths of fans regarding the fate of his character. Though Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson did not appear, the actress has shared that she thinks that reprising her iconic Marvel role “could happen.” 

Dunst and Maguire were both at Cannes in support of Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese’s upcoming book adaptation of the true-crime novel of the same name about the Osage Murders at a time when the FBI had been newly formed. Check out the Killers of the Flower Moon trailer that has us expecting thinking the movie is about to get all the Oscars:

While I’m bummed we didn’t see a face-to-face reunion between the Spider-Man stars, their appearance at the Cannes premiere does come as Sam Raimi’s trilogy recently arrived on Disney+. All three Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies are currently streaming along with The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Venom. Although Maguire and Dunst got to see the first showing of Scorsese’s movie Saturday, the rest of us will have to wait for Killers of the Flower Moon, which arrives in theaters on October 20. 

This is lining up to be a thrilling year for film enthusiasts. If you head out to the theaters to support directors with strong voices and powerful visions, you can look forward to upcoming 2023 movies from Wes Anderson (Asteroid City), David Fincher (The Killer), Denis Villenueve (Dune: Part Two), Sir Ridley Scott (Napoleon), and Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon). That final one has raised all sorts of green flags, for it marks the first time the legendary director will team with both Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. And now, based on this first trailer, it looks exactly like the Oscar contender we believed it to be. Check the trailer out now.

Martin Scorsese has circled Killers of the Flower Moon for decades, ever since author David Grann announced it as a project. Hollywood adapted his previous novel The Lost City of Z into a compelling and underrated film that was a tough shoot for Robert Pattinson and Charlie Hunnam. And Scorsese ended up being a dream collaborator for Grann, who confessed to being “overwhelmed” by the master at work when he visited the Flower Moon set. And it’s easy to understand why. The subject matter falls directly into several wheelhouses that the director has explored – to great affect – over the course of his career.

The subtitle for Killers of the Flower Moon reads “The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” making it a historical drama linked into the world of organized crime… only, this time through the eyes of the lawmen sent to Oklahoma to investigate a series of grisly murders in the Osage Nation after oil is discovered on their land. Hence, the comparison that I made in the headline to both Scorsese’s masterpiece, Goodfellas, and the equally staggering Paul Thomas Anderson drama There Will Be Blood. 

There was a traditional way to access this story of the Osage Nation murders, and that would be through the eyes of J. Edgar Hoover and the Texas Ranger (played by the excellent Jesse Plemons) who is sent in to investigate – hence the “Birth of the FBI” portion of David Grann’s nonfiction work. But the more that Scorsese worked on the script – and Leonardo DiCaprio gave his own input – they realized that they were more interested in the corruption that was infesting the Osage community once oil was discovered there, and people started losing their lives. The production itself ran into a few delays, one caused by an injury to Robert De Niro, but the film is ready to screen and is about to make its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. 

The best news for Scorsese fans is that, in addition to heading to the AppleTV+ streaming service, Killers of the Flower Moon also will open in theaters, and screen the way that we assume the director intended. Look for it in October.

Martin Scorsese is set to have a memorable year. Fresh off Paramount (in partnership with Apple Studios) showing off first look footage of his upcoming 2023 movie release Killers of the Flower Moon, the director was awarded the Legend of Cinema award at CinemaCon 2023 in Las Vegas. He then sat down with lead Leonardo DiCaprio for a thoughtful (and sometimes rambling) conversation that touched on the movie theater experience as well as their many years of work together. 

The first question DiCaprio asked Scorsese made sense for the CinemaCon crowd, as it touched on why the theatrical experience is important – something near and dear to the many theater owners, employees and executives who frequent the event. But it also served to clarify some comments he has made in the past about Marvel movies not being “cinema.” 

Though he noted the theater is fun for stuff like Avatar and still very much a shared communal experience, he recalled how fundamental experiences like seeing North By Northwest and other auteur films were when he was growing up and first falling in love with the business of making movies. He spoke about how giving independent films moments in the theater is how generations in the future will connect in the same way and will hopefully go on to become the Scorsese’s or the Fellini’s of their own day. 

To deep dive further into how memorable some moviegoing moments in the theater can be, Martin Scorsese also spoke with Leonardo DiCaprio about seeing Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho during opening week in New York.

Psycho premiered in 1960. Scorsese would have been just 18 at the time, seven years before his directorial debut with Who’s That Knocking At My Door. More than two dozen films later, we know he’ll be back on the big screen for Killers of the Flower Moon, a movie which Apple Studios produced for streaming, but which will get a robust and lengthy theatrical release thanks to a partnership with Paramount. The studio brought first look footage to CinemaCon featuring DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, members of the Osage Nation and a slew of other names. 

While Scorsese has had one movie notably appear on streaming (with a limited theatrical release), The Irishman, even at the time he spoke about the sanctity of the theatrical experience, citing Netflix being the only company to give him the budget he needed as the reason it went to streaming. But it’s clear from everything he said today (and really has been saying for years) that he has an almost bibliographic love and deep-seated passion for cinema. And as he put it today, “Film combines all the other art forms… it’s poetry.”

Martin Scorsese’s latest film Killers of the Flower Moon is moving forward with a star-studded cast as well as members of the Osage Nation. With all of the hard work and dedication that's been put into this movie, no wonder it has a reported runtime of almost four hours. As Killers of the Flower Moon is based on the non-fiction book of the same name, author David Grann got to visit the set where he felt “pretty overwhelmed” being in the presence of Scorsese and the film’s star Leo DiCaprio.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese have officially reunited to film Killers of the Flower Moon, about the Oklahoma murders that occurred within the Osage Nation in the 1920s after oil was discovered on their land. Adapted from David Grann’s non-fiction book, this author told Vanity Fair he was “pretty overwhelmed” that of all people to bring his esteemed work to life would be an Oscar-winning director such as Scorsese.

Some of Martin Scorsese’s best movies were based on pieces of history like The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Aviator. So the acclaimed director seemed like the perfect fit for this project. David Grann said in his interview that he felt the mysterious murders within the Osage Nation were one of the worst moments of racial injustice in history. Yet it’s a piece of history that hasn’t been taught in schools. Luckily, we have authors like Grann willing to use literature to explore the gaps that exist in history.

One of the many perks that come with having A-list stars adapting your book is being able to visit the film’s set. And yes, David Grann was one of those authors who did so and felt very pleased with what he saw.

It’s always very important when making a historical film to be as accurate as possible. Cinematic history has shown in the past that films based on historical periods like 10,000 BC and Alexander could receive harsh reactions from historians watching if inaccuracy follows scene-to-scene, lowering a film’s overall praise, box office, and credibility. Luckily, we shouldn’t have to worry about that for Scorsese’s Western crime drama. Grann reported that Scorsese used accuracy to a T from the costume design, filming in Osage county, and having Osage-language experts consult with the actors in getting the Osage dialogue right. Something to know about Killers of the Flower Moon is that the Taxi Driver director has made sure to accurately depict the Osage Nation by working with advisors from the community and engaging in discussions with several of its members. 

David Grann also pointed out that Martin Scorsese put as much research into Killers of the Flower Moon as Grann did in writing his book. He was thoroughly impressed with Scorsese and his actors behaving as “historians” for the project.

Having the Killers of the Flower Moon author David Grann be able to visit the set of the upcoming movie should provide him with a sense of relief that the Osage Nation will be accurately represented. With Osage chief Geoffrey Standing Bear as one of the many movie ambassadors from the Nation helping to develop the story and being able to film on location will allow this movie to represent a piece of history audiences will be talking about for a long time. This 2023 movie release hits wide release in theaters on October 20th before streaming globally on your Apple TV+ subscription.

It has been a week filled with good news for film fans patiently awaiting the release of Martin Scorsese’s next picture, the hotly anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon. Initially, Apple Original Films gave audiences something to cheer when the announced that Scorsese’s picture would enjoy a proper theatrical presentation, opening in theaters worldwide, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, limited on Friday, October 6, and wide on Friday, October 20, before streaming globally on AppleTV+. Right after that, though, we learned that Killers of the Flower Moon would be making its debut much earlier than October, helping to increase the hype for the drama.

One of the reasons why we are extremely excited for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is his cast. He’s reteaming with both Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio – his two main “muses” over the years – and bringing along Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons and Cara Jade Myers. That ensemble must have been enough firepower to attract Cannes, because the second shoe to drop for Flower Moon this week is Variety’s report that the movie will make its bow at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20. 

Just need to figure out how to get to the Croisette by then.

It’s not just Scorsese’s tremendous cast for Killers of the Flower Moon. It’s the subject matter, which feels like it’s precisely in the director’s wheelhouse. Scorsese is co-writing the script for Flower Moon with Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Dune, The Insider, Munich) for a story about the birth of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The official Synopsis from Apple Original Films will make you very excited:

That gives us Shutter Island vibes, and we personally consider that chilling murder mystery to be one of the director’s most overlooked and underappreciated works. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen with Flower Moon.

A Cannes bow for Killers of the Flower Moon is a significant vote of confidence for Scorsese’s latest, his first with Apple Original Films after doing The Irishman with Netflix. And the fact that the movie landed a limited theatrical run, as well as a wide theatrical opening, before heading to the streaming platform is significant. It shows that filmmakers still have the opportunity to work with streamers to get their films into theaters, and that theater chains are warming up to the idea that they’ll carry streaming pictures, so long as a proper window is determined. 

Or, maybe you just have to be Scorsese. That definitely helps. 

Look for Killers of the Flower Moon in May if you happen to be in France. Or in October, when the movie starts to screen on October 6.

While you can rent your favorite movies on Apple TV, the streaming service has so much to offer those with an Apple TV+ subscription. From amazing documentaries that talk about hit pop singers to award-winning movies such as CODA and Killers of the Flower Moon, there are plenty of options to suit your tastes.

While the best Apple TV+ shows are just as fun to watch, the movies are great too, which is what makes it one of the best streaming services out there. Let’s get into it.

CODA 

First up on this list, we have the 2022 Academy Award Best Picture winner, CODA. This movie tells the inspiring story of a young woman who is the only hearing person within her deaf family, and discovers that she has a passion for singing. However, she must choose between pursuing this passion and staying at home to help her family with their fishing business.

CODA is phenomenal. From the outstanding CODA cast (one of which, Troy Kotsur, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor) to its inspiring story, this movie is one that you won't forget. It's a simple coming of age tale that somehow speaks so many volumes and encourages you to chase your dreams, no matter what obstacles might be in your way. It's no wonder it won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Stream CODA on Apple TV+.

Killers Of The Flower Moon

Killers Of The Flower Moon deserves to be on here, no matter what. The film, which was made by Apple TV but was put in theaters first, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is about how several murders took place in the Osage Nation of Native Americans when oil was discovered on their land.

This movie is deep. It’s dark, it’s gritty, and it will hammer you down into your seat for hours on end – and trust me, you will be there for hours because the film is 3+ hours long. Either way, the cast all deliver exceptional performances, with Lily Gladstone being the standout.

Stream Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+.

Fly Me To The Moon

Directed by Greg Berlanti, Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum and is a historical rom-com/drama that tells the story of how a marketing specialist and a NASA launch director work together to create a fake moon landing story in case an actual launch – the Apollo 11 mission – fails.

I’ll always say that Fly Me to the Moon was grossly underappreciated when it came out in theaters, mainly because I feel it did not have the proper amount of marketing to promote it to the world. I mean, of course Johannson and Tatum have fantastic chemistry, but it’s really the original story that makes this film that much more fun to watch, because it’s not what you expect. You’ll really have no idea what you’re getting into with this one – and that’s a good thing

Stream Fly Me to the Moon on Apple TV+.

Beastie Boys Story

Have you ever been curious about the lives of one of the most famous musical groups of all time? That’s exactly what Beastie Boys Story is all about. Band members Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz came together to share the story of their band and the forty-year friendship that came along with it through every up and down they could have imagined.

For people like us who never really get to understand what’s on the inside of the music industry, it’s certainly one of my absolute favorite pieces of work that I have watched regarding it. For a band that has been around as long as the Beastie Boys, hearing about everything they have been through is inspiring, and will make anyone want to get up and achieve their dreams with their buddies by their side.

Stream Beastie Boys Story on Apple TV+.

Blitz

Starring Saoirse Ronan and Elliott Heffernan, and directed by Steve McQueen, Blitz is a war drama that will have you on the edge of your seat. This film follows the harrowing but brave tale of a young boy and his travels when his mother sends him out to the English countryside in the middle of World War II to keep him safe amongst the violence.

This film really hits a lot of the right notes. It’s a great war film, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the meaning behind the story of the little boy, George, and his family that makes you want to support him and his journey. It’s a story of love, of fortitude, and so much more, and it’s a movie that I would recommend anyone watch if you need a good drama.

Stream Blitz on Apple TV+.

Girls State

If you’ve heard of Boys State, then you have to check out Girls State, a companion film. The movie is a documentary that follows a week-long immersive experience that puts a bunch of girls to the test as they learn how to build a government on their own – a democratic experiment that can either end brilliantly, or terribly.

Boys State is a great film, but I think Girls State is even better. While it still delivers a lot of the same themes as the original movie that it’s based on, I think that the girls just work better this time around and make for a much more interesting social commentary on politics and gender. And, if you want to check out Boys State, it’s also available to stream on Apple TV+.

Stream Girls State on Apple TV+.
Stream Boys State on Apple TV+.

Wolfs

I mean, you can’t really get better than George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Wolfs is directed by Jon Watts and is an action comedy that tells the story of two fixers (people who are literally assigned to “fix things” for people and get them out of tough situations), who are forced to work together on a job even though they tend to do things on their own – like a lone wolf.

Look, again – it’s George Clooney and Brad Pitt. These two have chemistry off the charts and any movie they are in will usually be gold, and Wolfs is that and more. The action is fun and the story is enjoyable, and it’s also the most-viewed film on Apple TV+, so you know it’s loved by most.

Stream Wolfs on Apple TV+.

Causeway

If you’re looking for a brilliant drama, then you need to check out the quiet but powerful Causeway. This film, starring Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role, tells the story of a young woman who experiences a brain injury while she is overseas in Afghanistan during a tour for the U.S. Army. But, as she waits at home to go back out into the field, she struggles to adapt to normal everyday life after the trauma she went through.

Watching Causeway is an experience that I think everyone needs to have. The main character tries to learn to adapt to new settings and circumstances that she isn’t used to after going through such a harrowing experience like war. It’s about perseverance and bravery and so much more, and I personally think it’s a movie everyone should watch. Also, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in it is great, as well as that of Brian Tyree Henry (who earned an Academy Award nomination for his role).

Stream Causeway on Apple TV+.

Bread And Roses

While Apple TV+ has some great original films, as you can see, there are plenty of great documentaries as well, and one of my personal favorites is Bread and Roses. The movie follows the lives of women who live in Afghanistan, and how their lives are affected by the Taliban.

I know that sometimes, we like to not pay attention to things that are going on outside of our direct lives – and I do think that it’s alright to do that occasionally. But movies like Bread and Roses are the types of films that make you aware of what is happening in the rest of the world, and not only teaches you a lot, but makes you want to help others. The movie is powerful in so many ways, and I can not recommend it enough.

Stream Bread and Roses on Apple TV+.

Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry

2019 was a big year in music, namely for one young star named Billie Eilish. And in Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, we got a first-hand look into her life as she was just starting to rise to fame, and how her life differs from being at home to on stage and writing her debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?”

If you don’t know the story of this amazing singer and want to learn, this is your best bet. Not only is it captivating and motivating to listen to Eilish’s story and hear what she has gone through, but the documentary again gives a look into the music industry from a different point of view. It’s been several years since this documentary came out, but even getting this slight glimpse into her life at the beginning is interesting enough to keep you watching, and now, you can look back on it from a five-year later perspective.

Stream Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry on Apple TV+.

The Tragedy Of Macbeth 

William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, telling the tale of a young man who is told by three witches that he will be the next King of Scotland, but this blind belief it what ultimately leads to his downfall.

I mean, you can’t get more classic than Macbeth, and this movie tells the story wonderfully. Denzel Washington is killer in his role as Macbeth, and deserves all the awards, but honestly the whole entire Tragedy of Macbeth cast is talented and really gave this movie their all, creating another awesome addition to Apple TV+’s repertoire.

Stream The Tragedy of Macbeth on Apple TV+.

Bruce Springsteen’s Letter To You

If you want a film that covers one of the most known singers and performers of all time, Bruce Springsteen, then this is the movie for you. In Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You, Springsteen opens up about everything in his life to his fans as a tribute to the E Street Band, rock ‘n’ roll in general, and how music has shaped his life.

What’s even cooler about this awesome documentary is that we get to see Bruce Springsteen record with his full band live in the studio for the first time since Born in the U.S.A., one of his most famous songs. As someone who grew up listening to all different kinds of genres, it warms my heart to see Springsteen so affected by music and understanding where it has taken him in life.

Stream Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You on Apple TV+.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

I told you Apple TV+ has some great documentaries, and Still is certainly one of them. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie Is a documentary that follows the life of actor Michael J. Fox, and how he has struggled with Parkinson’s disease throughout much of his life.

As someone who has seen plenty of Fox’s movies as I’ve grown up, I think the documentary gives a more intimate look into the life of the famous actor, and really helps the audience connect more with what he has gone through for so many years. If anything, it’ll make you appreciate him all the more for the memories his movies have made for so many.

Stream Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie on Apple TV+.

Wolfwalkers

Okay, I’m going to be honest, animation is one of my favorite genres, and I hope that if it is for you, then you will surely check out Wolfwalkers. In this Academy-Award nominated film, we follow the story of Robyn Goodfellowe, a young hunter who goes to Ireland with her father in an attempt to wipe out the last wolf pack during a time where magic and superstition run wild.

I hope I can scream this to the heavens because oh my God, this is one of the most beautifully animated films I have ever had the privilege to witness. It’s such different animation from the typical CGI-madness that we get on a daily basis and I believe that it’s something everyone should see, even if animated films have never been your thing. It’s euphoric to see a film like Wolfwalkers streaming that is so vividly pleasing as this one.

Stream Wolfwalkers on Apple TV+.

Swan Song  

Starring Academy Award-winner Mahershala Ali, Swan Song is beautiful in all the right ways. Swan Song starts off with a common issue that many people face - a family member who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. However, in this world, he is given the ultimate opportunity for his family to thrive after he’s gone – the ability to replace himself with a clone.

I bet that premise already has you hooked in some way, and it should. This movie isn’t the flashiest piece of sci-fi, but it’s certainly one that has so much heart and will probably make you cry in some way. Mahershala Ali, however, is who truly shines. Playing dual roles is hard, but literally trying to play yourself in two different ways seems like it would be even harder, and he does a fantastic job. The movie is worth watching just for his excellent performance.

Stream Swan Song on Apple TV+.

Selena Gomez: My Mind And Me

When I first found out that Selena Gomez, an actress and singer, was releasing a documentary on Apple TV+ about some of her tougher years, I was intrigued at first, but only when I watched Selena Gomez: My Mind And Me did I realize just how much fans didn’t know what was going on with her behind the scenes. The film gives us a personal look into her life, and how she dealt with her personal and professional issues.

As a fan of hers from the past — and even for fans of hers from Only Murders in the Building – I felt many feelings while watching this documentary. It was a great insight into the mindset of a former Disney kid, and showed just how much she truly tried to break out as her own individual person and not be associated with someone else. If you’re a fan of the actress, I’d truly suggest watching this movie – it’ll change your perspective on her, in a good way.

Stream Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me on Apple TV+.

Hala

I’ll preface this by saying that I grew up Catholic, and because of that, I was never exposed to how other religions were practiced for a long time. That’s why a movie like Hala was so necessary for me to be properly informed. In Hala, we look into the life of Hala Masood, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, and her becoming a teenager with her own values and life that are in conflict with the views of her Muslim family.

Again, I never got to experience anything as a younger child because it wasn’t what I grew up around, so having a chance to really get to explore what it’s like in other religions opened my eyes to things I never thought I’d see. Conversations I never thought I’d hear. For Hala, it’s the classic self-discovery story of a young teenage girl, mixed in with some serious themes that anyone from today could understand, and how family and your own life sometimes don’t always mix so well. It’s truly a movie of the times, and a great one at that.

Stream Hala on Apple TV+.

With all these options to choose from, you’ll surely be entertained for some time now. I can’t wait to see what new 2025 movies are going to be added to this list. Time for more movie marathons.

Iconic cinematic teams are just hard to separate, provided nothing too horrible or conflicting prevents such reunions. Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio definitely qualify as one of those teams that doesn’t seem to quit, as they even team up on upcoming movies that might not even get made. Though their latest effort Killers of the Flower Moon has been delayed into 2023, Scorsese and DiCaprio have set sights on another movie they’ll be making as an Apple original.

This time, the boys are heading out to the high seas, as THR reports Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are in talks to respectively direct and star in a tale of naval malfeasance. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder is the source material that’s in question, as author David Grann’s recent historical book recounts the story of a 1740s mutiny that went to trial. With two separate groups of survivors questioning each other’s roles in the proceedings, survival and morality would be called into question. 

One rather interesting question that needs to be answered is whether or not The Wager will see a theatrical release. Apple TV+ has certainly sent some of their films to theaters, with this year’s Best Picture winner CODA benefitting from a streaming and theatrical release. Then there's something like Killers of the Flower Moon, which is being sent to theaters through a partnership with the project’s original studio home of Paramount Pictures. The Wager, on the other hand, is purely an Apple Original Films baby, so there's no obligation for a wider release model outside of an awards qualifying run, which would allow flexibility in how to release the film. 

Non-fiction has been a common thread throughout quite a few of the films that Scorsese and DiCaprio have teamed up on in the past. Starting with 2002’s Gangs of New York, the two would go on to draw from real figures and events to deliver The Aviator and The Wolf of Wall Street in the years to come. Counting Killers of the Flower Moon in the equation, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have made four movies that stem from non-fictional narratives. 

Fans who have tracked the history of either collaborator are probably thinking that while The Wager sounds like a fantastic project, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen as quickly as it’s been announced. Seeing as Leonardo DiCaprio has been attached to The Devil in the White City since 2015, that adaptation could present a potential stumbling block for this new book on the shelf. That’s provided that White City's current incarnation as a Hulu TV series is still even on the books. 

Several of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best movies have been shepherded by the hand of Martin Scorsese. Any time their names are mentioned as connected to something, even if it’s a bonkers short film/casino ad directed by Scorsese, the occasion will usually make news. For now, we'll have to wait to see what news comes out of The Wager's development cycle. In the meantime, Killers of the Flower Moon is set to bring Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio back to theaters, presumably at some point in 2023. 

News about Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese reuniting for the book adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon couldn’t make anybody more thrilled. Some of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performances where he really shines as an actor has been in a Martin Scorsese film. However, Killers of the Flower Moon has reportedly hit a delay in its release.

A Deadline report says that Killers of the Flower Moon, a potential Oscar contender for its top categories, will not be around for the next Oscars race. Instead, the upcoming Western crime drama will get its global showcase premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival next May. Not only will this film get the film festival premiere treatment, but will acquire a theatrical release from Paramount who will also cover the marketing costs and get a distribution fee based on box office earnings. Considering Scorsese’s new movie will be hitting Apple TV+ streaming as well, this will be the first Apple TV+ original film to get a full theatrical release compared to it only being released in select theaters for award eligibility purposes.

There’s no reason to fear that the new film festival plan will tarnish any chance that Killers of the Flower Moon has for Oscar wins. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood first premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival scoring 10 Oscar nominations and winning Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pit and Best Production Design. Not to mention, it earned a worldwide box office total of $374.6 million. With Killers of the Flower Moon having the same aspirations and bringing more audience awareness with its streaming, I’d say this film has just as good a chance for success as any future Oscar-nominated film.

This wouldn’t be the first snag that this upcoming Martin Scorsese film has had to deal with. Reportedly after arguments that occurred relating to the script, Leonardo DiCaprio backed out of playing the hero of the story and instead decided to portray the nephew of the film’s antagonist played by veteran actor Robert De Niro. There was also the time when De Niro suffered a quadriceps muscle leg injury off-set which luckily did not delay production and the actor’s scenes were already filmed. Despite all of the snags that the making of this film has endured, we should still expect an extraordinary movie.

What we know so far about Killers of the Flower Moon is that the plot follows a series of mysterious murders of wealthy Osage Native Americans after oil was discovered on their land. It was this 1920s investigation that led to the birth of the FBI. Other than this being the sixth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, it will also be the 10th collaboration between the acclaimed director and De Niro. This will also be the third collaboration between De Niro and DiCaprio whose only films together have been 1993’s This Boy’s Life and 1996’s Marvin’s Room. Another thing to be excited about is seeing the epic return of Brendan Fraser and A+ actor John Lithgow. 

Killers of the Flower Moon may be released later than originally expected, but this will just increase the anticipation Martin Scorsese fans will have with the wait being well worth it. This upcoming film will make its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023.

For those of us with an extreme and unhealthy obsession with the Oscars, predicting is a year-round game. So, with the Oscars mostly in the rearview mirror, let’s examine some films I think could be strong contenders for next year. Obviously, release dates can and will change. Not all of these movies will end up delivering on their promises, but given the knowledge we have right now, these are the movies most likely to make serious noise at the Academy Awards next year.

I've selected fifteen movies with a few honorable mentions, but I can and will change my predictions throughout the year as more information becomes available. As of right now, though, here are my picks...

1. Babylon (Paramount)

There’s nothing the Oscars love more than movies about movies. Babylon follows an aspiring actor (played by Diego Calva) who enters the film industry during the transition between silent films to talkies. Early word is that it has the manic energy of Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt have big, juicy roles here that could easily put them back in the awards conversation. Damien Chazelle’s previous three films, Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man, are all Oscar winners. There’s no reason to believe this one won’t follow.

2. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+)

Scorsese and DiCaprio have a near-flawless record with their collaborations being nominated for Best Picture (Shutter Island is the only exception). The highly anticipated 200 million dollar budget western crime drama will arrive in November on Apple TV+, a distributor not to be underestimated. The film also stars Jesse Plemmons, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, and Brendan Fraser, and surrounds a series of murders in Oklahoma committed against members of the Osage tribe in the 1920s.

3. The Fabelmans (Universal)

Steven Spielberg is directing a film about his childhood. Need I say more? Michelle Williams and Paul Dano are playing Sammy's parents, and Seth Rogen is playing his uncle. Since 2011 the director has had five films nominated for Best Picture, including West Side Story from this year. This is sure to be another charming and inspirational film from the legendary director, and likely his most personal yet. 

4. Empire of Light (Searchlight)

Olivia Colman is easily one of the greatest working actresses, and her run since 2018’s The Favourite has been nearly flawless. Empire of Light is likely another meaty role for the actress, considering its director is Sam Mendes, the director of 1917 and American Beauty. There are few plot details at this time, but this is yet another movie about the love for movies, revolving around an old cinema in England in the 80s. 

5. Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Yes, this was released in March. Yes, it’s a multiverse action film, it’s a comedy, and it’s weird as hell. But nobody could have predicted how good the reception to this thing would be. It has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and is currently the highest rated film of all time on Letterboxd. The box office numbers are looking solid so far, and buzz for this one is through the roof, including for stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. I don’t see how the excitement could die down by the end of the year. 

6. Thirteen Lives (MGM)

It was only a matter of time before this story got the Hollywood treatment. It surrounds the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand, a weeks-long effort in which a group of professional divers miraculously rescued a group of boys from a flooded cave. You might recognize this story if you’d seen one of last year’s best documentaries The Rescue. Ron Howard is helming the project with Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton in key roles. It’s easy to imagine this one playing well to an enthusiastic Toronto Film Festival audience.

7. The Son (Sony Pictures Classics)

Florian Zeller’s debut feature film The Father was one of 2019’s best films and a huge Academy hit, winning Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins. The filmmaker is back with his second feature adaptation of a play of his own. The cast is incredible, with Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, and Vanessa Kirby in roles that could earn them nominations. Will Zeller find similar success to The Father, or will this be a sophomore slump?

8. Women Talking (MGM)

It’s certainly not every year that we get a new film from Sarah Polley, the director of Away From Her, Take This Waltz, and Stories We Tell. Her latest project is a buzzy adaptation of the novel of the same title, involving a group of Mennonite women who discuss how to respond to a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony’s men. The cast includes Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jesse Buckley, and Ben Whishaw. It has all the makings of a critically acclaimed fall festival film like The Power of the Dog or The Lost Daughter.

9. Rustin (Netflix)

One of Netflix’s heavy-hitters this year, Rustin follows gay civil rights activist Baynard Rustin in the 60s. He’s being played by Colman Domingo, who could see some overdue recognition from the Academy for this one. The film is stacked all around, with Ma Rainey helmer George C. Wolfe directing, and Milk writer Dustin Lance Black penning the script. It’ll also feature supporting turns from Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Jeffrey Wright and Audra McDonald. 

10. Next Goal Wins (Searchlight)

Next Goal Wins is a sports comedy that tells the story of the American Samoa soccer team who suffered the worst loss in World Cup history. With Michael Fassbender in the lead role and Taika Waititi directing, this has potential to be a hilarious crowd pleaser. It could be the third sports film in a row nominated for Best Picture after Ford v Ferrari and King Richard. 

11. Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)

Alejandro González Iñárritu has never directed a film that wasn’t nominated for at least one Academy Award, and his most recent two won him back-to-back directing Oscars. For his latest, he’ll be returning to Mexico with an all Mexican cast and crew, similar to what Cuáron did with Roma. There are few details about this one except that it’s a comedy about a journalist returning to his country. Sounds like it has some big ideas on its mind as well.

12. She Said (Universal)

She Said will tell the story of the two New York Times journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story. The film sounds like it’s somewhere between Bombshell and Spotlight, and could see nominations for lead actresses Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan. The film is also in good hands with Maria Schrader directing, who helmed last year’s critically acclaimed I’m Your Man. 

13. Canterbury Glass (20th Century)

After the trio of successes that was The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle, David O’Russell seemed unstoppable. However, his 2015 film Joy was a bit of a critical flop, and he’s since faced allegations of abuse. His latest film is yet another contender that takes place in the 1920s and features the director’s most stacked cast yet. It's being led by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington, with a supporting cast that includes Taylor Swift, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, Mike Myers, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldaña, and Michael Shannon. It’s also being shot by 3 time Oscar winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki.

14. The Whale (A24)

Darren Aronofsky’s latest is an adaptation of a play about an English teacher living with severe obesity, attempting to connect with his daughter. This may be a new career high for Brandan Fraser, who could easily find himself in the Best Actor conversation. He has the entire internet rooting for his comeback. Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, and Samantha Morton have meaty roles as well. The project will probably be more akin to the tender drama of The Wrestler than the cinematic freak-out of Mother!. 

15. Armageddon Time (Focus Features)

James Gray is yet another director telling a semi-autobiographical story about his childhood. Gray is one of the most acclaimed working directors, but has never found a way into the Oscar conversation. Perhaps Armageddon Time could change that, especially with the talent of Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and Anthony Hopkins in supporting roles.

Other Possibilities

Those aren’t the only strong possibilities, however. David Fincher’s The Killer and Noah Baumbach’s White Noise could be some of Netflix’s top contenders. The long-awaited Avatar 2 arrives in December (or so it seems). The Woman King is a historical epic starring Viola Davis, and Till follows the mother of Emmett Till and her fight for justice. 

Check back here at CinemaBlend for more 2023 awards updates.

There’s a different kind of experience that takes place when we watch a movie based on a book we’ve read. Spending time reading a book allows us to conjure up our own details and ideas about how a story unfolds in our heads and when we see it on film, it’s someone else’s version of that. This past year we saw Frank Herbert's Dune become a blockbuster, Ridley Scott adapt two true stories in The Last Duel and House of Gucci among other notable films. In the new year, there’s a new and massive stack of books to movies headed our way. 

Is this your 2022 reading list? Perhaps a checklist to see how many book-to-movie adaptations you’ve gotten to already on the page? You decide. Between thrilling romances, intense action, horror classics and historical fiction, there’s a lot of exciting titles going from shelf to screen this upcoming year. Let’s break them down:

Redeeming Love - January 21

A classic historical romance from the early ‘90s, Redeeming Love is finally being adapted to the big screen with a movie from Disturbia director D.J. Caruso. The movie starring Abigail Cowen, Famke Janssen, Nina Dobrev and Eric Dane is a retelling of the biblical book of Hosea, set during the California Gold Rush in 1850. It looks to be a sweeping romance with a western flair based on bestselling author Francine Rivers’ first novel. 

The Black Phone - February 4

Coming from the opposite side of the library is The Black Phone, an adaptation from a 2004 short story from the son of Stephen King, Joe Hill. The story is about a boy (Mason Thames) who is kidnapped by a serial killer (Ethan Hawke) and trapped inside a soundproof basement. The boy finds a disconnected phone that begins to ring and transmit the voices of the killer’s other victims. The movie was co-written/directed by Scott Derrickson, who famously helmed Sinister. 

Death On The Nile - February 11

Following Kenneth Branagh’s first Agatha Christie adaptation, 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, the actor/director has continued his whodunnit anthology with Death On The Nile. The murder mystery has a stacked cast including Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, Letitia Wright and Russell Brand. The movie has been delayed multiple times, due to the pandemic, and amidst Armie Hammer’s cannibal sexting scandals. The movie follows Branagh’s Hercule Poirot as he investigates the murder of a young heiress while on vacation.

The Amazing Maurice - February 13 

On the children’s novel front, STX Entertainment is releasing an animated family film early this year called The Amazing Maurice. It’s based on the fantasy book The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett which is a new take on the classic fairy tale Pied Piper of Hamelin. The movie stars the voice talents of Hugh Laurie, Emilia Clarke, Himesh Patel and David Tennant. It follows Maurice the cat, who tricks a human boy to be his very own rat piper. 

Mothering Sunday - February 25 

Another romantic drama coming out in early 2022 is Mothering Sunday, starring Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, The Crown’s Josh O’Connor and newcomer Odessa Young. The movie is based on a 2016 novel set in 1924 about a maid as she visits her lover since childhood as he is getting ready to be married. The period romance is sure to be a sultry visit to the movies, and featuring some of the most beloved British talents.

The Unbreakable Boy - March 18 

The Unbreakable Boy: A Father’s Fear, A Son’s Courage, And A Story Of Unconditional Love hit bookshelves in 2017, and in 2022 the true story will be told with a movie. It follows a teen boy named Austin, who has a rare brittle-bone disease and is autistic. The book was co-written by Austin’s father, Scott, and the adaptation will see Zachary Levi taking on the role for the screen. The movie is set to be an empowering drama about a real family’s experiences. 

The Bad Guys - April 22 

Another movie coming off the pages of the children’s section is The Bad Guys. DreamWorks Animation is adapting Aaron Blabey’s best selling series of books about a group of misunderstood reformed criminal animals. The main characters are Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina). The animated film will be a heist comedy that has the potential of beginning a franchise considering the series is fifteen stories in. 

Mrs Harris Goes To Paris - March 4 

Based on the beloved 1958 novel Mrs. ‘Arris Goes To Paris, by Paul Gallico, and following a 1992 TV movie adaptation starring Angela Lansbury, Diana Rigg and Omar Sharif, comes an upcoming remake, Mrs Harris Goes To Paris. This version starring Lesley Manville as the titular Mrs. Harris once again follows the story of a widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London who becomes obsessed with a couture Dior dress and goes off to Paris because of it. The movie also stars Jason Isaacs and Isabelle Huppert. 

Bullet Train - July 15 

After some time off the saddle, Brad Pitt is returning to the action genre for Bullet Train. The thriller directed by Deadpool 2 director David Leitch is about five assassins aboard a fast-moving bullet train who realize their individual assignments are interconnected. Bullet Train is based on the Japanese novel by Kōtarō Isaka and also stars Zazie Beetz, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, Michael Shannon, Logan Lerman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji and Bad Bunny. We expect this one to be a summer hit! 

Where The Crawdads Sing - July 22

Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing has remained a big hit since the novel went straight to the bestseller list in 2018. The book is the latest to be picked up by Reese Witherspoon and her innovative production company Hello Sunshine for an adaptation. The coming-of-age story set on the North Carolina coast will star Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones and unfold the mystery of how a woman who raises herself in the marshes of the deep South becomes a suspect in a murder. 

Dark Harvest - September 9

After a long time in the works, and previously set for last year, David Slade’s adaptation of Dark Harvest is expected to finally come out in 2022. Based on the book by Norman Partridge, the story follows a legendary monster called October Boy, who terrorizes residents with his butcher knife in a small midwestern town every Halloween. The Dark Harvest movie will star Elizabeth Reaser, Jeremy Davies and a primarily young cast, just in time for spooky season. 

Salem’s Lot - September 9 

Another horror story set to get a book adaptation is Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, which was the author’s second book after Carrie. This story centers on a writer who goes to a town that he finds to have residents becoming vampires. The movie will be directed by Annabelle Comes Home’s Gary Dauberman and will star Lewis Pullman, William Sadler, Alfre Woodard, Spencer Treat Clark and Pilou Asbæk. 

She Said - November 18

Hollywood has discussed the #MeToo movement in a variety of ways over the years, and will continue to do so with an adaptation of She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite A Movement. Of course the story we’re talking about is regarding Harvey Weinstein, which was broken by reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. In the upcoming movie adaptation, Zoe Kazan will play Kantor and Carey Mulligan will play Twohey and break down how it allegedly happened. 

All Quiet On The Western Front - TBD

Another classic novel getting the movie treatment in 2022 is Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet On The Western Front, which originally came out in 1928, in between WWI and WWII. This version is being produced for Netflix in a movie that will star Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Daniel Brühl. The war movie classically takes us on a journey of a group of German soldiers’ tribulations during WWI as they return home from the western front. 

Argylle - TBD 

Henry Cavill has adapted many beloved characters such as Superman, The Witcher and Sherlock Holmes. Next up, he’ll play the “world’s greatest spy” for Apple film Argylle. The movie directed by Matthew Vaughn of the X-Men prequel and Kingsman from a book by Ellie Conway, except in an odd twist the book has yet to come out either. So this one has an asterisk to it but it seems the author and filmmakers are working together here. Argylle will also star Ariana DeBose, Catherine O’Hara, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, John Cena and even Dua Lipa. 

Blonde - TBD 

Ana de Armas is set to play Marilyn Monroe in a Netflix adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel Blonde, which serves as a fictionalized chronicle of the late actress’ life. The movie is written and directed by Killing Them Softly’s Andrew Dominik and also includes Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale and Sara Paxton. 

Deep Water - TBD

Speaking of Ana de Armas, the No Time To Die actress is also the star of an adaptation of the thriller Deep Water, based on a book by Patricia Highsmith. The movie famously is the set where Ana de Armas met Ben Affleck, leading to them becoming a couple for some time. Deep Water is about a couple in a loveless marriage who become entangled in a murder. 

Killers Of The Flower Moon - TBD 

Martin Scorsese followup to The Irishman is Killers of the Flower Moon, which will be based on Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. The bestseller tells one of the most “monstrous crimes in American history.” The movie will star Leo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Brendan Fraser and Jesse Plemons from a script by Eli Roth and land on AppleTV+. 

Mr. Malcolm’s List - TBD 

Another book adaptation of the period assortment is Mr. Malcolm’s List, which has enlisted the original author of its book Suzanne Allain for the script. The movie will star Freida Pinto, Theo James, Zaw Ashton and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. It’s about a young woman in 1800s England who enlists the help of her friend to get revenge on a suitor who rejected her for failing a requirement on his list. 

Persuasion - TBD

Jane Austen books continue to be fruitful to be revisited on film and Netflix is set to make a movie adaptation for her last work, Persuasion. This version will be led by Dakota Johnson, Henry Golding, Suki Waterhouse and Richard E. Grant. Persuasion follows Austen’s most adult heroine in Johnson’s Anne. We’ll be interested to see how this version compares with the two previous BBC versions. It seems as though this will be the first proper Hollywood telling of the story.

School for Good and Evil - TBD

Bridesmaids director Paul Feig is making an adaptation of a fantasy YA series The School for Good and Evil. The movie will be about an enchanted institution where children are trained in ways of becoming heroes and villains. The movie will be led by Charlize Theron as the Dean of the School of Evil and Kerry Washington as the Dean of the School of Good and also star Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, among its packed cast. 

White Noise - TBD 

Award-winning Marriage Story and Frances Ha writer/director Noah Baumbach is back for an adaptation of the 1985 novel White Noise by Don DeLillo. The postmodern novel is about a professor who has made a name for himself by creating the field of Hitler studies. Adam Driver will play the lead role of Jack Gladney alongside Jodie Turner-Smith and Don Cheadle in the cast.  

That’s quite the shelf of titles to look forward to in 2022! Period pieces and movies based on books based on true stories seem to be the largest trend of adaptations coming out this coming year. There's a disappointing lack of science fiction following the success of Dune. Aside from the book-to-movie adaptations coming our way, check out CinemaBlend's full list upcoming of 2022 movies to look forward to this coming year. 

There was a time when Brendan Fraser was in everything. He was Encino Man, George of the Jungle, the beloved Rick O’Connell in The Mummy and the star of Looney Tunes: Back In Action, among other successful projects. The actor may have lost some momentum in the ‘10s, but these days, we may be looking at an up-and-coming Fraseraissance, and fans are all in.

One Brendan Fraser superfan, Lindley Key, had the unique opportunity to share with The Mummy actor about her and other people’s excitement for his coming years on film during a virtual chat. The actress and cosplayer shared a sweet meet-and-greet moment with Fraser on TikTok that had the 52-year-old actor blushing. Check it out:

What a beautiful and genuine reaction. Key, who dressed as Rachel Weisz’s Evie from The Mummy for the meet-and-greet, told Brendan Fraser how much she and the internet was rooting for him as he soon gets ready to star in a Martin Scorsese film with Leonardo DiCaprio. Following her nice words, Fraser took a whiff of his drink, cracked a big smile and exclaimed “Shucks, ma’am!” in response.

Last week, it was announced that Brendan Fraser would be joining Martin Scorsese’s forthcoming movie Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro and Jesse Plemons. The Apple TV+ movie will explore the F.B.I’s investigation into the murders of the members of the Osage Tribe in 1920s Oklahoma. But wait, there’s a ton more from the actor.

Brendan Fraser is also set to star in Darren Aronofsky’s first film since 2017’s mother!, titled The Whale. The movie that will be released from A24 will follow an English teacher suffering from severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teen daughter. Brendan Fraser also recently starred in No Sudden Move, Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded heist film.

So they are not exactly the jolly commercial films we came to love to see Brendan Fraser in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, but it’s exciting to see the actor finding himself in more high-profile work in the coming years, aside from his coming third season in DC’s Doom Patrol, of course.

Back in 2018, Brendan Fraser spoke out against the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Philip Berk of sexual harassment in 2003 during a Beverely Hills luncheon. Berk was expelled from the HFPA (which is the organization that holds the Golden Globes) earlier this year for an entirely different matter.

It’s nice to see Brendan Fraser back on our radar with a number of exciting performances on the way. And per the cute TikTok video, it looks like the actor is happy to hear his many fans are behind him and excited for what’s to come.

Martin Scorsese’s next movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, has been filming since April, but casting news has continued to trickle in over the following months. Just last week, Brendan Fraser, who recently appeared in No Sudden Move and will soon be back as Cliff Steele/Robotman for Doom Patrol Season 3, was announced as part of the on-camera lineup. Now it’s been revealed that Fraser and the rest of the all-star cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, will be joined by John Lithgow.

Following his Emmy-nominated performance as E.B. Jonathan in HBO’s Perry Mason, and ahead of his reprisal of Arthur Mitchell in the Dexter: New Blood limited series, it’s been announced that John Lithgow has signed onto Killers of the Flower Moon. According to Deadline, Lithgow will play Prosecutor Leaward in Martin Scorsese’s follow-up to 2019’s The Irishman. Fraser will be playing fellow lawyer W.S. Hamilton, but it’s unclear if his character is working with Leaward as part of the prosecution team or if he’ll be part of the defense instead.

In any case, this marks John Lithgow’s first time starring in a Martin Scorsese movie, so it’s good these two icons of Hollywood finally crossed paths for a project. This will also be Lithgow’s first film appearance since 2019, although that was a big year for him, as he starred in four movies. Late Night kicked off the bunch, followed by The Tomorrow Man, his turn as Jud Crandall in the Pet Sematary remake and Bombshell, where he played late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have been looking to make a Killers of the Flower Moon movie since 2017, one year after Imperative Entertainment won the bidding war for the film rights to David Grann’s same-named nonfiction book. However, Scorsese’s work on Netflix’s The Irishman necessitated that Killers of the Flower Moon be temporarily tabled. But by June 2019, that proverbial ball started to get rolling again, and a little under two years later, principal photography finally kicked off.

Along with Leonardo DiCaprio (who’s also producing), John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser, Killers of the Flower Moon’s cast includes Robert De Niro, (who suffered a leg injury shortly after shooting his scenes), Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone, Sturgill Simpson, Louis Cancelmi, William Belleu, Tatanka Means, Michael Abbott Jr., Pat Healy and Scott Shepherd. The 1920s-set movie follows follows the FBI investigation into the murders of members of the Osage Nation, which came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

As a co-production between Paramount Pictures and Apple TV+, Killers of the Flower Moon will play in theaters worldwide, and then it will subsequently be made available on the latter streaming service. A release date hasn’t been set yet, but you can learn what movies are on the calendar with our 2021 release schedule and 2022 release schedule.

The last several years have been good to Brendan Fraser on the television front thanks to his roles as James Fletcher Chase in the FX limited series Trust and Cliff Steele/Robotman in HBO Max’s Doom Patrol. But lately, Fraser’s also had a solid run with movies too. He recently appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move, he was added to the cast of Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming movie The Whale and now it’s been announced that he’ll be taking part in two more movies, including Martin Scorsese’s next flick, Killers of the Flower Moon.

Scorsese’s follow-up to Netflix’s The Irishman that’s based on the same-named nonfiction book by David Grann announced most of its casting news earlier this year, with principal photography kicking off on April 19. The last big update on that front was in June, but today word’s come in that Brendan Fraser has joined Killers of the Flower Moon, so he’ll be performing alongside Leonardo DiCaprio (who’s also producing), Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons and Lily Gladstone, among others. Dune’s Eric Roth wrote the screenplay.

Set in 1920s Oklahoma, Killers of the Flower Moon follows the F.B.I.’s investigation into the murders of several members of the wealthy Osage Tribe. Fraser is reportedly set to play attorney W.S. Hamilton, so count on him taking part in the courtroom portion of this movie. Unlike No Sudden Move, which premiered exclusively on HBO Max, Killers of the Flower Moon will be released both on streaming and in theaters, with Apple TV+ filling in the former category and Paramount Pictures distributing the movie to big screens worldwide.

Deadline also reported that Brendan Fraser has been brought aboard for the comedy movie Brothers, which is being directed by Palm Springs’ Max Barbakow. No plot details for this project have been revealed yet, including who Fraser is playing, but it is currently filming in Atlanta and the cast includes Glenn Close, Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin, with the latter two also producing. Macon Blair and Etan Cohen wrote the Brothers script.

Between these two new movies, his role in No Sudden Move and his forthcoming appearance in The Whale, Brendan Fraser’s film career is certainly in a resurgence. From 1999 to 2008, Brendan Fraser starred as Rick O’Connell in The Mummy franchise (which the actor has expressed interest in returning to, provided it has the “essential ingredient”), and his other notable cinematic credits include Encino Man, George of the Jungle, Dudley Do-Right and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. However, due to a variety of reasons, including being in and out of hospitals for years and dealing with the aftermath of being allegedly sexually assaulted, Fraser’s Hollywood profile diminished, but it’s nice to see him finding work on so many major big and small screen projects lately.

Neither Killers of the Flower Moon nor Brothers have release dates yet, but we’ll keep you apprised on that information and more updates on their progress. For now, learn what movies are arriving in the near future with our 2021 release schedule and 2022 release schedule.