Now that we are into September, we have officially passed the end of the summer movie season. From here on out–for the most part–the movies get more serious and arty as the studios and indie distributors unleash their prestige movies for end-of-the-year critic lists and award consideration. And this the start of my favorite part of the movie year. You know me, serious and arty. But before we plunge into the Oscar bait, let’s take a look back at a darn good summer movie season as we look at my Top 5 Summer Blockbusters of 2023.

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#5 – The Flash

Look, this one surprised me more than any other movie this summer. First, I have not been a big fan of the DC Extended Universe and everything that has spun off from Zack Snyder’s all-too morose take on the world of superheroes. Second, having Ezra Miller headline a summer blockbuster as a hero was…unfortunate. Third, the multiverse has already been done better (see my #1) and a lot. But It director Andy Muschetti and Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson remembered that superhero movies should be fun. And my minority opinion was that it was a lot of fun. With Michael Keaton back as Batman, a Supergirl appearance, and all the fan service done without going too far with it, I enjoyed it more than I should have.

Buy: Digital, 4K Disc, Blu-ray Disc, DVD. Rent: Digital. Or stream on Max.

#4 – Barbie

To be honest, Barbie was just a little disappointing for me. It was my most anticipated movie of the year thanks to writer/director Greta Gerwig’s involvement. Because of my high hopes for it, it almost couldn’t help but underwhelm. Apparently I’m the only one, as Barbie will certainly end the year as 2023’s box office champ. But, even if it underwhelmed me, I did love Margot Robbie’s titular performance, all the fun had with the brand, many of the cultural observations, and some of the smartest jokes you’ll ever find in summer movie fair (“She thinks I’m a fascist? I don’t control the railways or the flow of commerce!”).

My review here. Buy or Rent: Digital.

#3 – Oppenheimer

Barbie may have won the box office head-to-head battle, but Oppenheimer was the better film. The race to build the atomic bomb was simply breathtaking cinema. Cillian Murphy’s performance of the title character was astounding, the support cast was great, and the craft was as good as you should always expect from a Christopher Nolan film. Fantastic “grown-up” summer fair.

My review here. Home release expected in October.

#2 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

If you had told me at the beginning of the season that my two favorite movies of the summer would both be comic-book style animated superhero movies, I would have been confused. I would have guessed that I really liked Across the Spider-Verse, but I don’t even know that the new TMNT movie was on my radar back then…not that it would have made a difference if it were. I read a few of the comics and watched a little of the original TV cartoon back in the 80s, but I never watched any of the movie versions until now. And I’m so glad I did. The computer 2D animation, similar to Spider-Verse and to parts of last year’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, worked really well in creating the grimy world of the Turtles. The decision to cast relatively unknown teenage actors to voice the Turtles and April lent credibility to the very human emotions of the characters. Themes of family, finding your place in the world, and coming together for a common purpose made this a lot more than I expected. Cowabunga!

Buy or rent: Digital.

#1 – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

I gushed enough about it in my original review, so you should just go read that here. The animation remained as groundbreaking as in the original. The story stepped up its game, giving us very real emotions from so many of the characters we’ve already grown attached to and creating real stakes for the characters. As fully fleshed a drama as I’ve seen this year, with plenty of action and comedy to boot. It was easily the best movie of the summer.

Buy: Digital, 4K disc, Blu-Ray disc, DVD; Rent: Digital

There were several other very good blockbusters that just missed my list: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, Haunted Mansion, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny were all a lot of fun with some truly affecting moments. And there were two smaller non-blockbusters–Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and the theater-kid tribute Theater Camp–which would have made a list of just my five favorite movies of any kind from the summer. So, all in all, a pretty great summer! And now, onto the really great films of 2023….