25 New and Classic Movies to Watch on New Year's Day
From 'Avatar' to 'Oppenheimer,' Moviefone counts down the 25 best movies to watch on New Year's Day!
Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.' Photo: Sony Pictures.
2023 is almost over and another new year is upon us.
And there is no better way to spend New Year's Day than by watching some movies!
Moviefone has compiled a list of some of the most popular movies ever made, including some released just this year, for you to choose from while you are relaxing on the first day of the new year.
Let's begin and Happy 2024!
25. 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' (2023)
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
24. 'Jurassic Park' (1993)
A wealthy entrepreneur (Richard Attenborough) secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts (Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum) and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.
23. 'Bullitt' (1968)
Senator Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen). When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.
Bullitt
22. 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019)
After the devastating events of 'Avengers: Infinity War,' the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin). With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.
21. 'Up' (2009)
Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.
20. 'John Wick: Chapter 4' (2023)
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in 'John Wick: Chapter 4.' Photo Credit: Murray Close.
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.
19. 'Aliens' (1986)
When Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) lifepod is found by a salvage crew over 50 years later, she finds that terra-formers are on the very planet they found the alien species. When the company sends a family of colonists out to investigate her story—all contact is lost with the planet and colonists. They enlist Ripley and the colonial marines to return and search for answers.
18. 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009)
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl (Mélanie Laurent), who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.
17. 'Black Panther' (2018)
King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T'Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), the queen-mother (Angela Bassett), his princess-kid sister (Letitia Wright), members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan 'special forces') and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
16. 'Bridesmaids' (2011)
Annie's (Kristen Wiig) life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian's (Maya Rudolph) maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she’ll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you’ll go for someone you love.
15. 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991)
(L to R) Edward Furlong as John Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in director James Cameron's 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day.'
Nearly 10 years have passed since Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) was targeted for termination by a cyborg from the future. Now her son, John (Edward Furlong), the future leader of the resistance, is the target for a newer, more deadly terminator (Robert Patrick). Once again, the resistance has managed to send a protector (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to attempt to save John and his mother Sarah.
14. 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' (2023)
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. After reuniting with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
13. 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969)
In late 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) is the affable, clever and talkative leader of the outlaw Hole in the Wall Gang. His closest companion is the laconic dead-shot Sundance Kid (Robert Redford). As the west rapidly becomes civilized, the law finally catches up to Butch, Sundance and their gang. Chased doggedly by a special posse, the two decide to make their way to South America in hopes of evading their pursuers once and for all.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
12. 'Ghostbusters' (1984)
After losing their academic posts at a prestigious university, a team of parapsychologists (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis) goes into business as proton-pack-toting "ghostbusters" who exterminate ghouls, hobgoblins and supernatural pests of all stripes. An ad campaign pays off when a knockout cellist (Sigourney Weaver) hires the squad to purge her swanky digs of demons that appear to be living in her refrigerator.
11. 'Avatar' (2009)
In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine (Sam Worthington) is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.
10. 'Oppenheimer' (2023)
Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in 'Oppenheimer,' written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's (Cillian Murphy) role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
9. 'Any Given Sunday' (1999)
A star quarterback (Dennis Quaid) gets knocked out of the game and an unknown third stringer (Jamie Foxx) is called in to replace him. The unknown gives a stunning performance and forces the ageing coach (Al Pacino) to reevaluate his game plans and life. A new co-owner/president (Cameron Diaz) adds to the pressure of winning. The new owner must prove herself in a male dominated world.
8. 'Top Gun' (1986)
For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.
7. 'Batman' (1989)
Batman (Michael Keaton) must face his most ruthless nemesis when a deformed madman calling himself "The Joker" (Jack Nicholson) seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld.
6. 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980)
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda (Frank Oz). But Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones) is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), cocky Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew ), and droids C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.
5. 'Apocalypse Now' (1979)
United Artists
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.
4. 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood' (2019)
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski (Rafał Zawierucha).
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
3. 'Back to the Future' (1985)
Eighties teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and, with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), return to 1985.
Back to the Future
2. 'The Godfather' (1972)
In the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino) steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
1. 'Barbie' (2023)
(L to R) Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Barbie,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
