Because the yr winds down, it is time to stroll down reminiscence lane and revisit the popular culture moments that outlined 2023 on social media. From groundbreaking technological developments to glitzy leisure releases, this yr had all of it. However not each pattern was a welcome one.
This yr Forekast, in partnership with One thing Nice Advertising and marketing, explored the occasions that shook social media to its core, captivated our feeds, and reminded us that you simply by no means know what pattern is simply across the nook. This retrospective presents a novel lens into our shared digital expertise — the highs, the lows, and all the things in between.
Let’s give 2023 a fast rewind.
The large display
2023 was a landmark yr for cinema, with the massive display providing a mosaic of storytelling that captivated audiences worldwide. From field workplace information to a near-clean sweep of the Academy Awards, every second resonated deeply on social media, sparking discussions, celebrations, and, sure, memes. So many memes.
Barbie
The live-action Barbie film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, grew to become the cinematic sensation of 2023. In Forekast’s 2023 Development Rewind report, 85% of respondents stated that Barbie was essentially the most talked about film of the yr.
Greta Gerwig’s path led this vibrant movie not solely to be the highest-grossing movie of the yr, incomes $1.4 billion but additionally to turn out to be a cultural phenomenon.
It sparked a world pattern in pink style and equipment, resonating powerfully with audiences. A pink billboard went viral on social media, together with a model collaboration with Airbnb, and perhaps most importantly, followers made 1000’s of memes combining Barbie with one other blockbuster that shared its launch date: Oppenheimer.
The Barbenheimer mashup grew to become a cultural phenomenon that no social media marketer (or consumer, for that matter) missed of their feed. It made such a big effect that it even has its personal Wikipedia web page.
Its success was a testomony to the enduring attraction of the theatrical expertise in a streaming-dominated period. Barbie’s influence was so profound that it earned a nomination for TIME’s Individual of the Yr, highlighting its vital cultural affect.
What a yr for Barbie.
Oppenheimer
Onto the second half of the Barbenheimer equation. When Christopher Nolan introduced he was making a film about theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, he completely didn’t foresee Barbie taking part in an enormous function within the advertising and marketing and field workplace success of the movie.
Trying again on the yr, there’s little doubt that Barbie is Nolan’s second favourite film of 2023.
Oppenheimer blew up on social (pun supposed), incomes over $950 millon on the field workplace worldwide in 2023. It grew to become the third highest-grossing movie in IMAX historical past within the US and has basically turn out to be essentially the most profitable biopic of all time.
AMC Theaters reported that over 20,000 individuals bought tickets to each Barbie and Oppenheimer on opening weekend. The double dip and speak of the double function on social media was an enormous pattern in July.
The Tremendous Mario Bros. Film
It’s additionally been a heck of a yr for video video games in all of their kinds and variations. Consider it or not, Oppenheimer was solely the third most profitable film on the field workplace this yr. Quantity two featured a few plumbers and a really offended turtle.
@supermariomovie All of us want extra Mario in our lives. Deliver him residence as we speak. Personal #SuperMarioMovie ♬ authentic sound – The Tremendous Mario Bros. Film
The Tremendous Mario Bros. Film generated $1.36 billion worldwide in 2023, changing into the highest-grossing movie primarily based on a online game only one week after its launch.
While you throw within the success of Spider-Man 2, The Final of Us, and the thrill surrounding the GTA 6 Trailer this yr, it’s straightforward to see why 2023 might be dubbed the yr of the gamer. Extra on these traits later.
The Academy Awards
The fervor surrounding Every part All over the place All at As soon as on the 2023 Oscars highlighted the evolving panorama of cinema and the facility of social media in amplifying cinematic milestones. The movie took residence Oscars in three of the 4 main performing classes, together with Greatest Director and Greatest Image.
The groundbreaking film, celebrated for its progressive storytelling and charming performances, swept the foremost awards, making a buzz throughout social media platforms. Its distinctive mix of science fiction, household drama, and humor resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike, sparking widespread discussions and admiration.
Michelle Yeoh says she hasn’t stopped working since her Oscar win for “Every part All over the place All at As soon as.” She’s being honored on the Cannes Movie Competition. pic.twitter.com/iiY0sbwiDI
— The Related Press (@AP) Might 21, 2023
The movie’s success on the Oscars not solely marked a big shift in the kind of films celebrated by the Academy but additionally dominated social media traits, with followers and business insiders alike celebrating its achievements.
The small display
We Netflix-ed and chilled so much in 2023. Simply swap out Netflix-ed for HBO-ed and FX-ed.
The Final of Us
Many people began 2023 with a brand new collection filled with amped-up mushroom individuals and what some are suggesting is without doubt one of the finest episodes of tv in current reminiscence. The Final of Us followers will know the episode we’re speaking about.
The present was extremely anticipated. The primary teaser which masterfully built-in themes from the sport, generated over 57 million natural views in 72 hours, making it HBO’s most-watched teaser of all time. HBO slowly launched glimpses of the present on social media that stayed true to the supply materials and precipitated an enormous stir amongst followers of the sport.
The entire promotion on social media led to a smashing success, making The Final of Us essentially the most profitable case of a online game making the leap to a present. 32 million viewers per episode and one Sport Award for Greatest Adaptation later, and audiences can hardly watch for season two.
Oh, and a brand new meme was born.
The Bear
Sure Chef, audiences around the globe renewed their love for cooking in 2023, due to the fast-paced, stunningly shot scenes from season two of The Bear.
Whereas FX and Hulu haven’t disclosed particular streaming numbers, they did affirm that season two garnered the very best viewership for any FX collection premiere on Hulu, with a 70% enhance in viewership from season one.
@yuyuyu3666 #film #thebear #movie #tiktok #foryou ♬ authentic sound – yuyuyu3
That includes visitor appearances from the likes of Jon Bernthal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, John Mulaney, and Olivia Colman (to call just a few), it’s clear that Hollywood itself respects this present simply as a lot as viewers do.
Not unhealthy, cousin.
Succession
It was the tip of an period for certainly one of HBO’s big-name exhibits, as Waystar Royco’s saga wrapped up on the finish of Might.
@hbo See, dramaturgically it did make sense. #succession ♬ authentic sound – HBO
Succession had viewers guessing till the very finish as to who could be taking the reigns on the firm, a query that principally took the collection 4 seasons to reply. Some followers beloved the finale, some hated it, however all agreed that the performing all through the present was fairly spectacular.
The return of the live performance
It wasn’t so way back that folks had been questioning if reside occasions had been lifeless. Did Covid put a cease to the general public gathering? Did Gen-Z kill the live performance? 2023’s reply is an emphatic: NO.
The Eras Tour
TIME named Taylor Swift the individual of the yr, and a whopping 72% of Forekasters agreed she was essentially the most talked about individual of the yr. The smashing brilliance of The Eras Tour had so much to do together with her success.
The tour is the primary ever to cross the $1 billion mark in ticket gross sales, promoting 4.35 million tickets and a further $200 million in merchandise gross sales. Throw in a live performance movie that’s generated one other $250 million and a brand new relationship with the perfect tight finish in soccer, and also you’ve bought one very comfortable Taylor Swift.
With 146 dates throughout 5 continents, it was actually the yr of the Swifties.
The Renaissance Tour
Had Taylor Swift not blown just about each reside music file out of the water this yr, it’s doable that we’d be declaring this the yr of the BeyHive.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour earned practically $600 million for Queen Bey, who introduced in roughly $10 million per present. The New York Instances estimated that the Bey bump generated about $4.5 billion for the American economic system, akin to what the 2008 Olympics did for Beijing.
Beyoncé means enterprise.
Rihanna’s Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present
2023 noticed loads of information damaged, together with the most-watched telecast of all time, which now belongs to Tremendous Bowl LVII. And there’s little question that Rihanna’s Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present had one thing to do with these numbers.
Sporting a child bump, she floated above the group in Arizona whereas working her approach by way of her complete discography and even sneaking in product placement for her Fenty make-up model.
As a result of as you’ve most likely heard, Rihanna is all about work, work, work, work, work.
Burning Man will get moist
A fast second to say the catastrophe that was Burning Man this yr. All of us watched on social media as one in a hundred-year rains fell in Nevada, trapping pageant goers, together with Chris Rock and Diplo, who was seen escaping by a pickup truck.
Hey, not each trending occasion this yr went in response to plan.
A mighty yr for tech
Should you took the yr off of labor in 2023, we’ve excellent news and unhealthy information.
The excellent news is, AI is getting fairly near having the ability to do your whole give you the results you want. The unhealthy information is, nicely, AI is getting fairly near having the ability to do your whole work. Little bit of a double-edged sword, there. Listed here are the tech moments of the yr.
ChatGPT Plus
ChatGPT shook up the tech world in 2023, with Microsoft investing within the firm and Google, Meta, and each different tech large scrambling to launch their very own AI providing.
Ought to Taylor Swift not have gained Individual of the Yr, there’s a robust case to be made that Sam Altman, OpenAI’s founder, would have taken residence the excellence (although he was dubbed TIME’s CEO of the Yr). The digital world seems to be a lot completely different as we speak than it did simply 18 months in the past, and ChatGPT has a giant function to play within the altering panorama.
TIME’s CEO of the Yr Sam Altman on the way forward for AI: “Nobody is aware of what occurs subsequent. I feel the way in which expertise goes, predictions are sometimes flawed” https://t.co/OhKDrFzn0R
— TIME (@TIME) December 16, 2023
Combine in an ouster and return to the corporate in November, and it’s straightforward to see why OpenAI stole so many headlines this yr. Heck, ChatGPT might need even written just a few of them.
Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional
All of us watched in awe as Apple launched us to its first spatial pc again in June at Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention (WWDC). Imaginative and prescient Professional marked the corporate’s first entrance into a brand new product class because the 2015 Apple Watch, and the demo left audiences with extra questions than solutions.
Is that this what the longer term seems to be like? Time will inform. Apple suggests they’re on monitor for a launch in early 2024. With a beginning price ticket of $3,499, we’ll have to attend and see whether or not tech fanatics have an urge for food (and deep sufficient pockets) for Apple’s newest innovation.
Spider-Man 2
Again to video video games for a second. Players had been thrilled when Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 dropped in October, giving the sport a rating of 91/100 on Metacritic and buying 2.5 million copies on launch day.
That made Spider-Man 2 the fastest-selling sport in PlayStation historical past, proving that whereas it could have been a quiet yr on the field workplace for comedian e book films, there’s nonetheless an enormous demand for the style within the gaming business.
The royal therapy
Within the sensible phrases of Lorde, we are going to by no means be royals. However these people are, they usually stole loads of headlines – notably within the first half of the yr.
Prince Harry’s memoir
With a title like Spare, you knew that Prince Harry’s memoir was going to have greater than just a bit drama in its pages. And dramatic it was.
Spare now holds the Guinness Report for the fastest-selling nonfiction e book since information started. It moved 3.2 million copies within the first week of publication alone.
The Coronation of King Charles
We get a brand new chapter of The Lion King in 2024, however in 2023 it was King Charles who stole essentially the most royal headlines.
King Charles III was confirmed as the pinnacle of state and head of the Church of England on Might 6. His coronation drew roughly 6 million fewer British viewers than Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
The Crown closing season
On our final royal observe of the yr, it’s again to TV we go.
Netflix wrapped up certainly one of its hottest exhibits this fall when The Crown season six was launched in two components. Half one lined Princess Diana and her tragic destiny, whereas half two was a take a look at her youngsters, William and Harry.
@netflix willsmania: what a time. #TheCrown ♬ authentic sound – Netflix
Should you haven’t seen it but, the present is brilliantly carried out. It deserves the entire accolades it receives from each critics and viewers.
Waiting for 2024
As we stay up for the subsequent yr, there’s a lot to be enthusiastic about. From the Summer season Olympics in Paris to blockbuster films like Gladiator 2 and The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, there’s a lot to anticipate.
The UEFA Euro 2024 and the US Presidential Election promise to maintain us on the sting of our seats, whereas astronomical occasions like a complete lunar eclipse on April 8 supply moments of marvel.
The anticipation for Tremendous Bowl LVIII, that includes Usher on the halftime present, is already constructing. And, after all, on the yr’s finish, we’re all interested in Fyre Competition, spherical 2. Severely, it’s occurring.
If 2023 taught us something, it’s that you simply by no means know precisely what will probably be trending tomorrow.
Thanks for the traits, 2023, and cheers to an thrilling yr forward in 2024.