There's no better way to wrap up 2023 than with laughter—thankfully, there are tons of funny films this year to help with that. The best comedy movies of 2023 thus far range from soon-to-be animated classics to irreverent action films to several rom-com novel adaptations—and that's without mentioning the record-breaking cultural event of the year. (Say it with me...Barbie.) Read on to discover all of the hilarious films that have already and are set to come to screens this year.
'Cocaine Bear'
Release Date: February 24, 2023
Starring: Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Ray Liotta, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Jesse Tyler Ferguson
In case you missed this wild thriller-comedy, it's about a bear who gets high on cocaine that's been dumped in the woods and goes on a killing spree (loosely based on a real story). While the bear torments a small Georgia town, a group of kids, criminals, and tourists work together to take him down.
'Rye Lane'
Release Date: March 17, 2023
Starring: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Simon Manyonda, Karene Peter, Benjamin Sarpong-Broni, and Malcolm Atobrah
Two people (Jonsson and Oparah) who are reeling from bad break-ups connect and slowly fall in love while wondering around South London. Yes, it's as adorable as it sounds.
'The Little Mermaid'
Release Date: May 26, 2023
Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, and Noma Dumezweni
The highly-anticipated live-action musical finally arrived this Memorial Day, with Bailey starring as the iconic red-headed songstress and Jonah Hauer-King playing Prince Eric.
'Elemental'
Release Date: June 16, 2023
Starring: Mamoudou Athie and Leah Lewis
Pixar's latest film that made us feel all the things is set in Element City, where fire, water, land, and air residents live together. The story follows quick-witted and fiery Ember (Lewis), whose friendship with laid-back, water resident Wade (Athie) challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.
'The Blackening'
Release Date: June 16, 2023
Starring: Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Dewayne Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, and Yvonne Orji
This hilarious horror-comedy—which spins off the horror trope that the Black character is usually the first to die—follows a group of former college friends who meet up for a reunion at a rustic mountain cabin, where they're forced to play the deadly game of a mysterious killer.
'No Hard Feelings'
Release Date: June 23, 2023
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jordan Mendoza, and Andrew Barth Feldman
After stretching her comedy muscles in Don't Look Up, Lawrence gave an unforgettable performance in this R-rated comedy as a "ne’er-do-well" who is hired by a rich couple to befriend their socially awkward kid.
'The Perfect Find'
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Starring: Gabrielle Union, Keith Powers, Aisha Hinds, D.B. Woodside, Janet Hubert, Alani “La La” Anthony and Gina Torres
This stylish rom-com stars Union as Jenna, a top fashion editor making her comeback after a high-profile firing and breakup. When she falls for a charming, much younger co-worker (Powers)—who happens to be her boss’ son—Jenna has to decide if she’ll risk it all on a forbidden romance.
'Joy Ride'
Release Date: July 7, 2023
Starring: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Desmond Chiam, and Ronny Chieng
This raunchy buddy comedy from Crazy Rich Asians co-writer Adele Lim follows small-town besties Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo (Sherry Cola) as they travel to Beijing and get into countless drug-fueled and K-pop inspired antics.
'Theater Camp'
Release Date: July 14, 2023
Starring: Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin, Jimmy Tatro, Ayo Edebiri, Patti Harrison, Nathan Lee Graham, Owen Thiele, Caroline Aaron, and Amy Sedaris
When the founder of the scrappy kids' theater camp AdirondACTS falls into a coma, her clueless crypto-bro son Troy (Tatro) has to step in and work with a group of eccentric teachers and counselors to save the camp from financial ruin.
'Barbie'
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, and Helen Mirren
In case you've been living under a rock, Greta Gerwig's record-breaking film was the cultural event of the year. The hilarious blockbuster is can pretty much be summed up in this quote: "To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken."
'They Cloned Tyrone'
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Starring: Jamie Foxx, John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, David Alan Grier, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Kiefer Sutherland
This sci-fi mystery follows an unlikely trio as they investigate a government conspiracy. If there doesn't seem to be a lot of comedy in that description, then just watch Foxx and Parris in the hilarious teaser.
'Red, White, and Royal Blue'
Release Date: August 11, 2023
Starring: Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Uma Thurman, Clifton Collins Jr., and Stephen Fry
This year we got an adaptation of excellent rom-com of the same name by Casey McQuiston (if you haven't read it yet, order now and thank me later). When Alex Claremont-Diaz, the charming son of the President of the United States, and Prince Henry of England's feud hits the tabloids, the two are forced to fake a friendship, but things get complicated when forced amicability prompted by diplomacy slowly blooms into love.
'Strays'
Release Date: August 18, 2023
Starring: Will Ferrell, Isla Fisher, Jamie Foxx, Randall Park, and Will Forte
We don't know much about this comedy, but its premise—an abandoned dog teams up with other strays to get revenge on his former owner—and its absolutely stacked cast means it's a comedy to look out for.
'Bottoms'
Release Date: August 25, 2023
Starring: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Kaia Gerber, Havana Rose Liu, Nicholas Galitzine, Dagmara Domińczyk, and Marshawn Lynch
Two unpopular high-schoolers (Sennott and Edebiri) desperate to spend time with their respective crushes (Gerber and Liu) decide to start a fight club for girls to learn self-defense. (And yes, the movie is as wild and hilarious as that premise sounds.)
'You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah'
Release Date: August 25, 2023
Starring: Sunny Sandler, Samantha Lorraine, Idina Menzel, Adam Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Dylan Hoffman, Jackie Hoffman, and Luis Guzmán
This hilarious tween comedy introduces viewers to a new generation of comedy stars, led by Adam Sandler's talented daughters Sunny and Sadie. BFFs Stacy (Sunny Sandler) and Lydia (Lorraine) are both planning epic bat mitzvahs, but their plans unravel when Hebrew school drama and popular boy Andy Goldfarb (Dylan Hoffman) come between them.
'Love at First Sight'
Release Date: September 15, 2023
Starring: Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Jameela Jamil, Rob Delaney, Dexter Fletcher, and Sally Phillips
Jennifer E. Smith’s novel The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight got a Netflix adaptation this year, with Richardson and Hardy playing Hadley and Oliver, strangers who begin to fall for each other on their flight from New York to London. When they're separated after landing, the probability of ever finding each other again seems impossible, but their love may have a chance at defying the odds.
'Dumb Money'
Release Date: September 22, 2023
Starring: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley and Seth Rogen
The Game Stop short squeeze of early 2021 has already been the subject of numerous documentaries, but this is the first time the stock market phenomenon gets the Big Short treatment. This fictionalized comedy follows Keith (Dano) as he sets off the movement and makes everyone around him rich—until the hedge fund billionaires start fighting back.
'Dicks the Musical'
Release Date: September 29, 2023
Starring: Aaron Jackson, Josh Sharp, Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Bowen Yang, and Megan Thee Stallion
A24's first-ever movie musical is an irreverent spin on The Parent Trap starring Megan Thee Stallion as a subversive rapping girl-boss and Bowen Yang as God. Join us in watching this immediately.
'Quiz Lady'
Release Date: November 3, 2023
Starring: Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, Holland Taylor, Tony Hale, and Will Ferrell
Awkwafina and Oh play a pair of polar opposite sisters who are put into a bind when they're forced to help cover their mother’s gambling debts. When Anne's (Awkwafina) beloved dog is kidnapped, she and Jenny (Oh) set out on a cross-country trip to get Anne onto her favorite quiz show and win a fortune.
'Family Switch'
Release Date: November 30, 2023
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers, Brady Noon, Rita Moreno, Bashir Salahuddin, Xosha Roquemore, Paul Scheer, and Pete Holmes
In this body-swap comedy, the whole family (made up of mom Garner, dad Helms, daughter Myers and son Noon) goes through a Freaky Friday situation on the morning of the most important day of each of their lives, as they unite to land a promotion, college interview, record deal and soccer tryout.
'Candy Cane Lane'
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Nick Offerman, Robin Thede, Danielle Pinnock, and Timothy Simons
In his first-ever Christmas movie, Murphy will play Chris, a man who makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper (Bell) in order to win his neighborhood's annual Christmas decoration contest. When Pepper casts a havoc-causing spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life, Chris, his wife Carol (Ross), and their three kids must race against the clock to break the spell and save Christmas for everyone.
'Wonka'
Release Date: December 15, 2023
Starring: Timothée Chalamet Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter, Matt Lucas, Calah Lane, and Natasha Rothwell
Chalamet plays a young Willy Wonka in this musical(!) prequel about the legendary Charlie and the Chocolate Factory chocolatier.
'Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget'
Release Date: December 15, 2023
Starring: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Imelda Staunton, and Jane Horrocks
The stop-motion animated classic is getting a sequel 23 years after the original, following the continued misadventures of chickens Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and charming Rocky (Zachary Levi).
'Anyone But You'
Release Date: December 22, 2023
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel Griffiths, Alexandra Shipp, Michelle Hurd, Bryan Brown, Darren Barnet, and Hadley Robinson
This R-rated comedy from Easy A director Will Gluck is a loose adaptation of the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. Two college arch-nemeses who reunite years later at a destination wedding pretend to be lovers for their own reasons and eventually fall in love for real.