Best films released this month: January 2023
Highlights include Babylon, Tár, and The Fabelmans
2022 was a pretty stellar year for film: not only was it the first since 2019 to see cinemas stay open for the entire year(!), but it also saw an array of movies such as Top Gun: Maverick, Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Banshees of Inisherin proving hits with critics and audiences alike.
By the looks of it, 2023 is going to be another year to savour, and January sees the release of several big hitters – including a number of films that look set to play a big part in the upcoming awards season.
Among the highlights to look forward to are The Fabelmans, the most personal film of Steven Spielberg's legendary career, Babylon, a new epic from La La Land director Damien Chazelle, and Tár, which sees Cate Blanchett star as a fictional composer who suffers a sudden downturn in her fortunes.
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Elsewhere there's a new rom-com starring Lily James and Shazad Latif titled What's Love Got to Do with It? and a creepy new horror about an Artificially Intelligent doll titled M3GAN.
And on Netflix, subscribers can enjoy Christian Bale in the gothic murder mystery The Pale Blue Eye, which arrives on the streamer towards the start of the month following a brief theatrical run in late December.
To help you pick out the highlights, we've put together a selection of some of the best films to watch this month – watch the video above or read on for our choices.
The Pale Blue Eye
Release date: Friday 6th January on Netflix
Arriving on Netflix shortly after a brief theatrical run, this gothic period murder mystery sees Christian Bale star as veteran detective Augustus Landor, who is drafted in to help solve a spate of grisly murders in West Point, New York in 1830.
During his investigations, he comes face to face with a young cadet who will eventually go on to become the world-famous author Edgar Allan Poe – played in the film by Harry Melling.
Till
Release date: Friday 6th January in cinemas
This sensitively told film explores the harrowing true story of Mamie Till-Mobley's relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955.
Danielle Deadwyler is sensational in the lead role, and the film is dedicated to the memory of Mamie Till's life and legacy.
M3GAN
Release date: Friday 13th January in cinemas
This creepy new horror is the latest to explore what happens when Artificial Intelligence goes wrong.
It follows M3GAN a lifelike doll that's programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally – but things go badly wrong when the robot's designer gives a prototype to her 8-year-old niece.
Empire of Light
Release date: Friday 13th January in cinemas
Skyfall and 1917 director Sam Mendes returns with his latest film – a 1980s set romance starring Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, and Colin Firth.
Set mostly at a beautiful cinema in an English coastal town, it is billed as "a drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times."
Tár
Release date: Friday 20th January in cinemas
The first film from director Todd Field in more than 15 years, Tár stars Cate Blanchett as a fictional composer and conductor named Lydia Tár – and is already being tipped to pick up a raft of Oscar nominations.
It follows events after various elements seem to conspire against the composer – sending her spinning out of control, with only her adopted daughter Petra as emotional support.
Babylon
Release date: Friday 20th January in cinemas
La La Land director Damien Chazelle is back with a film that many are calling a "love letter to cinema" – exploring a number of characters during the transition from the silent era to the sound era of Hollywood filmmaking.
Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and the lesser-known Diego Calva play the key roles in a film that is absolutely brimming with glorious excess.
What's Love Got to Do with It?
Release date: Friday 27th January in cinemas
Lily James and Shazad Latif star opposite each other in this new romantic comedy from writer Jemima Goldsmith and director Shekhar Kapur.
James plays a filmmaker who decides to document her childhood best friend's journey toward arranged marriage – only to fall in love herself.
The Fabelmans
Release date: Friday 27th January in cinemas
Steven Spielberg has made many of the biggest and best movies in Hollywood history – but this is undoubtedly his most personal film to date, offering a fictionalised look at his own adolescence.
It follows Sammy Fabelman, who falls in love with movies when his parents take him to see The Greatest Show on Earth – before he starts to make his own films at home, much to the delight of his supportive mother.
If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide or visit our Movies hub for all the latest news.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
