The year 2023 has seen several quality detectives at the worldwide box office, which we present to you in one list of the best 2023 movies of this genre.
Chinese historical film, American action with tough cops, anxious search for the mother, fear of persecution, deadly chases and tense crime mystery, which is unraveled by smart investigators – all this and much more in the whole variety of good detective movies.
Reptile
- IMDB Rating – 6.9
- Genre: Detective, Thriller, Drama, Crime
- Production: USA / 2023
- Director: Grant Singer
- Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Justin Timberlake, Eric Bogosian, Alicia Silverstone, Domenic Lombardozzi, Francis Fisher, Ato Essando, Michael Pitt, Carl Glusman, Mike Pniewski.
Netflix’s new thriller is a police drama that starts as a routine investigation and goes deeper down a rabbit hole of intrigue and mystery. Broker Will Grady returns to the mansion where he left his girlfriend Summer, a real estate agent, and discovers her bloody corpse scrawled on the white carpet.
The murder was committed with a special atrocity, and for the case, armed with deduction and intuition, takes an experienced detective Tom Nichols. He himself inspires a lot of suspicion: he has a dark past and a mysterious stab wound on the palm of his hand …
The plot of the movie is inspired by the unsolved murder of real estate agent Lindsay Buziak in 2008.
Missing
- IMDB Rating – 7.1
- Genre: Detective, Thriller, Drama
- Production: USA / 2023
- Budget: $7,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $48,767,848
- Director: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick
- Starring: Storm Reid, Nia Long, Joaquin de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, Tim Griffin, Ava Zaria Lee, Kimberly Cheng, Megan Suri.
In a short prologue, we learn about the disturbing loss of her father, which her mother helps her young daughter through and leaves with her to start a new life away from the pain. Twelve years later, 18-year-old June is living with her mom Grace in Los Angeles. Grace is going on a week-long vacation-trip to Colombia with her current boyfriend, and June is planning a flashy party.
A week later, June arrives to meet her mother, but she isn’t at the airport, and neither is her friend. A call to the hotel helps reveal that their luggage is still there. June and family friend Heather contact the American Embassy in Colombia, but they can’t do much to help. June begins a search for her mother, armed with the Internet, modern information technology, and the help of a hacker she knows.
The internet investigation genre was invented and created by Timur Bekmambetov with his 2018 movie “Search”. “Missing” is an independent sequel to that story.
Anatomie d’une chute
- IMDB Rating – 7.9
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
- Production: France / 2023
- Worldwide Box Office: $7,005,503
- Director: Justine Trieu
- Starring: Sandra Hüller, Svann Arlo, Milo Mashado Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis, Jenny Beth, Saadia Bentayeb, Camille Rutherford, Sophie Fillière
The French detective drama begins with an idyllic picture of a family living in the snowy Alps near Grenoble. Writer Sandra Voiter enjoys the company of her husband Samuel and their 11-year-old son Daniel. The boy is nearly blind and is accompanied everywhere by a dog.
Then one day Samuel is found dead at the foot of a cliff. The only person present at the scene of the man’s death was Daniel. Accident or murder? An investigation begins, and a year later the boy attends his mother’s trial, becoming increasingly suspicious of her involvement in his father’s death.
At Cannes 2023, the film won two awards – the main award, the Palme d’Or, and the Palm Dog, which is awarded to animal actors.
Wicked Little Letters
- Genre: Comedy, detective, history
- Production: France, Great Britain / 2023
- Director: Thea Sharrock
- Starring: Olivia Colman, Jesse Buckley, Hugh Skinner, Timothy Spall, Lolly Adefope, Anjana Wasan, Eileen Atkins, Alisha Weir, Gemma Jones, Jason Watkins
An ironic English detective story starring Olivia Colman. Her heroine is Edith Swan, a middle-aged religious lady who is trying her best to protect the moral character of the inhabitants of a small coastal town. Out of balance, she is taken out of balance only by her young neighbor Rose, a single mother who spits on the foundations of the Puritan community.
And then one day Edith receives a nasty anonymous message filled with insults and threats, and immediately blames Rose. But soon other residents are receiving similar letters. The police are not going to dig into these complaints, and then police officer Gladys takes matters into her own hands, forming a real investigative team of local women.
The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in the special presentations section.
Luther: The Fallen Sun
- IMDB Rating – 6.4
- Genre: Thriller, Detective, Action, Crime
- Production: UK, USA / 2023
- Director: Jamie Payne
- Starring: Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Andy Serkis, Dermot Crowley, Thomas Coombs, Hattie Morahan, Lorin Ajufo, Vincent Regan, Ross Waiton, Lee Dunn.
The sequel to the acclaimed series “Luther” is a thrilling crime detective starring Idris Elba. David Robey, a rich man, psychopath and serial killer, kidnaps young Callum Aldrich, and police inspector John Luther promises his mother to find the criminal and save her son.
But it doesn’t work out. Robie, using his connections, digs up a lot of dirt on Luther, as a result of which he goes to prison. The hero has to escape from prison to stop the maniac once and for all.
The movie was released in March 2010 on Netflix .
Murder Mystery 2
- IMDB Rating – 5.7
- Genre: Detective, Comedy, Crime
- Production: USA / 2023
- Director: Jeremy Garelick
- Starring: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, Melanie Laurent, Jodi Turner-Smith, John Kani, Kuhu Verma, Danny Boone, Adil Akhtar, Enrique Arce.
A parody detective story starring Jennifer Aniston. After an adventure in which the Spitz couple, former policeman Nick and hairdresser Audrey, a great lover of detectives, unraveled a complex crime committed on the cruise yacht of Indian rich man Vikram (movie 2019 “Murder on a Yacht”), they open a private detective agency.
But the reality turned out not to be what Audrey imagined. They have to deal with the most boring cases: track down traitors, look for dogs. But one day Vikram invites them to a secluded private island, where his grand wedding will be held. And then the golden age comes for Audrey: the groom is kidnapped, his bodyguard is killed, and the suspects are a crowd of arrogant billionaires.
This is the first Adam Sandler sequel to be released on Netflix.
Khitrovka. The sign of the four
- Genre: Detective, comedy
- Production: Russia / 2023
- Worldwide Box Office: $1,235,811
- Director: Karen Shakhnazarov
- Starring: Konstantin Kryukov, Mikhail Porechenkov, Alexei Vertkov, Alexander Oleshko, Anfisa Chernykh, Evgeny Stychkin, Boris Kamorzin, Ayub Tsingiev, Julia Vitruk, Denis Sladkov
A fresh Russian retro detective story inspired by Holmes’ adventures and Gilyarovsky’s witty essays. The action takes place in Moscow in 1902. The movie received good ratings from viewers, despite negative reviews from critics.
The famous Stanislavsky is looking for new ideas for his theater. He hires a connoisseur of the capital’s “bottom” Gilyarovsky and together they go to Khitrovka, the most ghastly gangster lair in Moscow. Here the partners will have to investigate the real murder of a local robber, an Indian with a mysterious past.
In May, the film was shown in theaters, and in August there was a TV premiere on the channel “Russia-1”.
Hypnotic
- IMDB Rating – 5.5
- Genre: Action, Thriller, Detective, Fantasy
- Production: USA / 2023
- Budget: $70,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $12,356,477
- Director: Robert Rodriguez
- Starring: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, William Fichtner, J.D. Pardo, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Faye, Jackie Earle Haley, Zane Holtz, Ruben Javier Caballero, Kelly Frye
In this sci-fi detective story, all is not as it seems and Ben Affleck’s character must solve the mystery of his daughter’s disappearance against powerful hypnotists.
Detective Danny Rourke, who has been grieving for years for his daughter who disappeared at the age of 7, begins investigating a bank robbery following an anonymous call. In one of the boxes, he finds a photo of his daughter labeled “Find Dellraine.”
Danny goes to fortune teller Diana, who initiates him into the secrets of a closed organization of hypnotists, created by the government and distorting the world, where Dellraine is a major expert. Together with Diana, Danny will have to escape and then try to solve the mystery of his daughter Minnie’s disappearance.
Director and screenwriter Robert Rodriguez wrote this script back in 2002, calling it his most favorite movie. It premiered in Russia on July 6, 2023.
Man jiang hong
- IMDB Rating – 6.5
- Genre: History, Detective, Thriller
- Production: China / 2023
- Budget: $70,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $673,645,666
- Director: Zhang Yimou
- Starring: Shen Teng, Jackson Yi, Zhang Yi, Yue Yunpeng, Lei Jiayin, Wang Jiayi, Pan Binlong, Yu Ailei, Guo Jingfei, Oho Ou
The events of this box-office Chinese historical detective take place in the twelfth century in the Song Empire. In the residence of the dignitary Qin Hui, two hours before dawn, the corpse of Ambassador Jin is found, and a letter that contained important information has disappeared.
While all the guards of the residence face immediate execution for poor performance of their duties, the humble Corporal Zhang Da convinces his superiors that he can find the murderer in two hours. He gathers the best men from his subordinates and begins to investigate.
At the famous Weibo Night ceremony in Shanghai, the movie collected almost all the awards in all categories for films and has already become a box office hit worldwide.
Mon crime
- IMDB Rating – 6.6
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime, Detective
- Production: France / 2023
- Worldwide Box Office: $10,101,096
- Director: François Ozon
- Starring: Nadia Tereshkevich, Rebecca Marder, Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, Dani Boone, André Dussollier, Edouard Sulpice, Régis Lapale, Olivier Broch, Félix Lefebvre.
Charming detective retro vaudeville by French director François Ozon, set in the atmosphere of the refined 30s. Madeleine is an aspiring actress whose life is a disaster. She shares a tiny room with her friend Pauline, a penniless lawyer.
One day she gets a promise to audition, but when she arrives at the producer’s house, she finds him murdered. Polina has an idea: Madeleine should confess to the crime and say that she committed the murder in self-defense. It works, and Madeleine becomes a celebrity, which is what she was aiming for. But the rise is suddenly cut short by the appearance of the real killer, who intends to blackmail the actress.
This film is a loose adaptation of the 1934 play of the same name, which had already been screened twice in 1937 and 1946.
Poolman
- IMDB Rating – 5.4
- Genre: Comedy, Detective
- Production: USA / 2023
- Director: Chris Pine
- Starring: Chris Pine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, DeWanda Wise, Juliette Mills, Ray Wise, Hollis W. Chambers, Hermie Hicks Jr.
Darren is a small-minded man in love with his city who believes that corporations are destroying the planet. Every day he cleans the pool in his apartment complex, turning it into a meditative ritual.
Then one day while he’s doing it, a woman named Diane comes to him. She works as a secretary for the municipality and has recently discovered that the city council has been running a devious water scam, literally stealing water from the residents. Darren sees this as his chance to serve his ideals and promptly throws himself into the investigation.
This movie is the directorial debut of American actor Chris Pine.
Limbo
- IMDB Rating – 6.1
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime, Detective
- Production: Australia / 2023
- Worldwide Box Office: $217,718
- Director: Ivan Sen
- Starring: Simon Baker, Rob Collins, Natasha Vanganin, Nicholas Hope, Mark Coe, Joshua Warrior, Nick Buckland, Alexis Lennon, Craig Rossiter
An Australian detective drama, created in soft black and white, set in the small mining town of Limbo. Everything here is desolate, stony and lonely, and is quite in keeping with the inner pain of Travis (Simon Baker) who has come here.
He’s here to see if the case of an indigenous girl who disappeared in the town 20 years ago should be reopened. At the time, the police brushed off the crime, linking it to the victim’s brother, and the locals blamed it on Leon, a white prospector known for his love of young black girls.
This is the seventh film directed and written by Ivan Sen, an Indigenous Australian filmmaker and screenwriter. His film won the Grand Prix at the Brussels Film Festival.
White list
- Genre: Drama, crime, detective
- Production: Russia / 2022
- Director: Alisa Khazanova
- Starring: Alexei Serebryakov, Vladimir Averyanov, Evgenia Kregzhdeh, Victoria Miroshnichenko, Iraida Krasnopolskaya, Julia Avsharova, Dasha Voit, Anastasia Krasovskaya, Alexei Rozin, Stepan Belozerov
The events of this nomenclature Russian detective story unfold in 2015. Two employees of the Investigative Committee are sent to a provincial town from the capital: almost retired Korotkov and young ambitious investigator Lazarev.
Officially, they go to investigate the suicide of a schoolgirl, which received a wide public resonance. Unofficially, they are ordered to drag out the case until the hype around it has subsided, and the investigation is not necessary.
According to others, a teenage girl became a victim of a manipulative social networking site. The partners are trying to unravel the case against the wishes of their superiors, and their activities have far-reaching consequences.
The film will premiere in theaters in November 2023. The plot is inspired by a 2016 Novaya Gazeta article about “death groups” on the Internet.
They Cloned Tyrone
- IMDB Rating – 6.6
- Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Detective
- Production: USA / 2023
- Director: Jewel Taylor
- Starring: John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Kiefer Sutherland, David Alan Greer, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Tamberla Perry, Eric B. Robinson Jr.
A drug detective black comedy of the absurd in every sense tells the story of a small-time dealer named Fontaine. His regular day, during which he aggressively socializes with a bunch of people, ends in his death by gunshots from rival dope dealer Isaac.
The next day, to the horror of his regular client Slick and prostitute Yo-Yo, Fontaine goes about his daily schedule business as if nothing had happened. When Fontaine’s dumbfounded witnesses to last night’s murder inform him of what they saw the day before, it turns out that the guy doesn’t remember anything of the sort. They begin an investigation that leads them to a secret lab with a completely insane scientist…..
This directorial debut by Jewel Taylor is released on Netflix in July 2023.
To Catch A Killer
- IMDB Rating – 6.6
- Genre: Action, Thriller, Drama, Crime, Detective
- Production: USA, Canada / 2023
- Worldwide Box Office: $3,091,586
- Director: Damian Cifron
- Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Jovan Adepo, Ralph Ineson, Richard Zeman, Dusan Dukic, Jason Cavalier, Nick Walker, Darcy Laurie, Mark Camacho
FBI agent Jeffrey Lammark investigates the case of a serial killer-sniper who opened fire on a crowd on New Year’s Eve in Baltimore. He fails to find any leads, and then he takes young police officer Eleanor, the only one who has found a lead in the case, on his team.
Soon the maniac repeats his attack in a mall full of people. And then Jeffrey and Eleanor devise a risky plan that will either allow them to catch the killer or forever cut short their careers, and maybe even their lives.
The movie appeared in the Russian box office in April 2023.
If I Can’t Have You
- IMDB Rating – 7.8
- Genre: Detective
- Production: USA / 2023
- Director: David DeCoteau
- Starring: Bailey Kai, Houston Raines, Gina Hiraizumi, Eric Roberts, Jackie Harry, Michael Pare, Tracy Nelson, Philip McElroy, John Briddell, Daniel Jue
A cautionary and heartfelt detective story about stalking and domestic violence. Michelle is an on-air star who works late into the night on her show along with sound engineer Keith and producer Lily. Michelle helps people in love predicaments and fulfills their small requests.
But one day she gets a call from a man talking about his unrequited love for Michelle herself. And then begins a stalking of the girl, which becomes more and more threatening. And if at first Michelle thinks that the unexpected gifts and calls are the work of her boyfriend Aiden, then suspects the neighbor fan Sklar, then later she realizes that everything is much worse than it seems.
The movie was released on the American television channel TV-14 in April 2023.
