Sci-Fi Box Office Hits That Have Caught Us By Surprise In 2023

If one were to take a quick glance at the biggest movies of all time, from "Avatar" to "Star Wars," not to mention a great many Marvel movies, it becomes clear that science fiction is arguably the most popular genre in all of cinema. So it's not as though it should be a big surprise when a sci-fi movie succeeds. But not all sci-fi movies can have Iron Man in them, for example. And not all of them have the luxury of taking place inside of a big franchise with a huge budget. For that reason, it's sometimes surprising when a movie within this genre finds success on a certain level.

2023 has already seen more than its fair share of sci-fi films hit the big screen, including some pretty massive misfires like DC's "The Flash." Be that as it may, there are a few films within the genre, from a quirky auteur telling a tale of aliens to a trilogy wrapping up its run in remarkable fashion, that have exceeded everyone's expectations. We're here to run down some of the biggest sci-fi surprises of the year so far as we reach the halfway point of 2023. Let's dig in, shall we?

Wes Anderson is primarily known for his quirky slice-of-life movies such as "The Royal Tenenbaums" or "Moonrise Kingdom." Sci-hi historically hasn't been his bag, but the filmmaker finally dabbled in the genre with his latest film, "Asteroid City." Though still largely an ensemble character piece hinging on comedy and drama, the film does venture into science fiction territory (aliens, specifically), giving it a bit of a hook for moviegoers. Despite the fact that original films just aren't working largely these days, it was enough of a hook to give Anderson — and the industry at large — a welcomed original hit.

As of this writing, "Asteroid City" still has a long way to go at the box office, but has already earned more than $16 million worldwide in the face of stiff competition in the middle of the summer moviegoing season. It even netted Anderson the biggest weekend of his entire career, which is no small thing. Against a $25 million budget, with strong word of mouth and very positive buzz, this figures to be a win for Anderson. It's a surprise that such a unique, original concept is working in theaters when even big franchise films are struggling to bring in audiences with regularity this year. But make no mistake, it's a very welcome surprise, and the kind we could use more of. It's also encouraging for the future of mid-budget originals, which studios should absolutely continue to invest in.

It may seem silly to talk about "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" as an underdog in any sort of way. We're talking about the third entry in a series that had two wildly successful previous entires as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which stands alone as the single biggest franchise in cinematic history. That said, the MCU has had its struggles in the aftermath of "Avengers: Endgame," with "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" crashing and burning following its opening weekend earlier this year. There are no guarantees anymore.

That being the case, the fact that "Guardians 3" did as well as it did is remarkable. Gunn's finale to his trilogy has, as of this writing, earned $825 million at the global box office. While that's not quite as much as "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" ($867 million) in raw dollars, when we take into account the fact that the Russian box office is not a thing right now due to the ongoing war with Ukraine, as well as declines in China, "GOTG3" actually did just about as well as its predecessor. Again, it may not be surprising that a Marvel movie performed strongly at the box office, but the degree to which this movie succeeded was a pleasant surprise.

Not to repeat ourselves here, but a "Spider-Man" moving doing well at the box office is, perhaps, the least surprising thing imaginable. That having been said, the degree to which "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" has delivered on that front is damn near record-breaking levels. It speaks volumes about how much people love these movies in particular, as well as the reputation that 2018's "Into the Spider-Verse" garnered. It turns out, the audience grew rather remarkably in the nearly five years between installments.

"Into the Spider-Verse" did quite well for itself, taking in $375 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. Perhaps even more impressively, it took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. That all teed up the ball for a much, much bigger sequel. When "Across the Spider-Verse" arrived in theaters in early June, it shattered expectations, taking in a monster $120.6 million during its opening weekend and setting it up for a gigantic haul. While the movie has yet to finish its run, it has already earned $563 million worldwide. Sony's animated sequel is expected to finish with at least $650 million, or more than 40% over what the original made.

In the realm of blockbuster movies, it's genuinely hard to find comps for movies that made that much more than their predecessors, but "Batman Begins" ($356.7 million) to "The Dark Knight" ($1 billion) is one of the only other ones out there. There's also "John Wick" ($87.7 million) to "John Wick: Chapter 2" ($171.5 million). No matter how you slice it, that's some damn good company to be in. It would have been outlandish to expect this sort of performance. It's downright spectacular.