Hold on to your blocks, because they're about to get busted in 2023.
After years of lockdowns and restrictions, movies are finally being produced and released at about the same rate again.
Here's just a selection of what we have to look forward to in cinemas this year.
M3GAN
Directed by Kiwi, Gerard Johnstone and shot right here in Aotearoa, the horror about an AI powered doll who goes crazy is getting surprisingly good reviews overseas.
Cocaine Bear
A bear ingests a s***ton of cocaine and goes on a drug-fueled rampage. True story.
The Super Mario Bros Movie
The animation looks gorgeous and I'm sure Chris Pratt's voice will grow on us. The movie based on one of the most iconic video games of all time could be the first truly great video game film adaptation.
Renfield
Renfield wants to escape a toxic working relationship with his boss. Only his boss is Dracula and he's played by Nicholas Cage.
Barbie
No joke, I've seen 37 Barbie movies and Greta Gerwig's live-action film starring Margot Robbie is my most anticipated of the year. Sorry to gatekeep but if you haven't seen 37 Barbie movies, you have to go see the next film instead.
Oppenheimer
The new film from Christopher Nolan about the Manhattan Project is set to be a massive big screen spectacle which comes out on the same day as Barbie for those who haven't done their Barbie homework.
The Little Mermaid
Halle Bailey inherits the role of Ariel in the latest in a long line of Disney live-action remakes. Could this be the one that's really good rather than just kinda good, not that bad?
Next Goal Wins
Taika Waititi directs a film about American Samoa's quest for qualification in the 2014 FIFA world cup after being considered one of the worst teams in the world.
Wonka
Gritty prequels are all the rage these days and this film tells the story of Willy Wonka before the chocolate factory. Normally I would be so against this but it's directed by the guy who made Paddington and Paddington 2, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese is presumably in for a few awkward conversations when his two besties, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Deniro share the screen for him for the first time. The crime drama will premiere on AppleTV+ at the end of the year.
Now I know what you're thinking. Where's my sequels, bro? Ha, you want sequels? Here, smoke a whole carton of sequels!
2021's Dune is getting Dune: Part Two. John Wick is back for John Wick: Chapter 4 and stepping back into the ring is Creed III.
For horror sequels you've got Evil Dead but in a building with Evil Dead Rise. Scream IV takes Ghostface to New York. Insidious: Fear of the Dark is being directed by it's star Patrick Wilson and Saw X is the third attempt to reinvigorate the franchise.
Superheroes aren't slowing down any time soon with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Marvels, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, The Flash, Kraven the Hunter and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom all hitting our screens this year.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is Tom Cruise's latest death-defying outing. Fast X is supposed to be the beginning of the end for Dom Torretto and the Fast and Furious family.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny surely can't be worse than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and A Haunting in Venice hopefully won't sink to the depths we saw in Death on the Nile.
That's about it really, not counting the new Hunger Games, Ghostbusters, Trolls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers and Chicken Run films.
Oh, there's also a movie called 65 where Adam Driver fights dinosaurs.
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