Spring 2023 Movie Preview: 21 New Films to Get Excited About

​With the warmer breezes of spring comes a fresh batch of movies — from blockbusters to art films — arriving in theaters and on streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu. Keep track of what’s coming and when with our critics’ guide. And we’ll see you at the movies!​​​

John Wick: Chapter 4 (in theaters March 24)

That cool cat Keanu Reeves has nine lives to the 10th power. As John Wick, Reeves manages to bring a stoner sensibility to a stone-cold assassin. Joining him are Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, the late, great Lance Reddick, Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgård as Wick’s effete Parisian archenemy, the Marquis. The latter is a big shot of the criminal cabal the High Table, which excommunicated Wick in the last flick and is committed to the hit man’s liquidation. In magnificently choreographed, violent set piece after set piece — at the Osaka Continental hotel, up and down Sacré-Coeur’s 300ish steps, amid chaotic traffic circling the Arc de Triomphe — the thrills are immersive, particularly in IMAX. It’s a killer night out at the movies, and another high for the ever-nonchalant Reeves.

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Murder Mystery 2 (on Netflix March 31)

Gumshoes Adam Sandler, 56, and Jennifer Aniston, 54, return to the big screen together after their 2019 hit, this time to hunt the kidnapper of their pal the maharajah at his own wedding. Judging from the trailer, expect another fizzy-light delight with the pair romping through a series of picturesque European backdrops.

Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (on Hulu April 3)

At 57, the child model turned sexualized child star reflects in this two-part documentary on how she survived her exploitative rise to fame.

Air (in theaters April 5)

Matt Damon, 52, and Ben Affleck, 50, reunite in the true tale of Nike founder Phil Knight (Affleck) and Sonny Vaccaro (Damon), who talked Knight into launching a shoe brand, Nike Air, with a legend built around one rather promising rookie athlete: Michael Jordan. Viola Davis, 57, plays Jordan’s mother, and Chris Tucker, 51, Nike VP Howard White.

On a Wing and a Prayer (on Prime Video April 7)

Coproducer Roma Downey, 62 (Touched by an Angel), presents the true saga of Doug White (Dennis Quaid, 68), who saved his family on Easter Sunday 2009 by landing a plane after the pilot died. His teen daughter Maggie said, “What could I do? Nothing, just sit there and pray and, you know, throw up.”

Paint (in theaters April 7)

Owen Wilson, 54, plays a Bob Ross–like Vermont painter, a public TV star with a perm and a passion for vans, flared jeans, sandals, ’70s tunes and old-fashioned nature painting — but he’s menaced by a young rival painter (Ciara Renée) who steals his thunder.

Mafia Mamma (in theaters April 14)

What could be more fun than seeing Toni Collette, 50, as an insecure American suburbanite who attends her estranged grandpa’s funeral in Rome — and discovers she’s the new don of his mob?