6 New Movies Coming Out This Week (May 22 – 28, 2023): ‘The Little Mermaid’ and More!

Wondering what new movies are coming out this week? We have a Disney live-action remake of a classic animated film, Little Mermaid. The movie stars Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy and features both the original and four new songs.

We also get a comedy starring one of the biggest standup comics out there, Sebastian Maniscalco, which features Robert De Niro as his dad. And we also have a much-anticipated film starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Adding to the mix is an action film starring Gerard Butler. And a comedy based on standup comedian Bert Kreischer’s legendary story about his life as The Machine.

New Movies Coming Out This Week: May 22, 2023 – May 28, 2023

The Little Mermaid  (2023)

Rating: PG

Release Date: In theatres nationwide on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Summary: In The Little Mermaid, the youngest daughter of King Triton, Ariel (Halle Bailey), is a mermaid with adventure in her heart. Longing to discover the world beyond the sea, she falls for the dashing Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Desperate to follow her heart, she makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), to experience life on land. Be careful of what you wish for.

What to Watch For: The film is a live-action remake of the 1989 Oscar-winning Disney animated classic.

Word on the Street: The film has four new songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Alan Menken, who wrote all the songs for the original movie, also composed the music for the new songs.

My Take: This is the first feature film appearance for Halle Bailey since her role as Tina in the 2006 film Last Holiday, which starred Queen Latifah.

About My Father  (2023)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In theatres nationwide on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Summary: About My Father is about Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco), who is about to propose to his all-American girlfriend, Ellie (Leslie Bibb). When his old-school Italian immigrant father, Salvo (Robert De Niro), discovers the proposal, Salvo insists on crashing a weekend with Ellie’s super-rich and very conservative parents (Kim Cattrall and David Rasche). The neighborhood may never recover.

What to Watch For: This is the first headlining role for standup comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. He has appeared in several films in supporting roles, including the 2019 Martin Scorsese film The Irishman, which starred Robert De Niro.

Word on the Street: The film is from filmmaker Laura Terruso, the award-winning director of Fits and Starts (2017), Good Girls Get High (2018), and Work It (2020).

My Take: Leslie Bibb is a favorite of mine. I discovered her on a TV series back in 1996 called The Big Easy.

You Hurt My Feelings  (2023)

Rating: R

Release Date: In theatres on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Summary: In You Hurt My Feelings, Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a successful author, and her husband is a shrink named Don (Tobias Menzies). Beth and Don seem to have a great marriage, even when Beth struggles with her writing. Things fall apart when Beth and her sister (Michaela Watkins) overhear Don telling someone that he thinks Beth’s newest work isn’t very good but tells her only encouraging lies to keep her going. How can Beth trust Don ever again?

What to Watch For: The film was a huge critical hit at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Word on the Street: Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Holofcener’s 2013 film Enough Said also starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus. That was the last film that the late James Gandolfini appeared in.

My Take: I loved Nicole Holofcener’s 2011 film Please Give, which starred Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, and Rebecca Hall.

Kandahar  (2023)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In theatres on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Summary: Kandahar is about Tom Harris (Gerard Butler), an undercover CIA operative who, along with his Afghan translator (Navid Negahban), are stuck deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan. When he witnesses a covert mission, Tom’s identity and mission are exposed, and now the two men must fight their way out to an extraction point in Kandahar, all the while avoiding the elite special forces unit that has been sent to hunt them down.

What to Watch For: The film was written by Mitchell LaFortune, a former military intelligence officer who based the script on his experiences working for the Defense Intelligence Agency while deployed in Afghanistan during the Snowden leaks.

Word on the Street: This was the first major U.S. feature film to shoot entirely in Saudi Arabia.

My Take: Director Ric Roman Waugh worked with Gerard Butler on the 2019 film Angel Has Fallen and Greenland (2020).

Victim/Suspect  (2023)

Rating: R

Release Date: Premiering on Netflix on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

Summary: Victim/Suspect is a documentary that showcases where the victims are turned into suspects. Young women tell the police that they are victims of sexual assault, but instead of finding justice, they are charged with making a false report, arrested, and even imprisoned by the system they thought would protect them.

What to Watch For: The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Word on the Street: The movie is from filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman, whose 2018 documentary about a sexual assault that turned an Ohio community upside down, Roll Red Roll, won 6 Film Festival awards.

My Take: I thought the Peabody Award nominee Roll Red Roll was a fantastic documentary. So I won’t miss this film from Nancy Schwartzman.

The Machine  (2023)

Rating: R

Release Date: In theatres on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Summary: The Machine is about Bert (Bert Kreischer), who has told the story about how, 20 years ago, as a college student on a trip to Russia, he got involved with the Russian mob and robbed a train while on a drunken bender. Now Bert and his father (Mark Hamill) will pay for that legendary story when they are kidnapped by those who Bert stole from 20 years ago.

What to Watch For: The film is based on the legendary ‘true story’ standup routine of the same name performed by Bert Kreischer.

Word on the Street: The standup routine was a tremendous hit online and was acquired by Legendary Entertainment back in 2019 to turn the story into a film.

My Take: Seeing Mark Hamill in a comedy will be fun.

Which New Movies Coming Out This Week Are You Excited To Watch?

Let us know below what new movies you plan to see this week!