List of British films of 2023 explained

This article lists feature-length British films and full-length documentaries that have their premiere in 2023 and were at least partly produced by the United Kingdom. It does not feature short films, medium-length films, made-for-TV films, pornographic films, filmed theater, VR films or interactive films, nor does it include films screened in previous years that have official release dates in 2023.

British films box office

The highest-grossing UK-qualifying and U.K. independent British films according to the British Film Institute released in 2023, by domestic box office gross revenue, are as follows:^{[1] [2] [3]}

In-Year releases

Highest-grossing U.K. independent films of 2023^[4]

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic gross (£m)
	1	The Great Escaper	Warner Bros.	£5,310,000
	2	What's Love Got to Do with It?	StudioCanal UK	£4,810,000
	3	Empire of Light	Disney	£3,870,000
	4	Allelujah	Pathé UK/Warner Bros.	£3,690,000
	5	The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry	EONE FILMS	£3,380,000
	6	Sumotherhood	Paramount	£2,450,000
	7	The Miracle Club	Lionsgate	£1,920,000
	8	Greatest Days	Elysian Film Group	£1,550,000
	9	Rye Lane	Walt Disney	£1,230,000
	10	The Old Oak	Studiocanal UK	£1,100,000

Denotes films still running in cinemas worldwide

Highest-grossing U.K. qualifying films of 2023 ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic gross (£m)
	1	Barbie	Warner Bros	£95,600,000
	2	Wonka	Warner Bros	£58,400,000
	3	The Little Mermaid	Walt Disney	£27,400,000
	4		Paramount	£26,600,000
	5	Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	Walt Disney	£20,400,000
	6		Walt Disney	£19,300,000
	7	Fast X	Universal	£15,300,000
	8	Napoleon	Sony	£14,400,000
	9		eOne Films	£13,700,000
	10		Warner Bros	£13,100,000

Film premieres

January–March

Opening		Title	Cast and crew	Distributor	Ref.
J A N U A R Y	16	Bank of Dave		Netflix	^[8]
	16	Earth Mama		A24 Based on The Heart Still Hums by Leaf and Taylor Russell
	19	The Pod Generation	Director: Sophie Barthes Cast: Emilia Clarke, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rosalie Craig, Vinette Robinson, Jean-Marc Barr
	21	Polite Society	Director: Nida Manzoor Cast: Ritu Arya, Priya Kansara	Focus Features	^[9] ^[10]
	22	Drift
		The Deepest Breath	Director: Laura McGann	Netflix
		Girl	Director: Adura Onashile Cast: Déborah Lukumuena, Le'Shantey Bonsu, Danny Sapani, Liana Turner	New Europe Film Sales
	23	Rye Lane		Searchlight Pictures
		Scrapper	Director: Charlotte Regan Cast: Harris Dickinson, Lola Campbell, Alin Uzun, Cary Crankson
	27	Unwelcome		Charades
F E B R U A R Y	7	One Year Off		Grindstone Entertainment Group
	18	A Greyhound of a Girl		Dazzler Media
	19	Femme	Directors: Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping Cast: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, George Mackay	Signature Entertainment
		Silver Haze		BFI
	22	The Strays	Director: Nathaniel Martello-White Cast: Ashley Madekwe, Bukky Bakray, Jorden Myrie	Netflix
	24			Netflix	^[11] ^[12]
M A R C H	12	Bolan's Shoes		Munro Films
	12	Raging Grace	Director: Paris Zarcilla Cast: Max Eigenmann, Leanne Best, David Hayman, Jaeden Paige Boadilla	Brainstorm	^[13]
	15	Tetris		Apple TV+	^[14] ^[15]
		Wait For Me		Munro Films	^[16]
	18	Polarized		Blue Denim Films, Echo Lake Entertainment, Enlightenment Productions, Julijette (Canada-UK coproduction)	^[17]
	19	Phantom Parrot	Director: Kate Stonehill

April–June

Opening		Title	Cast and crew	Distributor	Ref.
A P R I L	14		Director: Edward Bazalgette Cast: Alexander Dreymon, Harry Gilby, Mark Rowley, Arnas Fedaravicius	Netflix
	19		Director: Paul Dugdale Cast: Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Golshifteh Farahani, H.E.R., Jin, Chris Martin	Trafalgar Releasing
	28	The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry		Entertainment One
M A Y	17	Occupied City	Director: Steve McQueen	20th Century Studios Based on Atlas of an Occupied City, Amsterdam 1940-1945 by Bianca Stigter
	19	How to Have Sex	Director: Molly Manning Walker Cast: Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lara Peake, Shaun Thomas, Samuel Bottomley	Mubi
		The Zone of Interest	Director: Jonathan Glazer Cast: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Medusa Knopf, Daniel Holzberg, Sascha Maaz, Max Beck	A24 Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Martin Amis
	21	Firebrand		STX International Based on Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle
	22	Club Zero
		The Settlers		Mubi
	26	The Old Oak	Director: Ken Loach Cast: Dave Turner, Ebla Mari, Debbie Honeywood, Reuben Bainbridge, Rob Kirtley	StudioCanal
J U N E	9	The Miracle Club		Lionsgate
	12	Kensuke's Kingdom		British Film Institute	^[18]
	16	Greatest Days		Based on the musical of the same name Bron Releasing
	27	Wham!		Netflix, Altitude	^[19]
	30	My Extinction		Netflix, Dartmouth Films

July–September

Opening		Title	Cast and crew	Distributor	Ref.
J U L Y	9	Barbie		Warner Bros. Pictures
	11	Oppenheimer		Universal Pictures	^[20]
	20	Haunting of the Queen Mary		Imagination Design Works	^[21]
A U G U S T	18	Chuck Chuck Baby	Director: Janis Pugh Cast: Annabel Scholey, Louise Brealey, Sorcha Cusack, Celyn Jones, Emily Fairn, Edyta Budnik
	31	All of Us Strangers		Searchlight Pictures	^[22]
		Saltburn		Warner Bros. Pictures	^[23]
S E P T E M B E R	1	Baltimore		Bankside Films
		The Pigeon Tunnel
		Poor Things		Searchlight Pictures	^[24]
		The Royal Hotel		Based on Hotel Coolgardie by Pete Gleeson
		Tuesday		A24	^[25]
	2	Hoard	Director: Luna Carmoon Cast: Hayley Squires, Joseph Quinn, Saura Lightfoot Leon, Lily-Beau Leach
		Tatami	Director: Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi Cast: Arienne Mandi, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Jaime Ray Newman, Nadine Marshall, Lirr Katz, Ash Goldeh	WestEnd Films
	3	Pet Shop Days
	4	Sky Peals	Director: Moin Hussain
	7	The Convert	Director: Lee Tamahori Cast: Guy Pearce, Te Kohe Tuhaka	Cinesky Based on Wulf by Hamish Clayton
		Copa 71	Director: James Erskine, Rachel Ramsay Cast: Brandi Chastain, Alex Morgan, Elena Schiavo, Elba Selva, Carol Wilson
		The Critic		BKStudios Based on Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn	^[26]
		North Star
	8	Unicorns	Director: Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd Cast: Ben Hardy, Jason Patel
	9	Defiant		Warner Bros. Pictures Focusing on Dmytro Kuleba and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
		Lee		Sky Original Adapted from The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose	^[27]
		One Life		Warner Bros. Pictures Based on If It’s Not Impossible…The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton by Barbara Winton
		The Teacher		Front Row Filmed Entertainment
		Wicked Little Letters		StudioCanal
	10	Close To You
		The End We Start From		Signature Entertainment Based on The Ed We Start From by Megan Hunter
		Next Goal Wins		Searchlight Pictures	^[28]
	11	A Haunting in Venice		20th Century Studios Loosely based on Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie and sequel to Death on the Nile
		Pain Hustlers		Netflix Based on Pain Hustlers by Evan Hughes
		Widow Clicquot	Director: Thomas Napper Cast: Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley	Vertical Based on The Widow Clicquot by Tilar Mazzeo
	20	The Great Escaper		Warner Bros. Pictures
	22	The Canterville Ghost			^[29]
	24	Stopmotion	Director: Robert Morgan Cast: Stella Gonet, Tom York, Therica Wilson-Read, Caoilinn Springall
	30	Dance First		Sky Cinema Based on the life of Samuel Beckett
		Foe		MGM Based on Fpe by Iain Reid

October–December

Opening		Title	Cast and crew	Distributor	Ref.
O C T O B E R	5	Freelance	Director: Pierre Morel Cast: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater	Signature Entertainment
	6	Bonus Track	Director: Julia Jackman Cast: Joe Anders, Samuel Small, Jack Davenport, Alison Sudol, Susan Wokoma, Ray Panthaki, Josh O'Connor
	12	Starve Acre	Director: Daniel Kokotajlo Cast: Morfydd Clark, Matt Smith	BFI Distribution Based on Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
	14			Netflix Aardman Animations	^[30]
	15	The Kitchen		Netflix
	24	Wonka		Warner Bros. Pictures	^[31]
	26	Cottontail		WestEnd Films	^[32]
	27		Director: Jesse V. Johnson Cast: Olga Kurylenko, Clive Standen, Peter Franzén, Rita Tushingham, Nick Moran, Lucy Martin, James Faulkner, Leo Gregory, Harry Kirton	Saban Films Signature Entertainment Based on the Brythonic Celtic uprising against the conquering forces of Roman Empire,
N O V E M B E R	1	Locked In	Director: Nour Wazzi Cast: Famke Janssen, Rose Williams, Alex Hassell, Finn Cole, Anna Friel
	3	The Undertaker	Director: Michael Wright Cast: Paul McGann, Tara Fitzgerald, Roger Barclay, Lily Frazer, Sean Gilder, Murray Melvin, Nicholas Rowe, Bob Cryer	RRB Films	^[33]
	14	Napoleon		Sony Pictures Releasing	^[34]
D E C E M B E R	21	The Iron Claw

Other premieres

Title	Director	Release date	Ref.
Black Dog	George Jaques	14 October 2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
Breaking Point	Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini	7 July 2023
Cassius X: Becoming Ali	Muta'Ali Muhammad	20 February 2023
Celluloid Underground	Ehsan Khoshbakht	5 October 2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
A Clever Woman	Jon Sanders	21 April 2023
The Contestant	Clair Titley	8 September 2023 (Toronto International Film Festival)
The Devil Went Down to Islington	Daniel Wilson	23 October 2023
Europa	Sudabeh Mortezai	16 August 2023 (Sarajevo Film Festival)
Forever Young	Henk Pretorius	24 June 2023 (Dances with Film Festival)
Gassed Up	George Amponsah	10 October 2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
The Goose's Excuse	Mahdy Abo Bahat, Abdo Zin Eldin	5 October 2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
Haar	Ben Hecking	7 October 2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
High & Low — John Galliano	Kevin Macdonald	1 September 2023 (Telluride Film Festival)
Hitmen	Savvas D. Michael	5 June 2023
In Camera	Naqqash Khalid	1 July 2023 (Karlovy Vary Film Festival)
Kindling	Connor O'Hara	25 March 2023
Lies We Tell	Lisa Mulcahy	15 July 2023 (Galway Film Fleadh)
Lord of Misrule	William Brent Bell	19 October 2023 (Screamfest Horror Film Festival)
Mad About the Boy: The Noel Coward Story	Barnaby Thompson	2 June 2023
Makeup	Hugo Andre	26 June 2023
Man In Black	Wang Bing	22 May 2023 (Cannes Film Festival)
Mercy Falls	Ryan Hendrick	14 May 2023
The Moor	Chris Cronin	26 August 2023 (FrightFest London)
My Everest	Carl Woods	28 April 2023
The Nettle Dress	Dylan Howitt	3 March 2023
Notes from a Low Orbit	Mark Lyken	16 June 2023
Red Herring	Kit Vincent	2 March 2023 (True/False Film Festival)
Rewilding	Ric Rawlins	13 January 2023		title=Rewilding	url=http://www.rewildingfilm.com/	website=Official Site
Scala!	Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits	Ali Catterall, Jane Giles	25 June 2023 (Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival)
Shoshana	Michael Winterbottom	8 September 2023
Speed Is Expensive: Philip Vincent and the Million Dollar Motorcycle	Lancaster David	20 September 2023
Sumotherhood	Adam Deacon	13 October 2023
The Taste of Mango	Chloe Abrahams	3 March 2023 (True/False Film Festival)
Tish	Paul Sng	1 June 2023
Unmoored	Caroline Ingvarsson	5 October 2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition	David Bickerstaff	18 April 2023
Wilding	David Allen	6 October 2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
Wolf Garden	Wayne David	28 February 2023

Culturally British films

The following list comprises films not produced by a British or UK film studio but is strongly associated with British culture. The films in this list should fulfil at least three of the following criteria:

• The film is adapted from a British source material.
• The story is at least partially set in the United Kingdom.
• The film was at least partially produced in the United Kingdom.
• Many of the film's cast and crew members are British.

Title	Country of origin	Adaptation	Story setting	Film locations	British cast and crew
The Buckingham Murders	India		Buckinghamshire, UK	Buckinghamshire, UK	Keith Allen, Chris Wilson
The Little Mermaid	United States		British Caribbeans	London and Iver, UK	Jonah Hauer-King, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Jessica Alexander, Simone Ashley
Peter Pan & Wendy	United States	Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie	Victorian England		Jude Law, Alexander Molony
Red, White & Royal Blue	United States		United Kingdom	United Kingdom	Nicholas Galitzine, Stephen Fry, Ellie Bamber, Sharon D Clarke
Surprised by Oxford	United States		United Kingdom	United Kingdom	Phyllis Logan, Simon Callow

Mummies fulfills two of the criteria. The animated film is set in 21st century London and stars British actors including Joe Thomas, Eleanor Tomlinson, Celia Imrie, Hugh Bonneville, Sean Bean and Shakka.

See also

• Lists of British films
• 2023 in film
• 2023 in British music
• 2023 in British radio
• 2023 in British television
• 2023 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 2022
• List of British films of 2024

Notes and References

1. Web site: The UK box office in 2023 . British Film Institute. 1 February 2024. 6 March 2024.
2. Web site: British Box Office For 2023. Box Office Mojo. IMDb. 20 May 2023.
3. Web site: Official statistics release Callander. British Film Institute. 2023. 25 July 2023.
4. Web site: The UK box office in 2023 . British Film Institute. 1 February 2024. 6 March 2024.
5. Web site: The UK box office in 2023 . British Film Institute. 1 February 2024. 6 March 2024.
6. Web site: UK and Ireland Current Top 15. FDA. 2023. 1 June 2023.
7. Web site: Weekend box office figures. British Film Institute Box Office. 1 June 2023.
8. Web site: Bank of Dave. tempoproductions.net.
9. Web site: 'Polite Society' Release Date: 'We Are Lady Parts' Creator Nida Manzoor Makes Feature Directorial Debut With Action-Comedy For Focus Features. Deadline. November 2022 .
10. Web site: Nida Manzoor Movie 'Polite Society' Lands Late April 2023 Release. Hollywood Reporter. 2 November 2022 .
11. Web site: Starkey . Adam . Idris Elba confirms filming on 'Luther' movie is underway . . 28 January 2022 . 10 November 2021.
12. Web site: Idris Elba's Luther Movie Comes to Netflix in March 2023 . . Dick . Jeremy . 25 November 2022 . 16 December 2022.
13. Web site: Leydon . Joe . 2023-03-19 . 'Raging Grace' Review: SXSW Winner Is a First-Rate Suspenser with a Sociopolitical Soul . 2023-11-23 . Variety . en-US.
14. Web site: 'I couldn't be prouder': Taron Egerton updates fans on Tetris film shot in Glasgow. 28 January 2022. Glasgow Times. 2 March 2021 .
15. Web site: Episode 17: Mind The Gap [Explicit]]. 14 November 2022. open.spotify.com.
16. Web site: Wait For Me Film Reviews. 19 September 2023. A dark visceral British crime thriller. Loved it from the first minute..
17. Melanie Goodfellow, "Palestinian-Canadian LGBT Drama ‘Polarized’ Heads To EFM As APL Film Boards Sales". Deadline Hollywood, February 8, 2023.
18. https://www.screendaily.com/news/kensukes-kingdom-begins-production-with-new-finance-animation-partners-exclusive/5152909.article 'Kensuke's Kingdom' begins production with new finance, animation partners (exclusive)
19. Web site: Wham! Theatrical limited release 27 June 2023. 27 June 2023 . 6 June 2023. Netflix.
20. Web site: Lawrence . Gregory . October 8, 2021 . Christopher Nolan's New Movie Oppenheimer Sets 2023 Release Date . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008180419/https://collider.com/christopher-nolan-next-movie-oppenheimer-release-date-2023/ . 8 October 2021 . January 13, 2023 . Collider.
21. Web site: Vlessing . Etan . Alice Eve Fights Off Ghosts in Haunting of the Queen Mary Trailer . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230801210131/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/haunting-of-the-queen-mary-trailer-alice-eve-1235548508/ . 1 August 2023 . August 1, 2023 . bot: unknown . 1 August 2023 .
22. News: Hazelton. John. Tabbara. Mona. 30 June 2022. Andrew Haigh sets new feature 'Strangers' with Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell. Screen Daily. 27 July 2022.
23. Web site: First teaser for Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi new movie Saltburn. Digital Spy. Dan. Seddon. 31 August 2023. 1 September 2023.
24. Web site: Poor Things will film in Hungary, starring Emma Stone . Budapest Reporter . 28 January 2022. 27 June 2021.
25. Web site: Alexis Zabe Shoots A24 Film Tuesday. Lux Artists. 16 June 2021. 28 January 2022.
26. Web site: Grobar . Matt . Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Ben Barnes & More To Star In Period Thriller The Critic . . 27 June 2022 . 27 June 2022.
27. Web site: Wiseman . Andreas . Lee: First Look At Kate Winslet As Pioneering War Correspondent & Photographer Lee Miller; Alexander Skarsgård, Andy Samberg, Noémie Merlant, More Join Cast . . 27 October 2022 . 27 October 2022.
28. Web site: McClintock. Pamela. Taika Waititi's 'Next Goal Wins' Kicks Box Office Release to November 2023. The Hollywood Reporter. 12 April 2023. 12 April 2023.
29. Web site: Beth. Amy. 'The Canterville Ghost': Release Date, Trailer, Cast, and Everything We Know So Far. Collider. September 17, 2023.
30. Web site: Giardina . Carolyn . 2023-06-14 . Netflix at Annecy: 'Nimona' Debuts; 'Chicken Run 2' Gets Release Date . 2023-06-14 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
31. Web site: Wonka prepares for UK shoot. 17 May 2021. Nia. Daniels. KFTV.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20210517215915/https://www.kftv.com/news/2021/05/17/wonka-prepares-for-uk-shoot. 17 May 2021. live. 17 May 2021.
32. Web site: Ravindran . Manori . Ciaran Hinds, Lily Franky, Ryo Nishikido Board 'Cottontail' (EXCLUSIVE) . . March 2021 . 28 January 2022.
33. Web site: Ntim. Zac. 'The Undertaker': Crime Thriller Starring Paul McGann And Tara Fitzgerald Lands UK & Irish Deal, First Trailer Revealed . Deadline Hollywood. 8 September 2023. 8 September 2023.
34. Web site: Hollywood filmmaker Ridley Scott casting for new movie in Lincoln starring Joaquin Phoenix. 26 November 2021. Joseph. Verney. The Lincolnite. 26 November 2021.