Best and worst superhero movies of 2023, including Aquaman 2
Warner Bros.Thanks to the recent release of Aquaman 2 – aka Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – our list of 2023’s best superhero movies is complete.
Aquaman 2 is in cinemas now, and has proved to be a commercial failure, opening modestly, then quickly being overtaken by Wonka at the global box office.
The Dexerto review is live, where we wrote that: “there are some decent thrills and laughs along the way – Momoa and Wilson make for an effective buddy cop pairing – and the aquatic visuals are dazzling (especially in 3D). But Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom crams so many subplots into its 2-hour runtime that it’s more cruise ship than speedboat.”
What have other critics made of the movie however? Below you’ll find out how Arthur Curry’s adventure stacks up against the rest of 2023’s superhero releases on Rotten Tomatoes. As well as what audiences think, plus where we rank the movie.
Best superhero movies of 2023, according to Rotten Tomatoes
The following are all the superhero movies released theatrically in 2023, listed from best-to-worst according to Rotten Tomatoes critic score.
- 96% – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- 96% – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
- 82% – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- 79% – The Marvels
- 78% – Blue Beetle
- 77% – Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
- 64% – The Flash
- 49% – Shazam: Fury of the Gods
- 46% – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- 35% – Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Meaning Aquaman 2 is bottom of the pile, and even worse than the worst-reviewed MCU movie of all time, Ant-Man 3.
2023 comic book movies, according to the RT audience
The audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are generally kinder to superhero movies, and that’s the case when it comes to this 2023 crop. With those audience scores as follows:
- 94% – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- 94% – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- 94% – Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
- 92% – Blue Beetle
- 90% – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
- 86% – Shazam: Fury of the Gods
- 83% – The Flash
- 82% – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- 81% – Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
- 45% – The Marvels
Audiences give Aquaman 2 81%, but that still makes it the second-worst superhero movie of 2023.
Best superhero movies of 2023, according to Dexerto
That’s what the Rotten Tomatoes critics and audience thinks. While the following is how we break them down via our five-star rating system. You can click on each title to be taken to the full review.
- 5-stars – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- 4-stars – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- 4-stars – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
- 4-stars – The Marvels
- 3-stars – Blue Beetle
- 3-stars – The Flash
- 3-stars – Shazam: Fury of the Gods
- 3-stars – Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
- 2-stars – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- 2-stars – Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
GOTG takes our top spot over Spidey, TMNT, and The Marvels. But Aquaman 2 and Ant-Man 3 are the worst superhero movie of 2023, according to us.
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