Ranking the 25 best and 10 worst movies from 2013

On paper, it might not seem like 2013 was a great year for film, but it was an incredibly deep year for some amazing features. It’s also a deep year for great comedy, as you’ll soon see. In this post, the Hidden Remote team’s movie fanatics rank the 25 best and 10 worst movies from 2013.

If you love nostalgia as much as we do here at Hidden Remote, join us! In our ranking, you are sure to find both some movies from 2013 that you may have missed and movies you forgot about and will be watching over the weekend for some nostalgic feels. But before we get to that, here is a sneak peek at our list, as well as some 2010 movie facts.

The best 25 movies from 2013

• The Purge
• The Conjuring
• Spring Breakers
• The Spectacular Now
• 42
• The Way Way Back
• We’re The Millers
• Short Term 12
• 12 Years a Slave
• Snowpiercer
• World War Z
• Pain & Gain
• Frances Ha
• Blue is the Warmest Colour
• American Hustle

Here are the movies from 2013 that lead the box office:

• Frozen – $1,280,802,282
• Iron Man 3 – $1,214,811,252
• Despicable Me – $970,766,005
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $958,366,855
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – $865,011,746

These movies from 2013 took home the big awards at the Oscars:

• Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave
• Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
• Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
• Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

No. 25: The Purge

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder
Director: James DeMonaco
Box Office: $89 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 39%
Metacritic Rating: 53%
Overall Score: 46%

I didn’t LOVE the original Purge movie because I didn’t feel like it explored the outside as much as I would have liked them to. However, it made the list because it did start the massive franchise that followed. While they aren’t all great movies, there are some really good ones. You have to pay homage to the OG.

No. 24: Snowpiercer

Cast: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Box Office: $86 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Metacritic Rating: 56%
Overall Score: 75%

As a young lover of film, this was my introduction to Bong Joon Ho and it changed my life forever. The commentary in the film is rather dark and the big picture is grim, but the story that unfolds in front of our eyes is downright scary. Chris Evans can act folks, this is one of those films he does just that.

No. 23: Blue is the Warmest Color

Cast: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Box Office: $19 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89%
Metacritic Rating: 89%
Overall Score: 89%

Are you just now getting familiar with Léa Seydoux from her work in No Time To Die or Crimes of the Future? I think you should go back and watch Blue is the Warmest Color. A breathtaking and beautiful depiction of life, love, and finding yourself.

No. 22: Frances Ha

Cast: Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver, Micheky Sumner
Director: Noah Baumbach
Box Office: $9 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
Metacritic Rating: 82%
Overall Score: 87.5%

Most people don’t know that Adam Driver and Noah Baumbach had teamed together before their 2019 film Marriage Story. It takes a great filmmaker to be able to make successfully make a Black & White film and Baumbach did just that. Greta Gerwig should have been at least nominated for her performance and maybe even won.

No. 21: American Hustle

Cast: Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence
Director: David O. Russell
Box Office: $251 Million
Oscars: Ten Nominations (Best Picture, Director, All Four Acting Categories, and Original Screenplay)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Metacritic Rating: 90%
Overall Score: 91%

One of the greatest ensembles that has been put together over the last twenty years. The movie weirdly got some hate on its way to getting 10 Academy Award nominations. Everyone was great in this film, period.

No. 20: World War Z

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz
Director: Marc Forster
Box Office: $540 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 63%
Metacritic Rating: 63%
Overall Score: 63%

A crazy zombie movie with Brad Pitt as the star? I was skeptical because I had read the book and loved it, but Pitt showed why he is a true action star. Marc Forster’s direction in this film was the true highlight bringing this world coming to an end zombie apocalypse wasn’t easy but he nailed it.

No. 19: The Way Way Back

Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Liam James
Director: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Box Office: $26 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 84%
Metacritic Rating: 68%
Overall Score: 76%

If you ever want to watch the perfect summer movie that has a moving story that has equal parts funny and drama, The Way Way Back is that film. The fact that Liam James was good as he was on the screen with some true powerhouse actors spoke to how good he was in the movie. Just writing about this movie makes me want to rewatch it right now.

No. 18: The Spectacular Now

Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brie Larson
Director: James Ponsoldt
Box Office: $6.9 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
Metacritic Rating: 82%
Overall Score: 86.5%

The teenage-dramedy’s doesn’t always work for me especially when they are adapted from books. However, The Spectacular Now works because it was different and didn’t feel like a made for tv movie. You have a moving, touching, heartwarming film that boasts an incredible cast led by a young Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.

No. 17: 42

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford
Director: Brian Helgeland
Box Office: $97 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 81%
Metacritic Rating: 62%
Overall Score: 71.5%

Oh, Chadwick Boseman, one of the finest actors that was taken from us far too early. Boseman was a TV actor for the most part up until he stole the show as one of the great baseball players of all time in Jackie Robinson. The movie is good, but his performance is a great one to watch.

No. 16: The Conjuring

Cast:Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga
Director: James Wan
Box Office: $320 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86%
Metacritic Rating: 62%
Overall Score: 74%

From the brilliant mind of James Wan came the start of a massive horror franchise. These Paranormal types of films aren’t normally my cup of tea but this one is an all-timer. A script that is structured so well that the scares are terrifying.

No. 15: Spring Breakers

Cast: James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson
Director: Harmony Korine
Box Office: $32 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 67%
Metacritic Rating: 63%
Overall Score: 65%

Spring Breakers will be the lowest-rated film that makes the cut on the best of 2013 list. The film does have some issues, but overall it was the experience of this film that made it so good. The cinematography was top-notch as the color palette was breathtaking + you couldn’t go wrong with this cast either.

No. 14: We’re The Millers

Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter
Director: Rawson Marshal Thurber
Box Office: $269 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 49%
Metacritic Rating: 44%
Overall Score: 46.5%

Talk about a delightful little treat of a comedy. There are so many amazing things about this film, from Jennifer Aniston (HOT!) to the chemistry between her and Sudeikis to the dynamic pairing of Will Poulter/Emma Roberts. We’re The Millers is one of my favorite movies to turn on just for a good belly laugh.

No. 13: Pain & Gain

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Mackie
Director: Michael Bay
Box Office: $93 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 50%
Metacritic Rating: 45%
Overall Score: 47.5%

If someone asks me what is top-tier Michael Bay films, we talk about The Rock, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys, the original Transformers, and Pain & Gain. An unhinged wild true story that is brought to life by the trio of The Rock, Wahlberg, and Mackie. The movie is a funny and overall wild ride. I love it.

No. 12: Short Term 12

Cast: Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Box Office: $1.6 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 98%
Metacritic Rating: 82%
Overall Score: 90%

Brie Larson had a year, she was in two movies on this list with The Spectacular Now being the other, and was also in a movie I liked in Don Jon. She was just breaking onto the scene around this time but this was the film that made her stand apart and people started to realize the kind of actress she really could be.

No. 11: The Internship

Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rose Byrne
Director: Shawn Levy
Box Office: $93 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 35%
Metacritic Rating: 42%
Overall Score: 38.5%

A lot of you might know Shawn Levy from Stranger Things or Free Guy or even this year’s The Adam Project, but, I know him for one of the most underrated comedies EVER in The Internship. The pairing of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn is classic, but they are electric in this one. The movie is not just funny, but the entire script has some heart in it too.

No. 10: This is the End

Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel
Director: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen
Box Office: $126 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 83%
Metacritic Rating: 67%
Overall Score: 75%

Is it possible that This Is The End is the greatest ensemble comedy film of all time? I think so. There is absolutely NO reason why this film should work as well as it does with the number of insane things that happen in it. I mean come on, Hermione gets in on the action with a perfect scene. I know this may sound crazy, but I would love a new one of these with all the new set of comedians working today.

No. 9: Now You See Me

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco
Director: Louis Leterrier
Box Office: $351 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 51%
Metacritic Rating: 50%
Overall Score: 50.5%

We go from one ensemble that is great to another. I remember being intrigued by the trailer of Now You See Me but not sure how the execution would be, but they knocked this one out of the ballpark. You think you have all the answers and then you don’t. It is one of the better “magic” films that have been made. I wish we could get about 20 of these films.

No. 8: Captain Phillips

Cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi
Director: Paul Greengrass
Box Office: $218 Million
Oscars: Six Nominations (Best Picture, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Adapted Screenplay)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
Metacritic Rating: 82%
Overall Score: 87.5%

Everyone has their favorite Tom Hanks performance and mine is Captain Phillips. I was floored by this film on every single level. The writing, directing, and acting included an impressive performance from Barkhad Abdi who stood toe-to-toe with Tom Hanks in this film. It’s a well-made, insane true story that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

No. 7: 12 Years a Slave

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Lupita Nygon’o
Director: Steve McQueen
Box Office: $187 Million
Oscars: Nine Nominations (Three wins including Best Picture, Supporting Actress and Adapted Screenplay)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95%
Metacritic Rating: 96%
Overall Score: 95.5%

Not much I can say about this film other than it’s one of the best-made films of the last decade. To this day, Lupita’s Best Supporting Actress win is one of my favorites. It’s just an important must-watch film for everyone.

No. 6: Out of the Furnace

Cast: Christian Bale, Forest Whittaker, Casey Affleck
Director: Scott Cooper
Box Office: $15 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 53%
Metacritic Rating: 63%
Overall Score: 58%

If you look back at 2013 everyone looks at American Hustle as Christian Bale’s best film of that year, but I disagree, while I liked American Hustle (it made the top 25), his performance in Out of the Furnace is amazing. Bale plays Russell, a man that is trying to hunt down and find his brother, and when the police don’t help, he takes things into his own hands. I loved his performance and if you happened to miss this film, consider this your sign to watch it.

No. 5: Fruitvale Station

Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer
Director: Ryan Coogler
Box Office: $17 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Metacritic Rating: 84%
Overall Score: 89.5%

I don’t even know where to begin with this film. It was powerful, heartbreaking and Michael B. Jordan gives one of the most gut-wrenching performances you will ever see. The entire film based on a true story highlights why Ryan Coogler has become one of the hottest directors in Hollywood.

No. 4: Her

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Spike Jonze
Box Office: $48 Million
Oscars: Five Nominations with One Win (Best Original Screenplay)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Metacritic Rating: 91%
Overall Score: 92.5%

I am not sure many actors deliver in the different ways that Joaquin Phoenix is capable of delivering. He acts his butt off in this film opposite the voice of Scarlett Johansson. Speaking of Johansson, she should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress even though we didn’t see her face the entire film. Her voice was pivotal in what made this film as good as it is. The entire film is beautiful.

No. 3: The Great Gatsby

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Box Office: $353 Million
Oscars: Two Nominations with Two Wins (Best Costumes and Production Design)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 48%
Metacritic Rating: 55%
Overall Score: 51.5%

Dicaprio had himself a year in 2013, but more on that later. Baz Luhrmann followed up his gem of Moulin Rouge with a beautiful, artistic, and stylish film in The Great Gatsby. The film is easily one of the best book-to-film adaptations that we have ever seen. Sure the film has great performances but it is a sight to see and I ate up every single bit of it.

No. 2: Prisoners

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Paul Dano
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Box Office: $122 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 81%
Metacritic Rating: 70%
Overall Score: 75.5%

When you look back in the last twenty years at great films, Prisoners is always on the top part of most people’s list, and for good reason. The film is a powerful and moving look at how one man took action into his own hands to find his missing kid. Hugh Jackman played the dad we all would be if we found out our kid was taken. The fact this film didn’t get upwards of 6-7 Oscar nominations is a crime. This is Villeneuve’s masterpiece.

No. 1: The Wolf of Wall Street

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie
Director: Martin Scorsese
Box Office: $392 Million
Oscars: Five Oscar Nominations (Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Directing, Adapted Screenplay)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%
Metacritic Rating: 75%
Overall Score: 77.5%

Scorsese and DiCaprio are one of/if not the greatest Director/Actor combination in film history. I mentioned DiCaprio having himself a year earlier with The Great Gatsby, but my goodness his transformation into Jordan Belfort was perfect. I loved seeing THIS type of performance out of DiCaprio because it was something we hadn’t seen before. Also, I want to mention, that Jonah Hill can act folks (see Moneyball) and he should’ve won the Oscar, period.

Time for my favorite part of this article, listing the ten worst movies of 2013. Honestly, I probably could have listed about 30 because the year had some real stinkers. Let’s dive in.

10 Worst Movies of 2013

• Thor: The Dark World
• 47 Ronin
• Movie 43
• A Haunted House
• Force of Execution

No. 10: Force of Execution

Cast: Steven Seagal, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo
Director: Keoni Waxman
Box Office: $87,122
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Not rated
Metacritic Rating: Not rated

No matter what my Dad says, Steven Seagal is one of the worst action “stars” (I use that term very loosely) of all time. The dude is a horrible actor and 98% of his movies are hard to watch.

No. 9: A Haunted House

Cast: Marlon Wayans, Essence Atkins, Marlene Forte
Director: Michael Tiddes
Box Office: $60 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 9%
Metacritic Rating: 20%
Overall Score: 14.5%

Some of the Scary Movie, movies are funny, but the A Haunted House movies are UNWATCHABLE. They aren’t funny, cute, are even bad funny, they are just bad. It’s easily one of the worst movies of the year.

No. 8: Movie 43

Cast: Emma Stone, Liev Schreiber, Richard Gere, Dennis Quaid, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman
Director: Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr
Box Office: $32 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 4%
Metacritic Rating: 18%
Overall Score: 11%

How do you have this loaded of a cast and this bad of a movie? I will never know. I get what they were trying to do here but overall, the film is so bad that I bet these actors look back and wish they could wipe it off their IMDB pages.

No. 7: 47 Ronin

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki
Director: Carl Rinsch
Box Office: $151 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 16%
Metacritic Rating: 28%
Overall Score: 22%

What can I say about this film? I am not sure. I expected it to be so much more than it was. Keanu Reeves? Action? What could go wrong? Apparently, everything because this was hard to watch.

No. 6: Thor: The Dark World

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston
Director: Alan Taylor
Box Office: $644 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 66%
Metacritic Rating: 54%
Overall Score: 60%

Iron Man has a bad movie in his movies, Captain America has a mediocre one and Thor, well he has not one but two. The Dark World is hard to ever attempt to go back in time and rewatch as apart of the MCU. Thankfully we got Ragnarok because otherwise, Thor would have a horrible history of stand-alone films.

No. 5: Grown Ups 2

Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade
Director: Dennis Dugan
Box Office: $246 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 8%
Metacritic Rating: 19%
Overall Score: 13.5%

I blame every single middle-aged person that watched the first Grown-Ups film in theaters that made them make a second one. These movies are SO bad that they aren’t even good bad. The jokes are stale and poor attempt at dad humor. They all collected a check (nothing wrong with that) and moved on with their lives.

No. 4: After Earth

Cast: Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Sophie Okonedo
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Box Office: $243 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 12%
Metacritic Rating: 33%
Overall Score: 22.5%

What’s worst than one bad Smith? Two bad Smiths? I am sorry for the bad joke but seriously though, these two just don’t work together even being father and son. I try to forget this movie is in Will Smith’s filmography because he is such a great actor.

No. 3: Evil Dead

Cast: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas
Director: Fede Alvarez
Box Office: $97 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 63%
Metacritic Rating: 57%
Overall Score: 60%

My worst list includes two sequels I didn’t want and now a reboot that I didn’t want. I remember watching this in the theaters with my brothers and audibly saying, “what in the world is going on.” The movie is downright terrible and the ending felt like two hours of its own. I can’t stand this film or the hype that it gets.

No. 2: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Cast: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell,
Director: Adam McKay
Box Office: $173Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 75%
Metacritic Rating: 61%
Overall Score: 68%

I am on the side of the original Anchorman is single-handily one of the most overrated films ever. So when I found out we were getting a sequel, I was very upset. However, as I do with every film I go and see, I gave this one a try and well, I hated it more than the original. It’s crazy how you can have so many funny people working on one project and laugh a few times in two hours.

No. 1: Gravity

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Box Office: $723 Million
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96%
Metacritic Rating: 96%
Overall Score: 96%

We don’t talk enough about how Gravity while incredibly made was a lifeless film that had no story and the acting was subpar at best. Cuarón is a great director, but my goodness is this film a DRAG. I can’t stand the praise the film gets because it was not worthy of it all. It’s not a great film.

And that was my list of the 25 best and 10 worst movies of 2013. What did I get wrong? or right? What did I miss? Comment below with your favorite or least favorite movies of 2013.