Carl Roberts 
On the first Official Film Chart of 2023, we see some old favorites return, and we finally get to Smile, but Maverick flies back to the top of the chart!
Welcome to The Official Film Chart. And a Happy New Year to you all!
VIOLENT NIGHT IS NOW AVAILABLE TO RENT ON PVOD!
One of the films I expected little from but thoroughly enjoyed in 2022 was Violent Night. The film, featuring David Harbour as Santa Claus was a complete riot. Think of Die Hard mixed with Home Alone, and any surgery Christmas movie, and you get Violent Night. (Read our review here.) I had so much fun with it that I couldn’t help but go back in for second helpings. Santa Claus is an action hero saving some (not so) innocent people from terrorists during a robbery! You can guess the rest in a film that will have you hooked and in stitches at times. And believe me, you’ll never look at a candy cane in the same way again!
THE OFFICIAL CHART
For the first chart of the new year, we see some old favorites return once again. Many can thank a price cut on digital for the boost in their fortunes. And we do see a new title finally entering the chart. But what is that all-important first number-one title of 2023? Can Buddy the Elf continue his run at the top? Or has something else decided to take the top spot? Buckle up as we find out.
MAVERICK FLIES BACK TO THE TOP AGAIN!
He’s only gone and done it again! Not being content with being one of, if not THE biggest title of 2022, Maverick is back at the top of the chart tree. Despite being available for all subscribers of Paramount Plus, Top Gun: Maverick flies back to claim a tenth non-consecutive week at the top. It could be down to the fact that the film is now selling at a discounted price on all digital retailers. Or it could be simply because it is a brilliant film. Tom Cruise made us wait thirty-six years for a sequel to perhaps his most loved movie. And when he did, he gave us something that blew us all away and became my favorite film of 2022.
THE BATMAN RISES!
The biggest film from DC Films last year (sorry, Black Adam) rises up the chart by eight places. The Batman hit screens back in March of 2022 to critical and audience acclaim. Robert Pattinson makes his debut as the character in a three-hour-long detective noir movie. Matt Reeves blows away what has gone previously in a Batman film we’ve never seen before. Dark, brooding, and more story orientated than ever, the film takes its time to get going but once it does, it is enjoyable. Once again, a digital price cut has boosted the film up the charts as it starts the new year in second place.
THE DOMINION RISES AGAIN!
The sixth and final chapter in the Jurassic saga manages to claw its way up the chart by five places to take the third spot. The climax to twenty-nine years of dinosaur action, Jurassic World: Dominion ended the franchise with the emotional impact of a wet lettuce leaf. What we have come to expect and to marvel at is sadly long gone, leaving us to witness the dinosaurs go out with a whimper. The film has had a price cut on digital which has boosted its fortunes. My advice is to get it on Apple as for your money, you’ll get both the cinema version and the extended edition.
THE BULLET TRAIN SPEEDS BACK INTO THE CHART!
Another film that has been boosted with a digital price cut is the superb Brad Pitt action comedy Bullet Train. Again, the film was something I expected little from but completely loved. To put it frankly, it is bat s**t crazy! Leave your brains and common sense at the door and let yourself be entertained with two hours of gory, violent, and hilarious mayhem. The movie ended up being my second favorite film of last year, slightly ahead of Violent Night. And it is great to see people buying it once again, moving it up seven places to roll into the fourth position.
ELVIS KEEPS ON ROCKING!
We round out this first top five placings of 2023 with the biopic Elvis. The film has, again, been given a price cut on digital, giving it enough legs to hold onto the fifth position. The movie was inside my top ten favorites of last year but couldn’t quite crack the top five. Austin Butler gives an awards-nominated performance as the king of rock and roll in a film that, despite its flaws, is one that fans and non-fans alike will enjoy from start to finish.
THE FANTASTIC BEASTS RISE AGAIN!
You guessed it. A price cut on digital has given Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore a lift as it begins our tour of the bottom five places on this first chart of the new year. The film also premiered on Sky Movies on Christmas Day, giving it another boost to its fortunes. The third film in the Wizarding World franchise, it also has the dubious honor of being the lowest-grossing of the three movies made so far.
BUDDY HAS LITTLE ‘ELF ESTEEM LEFT!
You can tell that Christmas has been and gone. Last week’s number one title, the brilliant Christmas movie Elf, falls six places this week as it tumbles down to the seventh position. But we expect it to drop out of the top ten every year, only to make a glorious comeback in December. With that, we say “See you next Christmas, Buddy!”
IT’S TIME TO START TO SMILE!
The only new title to grace the chart this week comes in the horrifying form of Paramount Pictures’ Smile. The film has been available digitally to buy for a few weeks now but has only just made its top ten debut by rising four places to scare up an eighth-placed finish. Sosie Bacon takes the lead role in a horror movie that despite not being that original, has plenty of scares that will have you jumping out of your seat and hiding behind a cushion. (Read our review here)
SPIDER-MAN WEBS HIMSELF BACK INTO THE TOP TEN!
Guess what? Spider-Man: No Way Home has seen its original version and the extended version get a price cut on digital. The result of which sees the web crawler spin his web once again and re-enter the top ten in the ninth spot. To be fair, the film is brilliantly enjoyable and deserves its place in the top ten best-selling titles of 2022.
A NEW ERA RETURNS!
And finally, Downton Abbey: A New Era makes its return to the top ten chart as it moves up three places to take the final position. The film has recently premiered on Sky Movies and has had a digital price cut, giving the buying public the chance to grab the film quite cheaply.
SIGNING OFF!
And that is our first chart of 2023. To be honest, there aren’t any real surprises as to what the top ten titles are this week. But with the retail release of Black Adam fast approaching, on digital download for a cheaper price, and on DVD and Blu-ray, the chart will see a shakeup in a few weeks. We will have to wait and see. But until next week…
Whatever you decide, whatever you buy, stay safe, be kind, look after each other, polish off those Christmas chocolates, and happy viewing!
Anyone wishing to buy any of the titles featured in The Official Film Chart can do so via FindAnyFilm.com. All videos and information have been supplied by Find Any Film and used under authorization.
Future of the Force News Editor,Liverpool F.C fan,Halloween Movie Fan, Friday The 13th movies fan, Star Wars Fan, Star Trek Fan.
