Barack Obama Lists His Favorite Films of 2023

Barack Obama has officially shared his list of favorite films from 2023. In the round up posted to X, he acknowledges the writers and actors strikes that halted Hollywood while also sharing that he may be biased, as three of the top film on this list were produced by Higher Ground Productions — a company him and his wife Michelle Obama founded in 2018.

Beginning his list, Obama includes a message written on his post on X, “Earlier this year, writers and actors went on strike to advocate for better working conditions and protections. It led to important changes that will transform the industry for the better. I’m biased since these movies were produced by Higher Ground, but these are in fact three of the best films I saw this year.” Taking his top three spots are Higher Ground Productions’ Rustin, a civil rights themed biopic, the star-studded film Leave the World Behind which saw Julia Roberts alongside Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la and Kevin Bacon and lastly, American Symphony a biographical documentary of musician Jon Batiste and his life partner Suleika Jaouad.

In the “other favorite movies” list, Obama gave a nod to Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt and the Ben Affleck-directed film Air which focused on the basketball origins of Air Jordan.

Take a look at Obama’s full list below.

Earlier this year, writers and actors went on strike to advocate for better working conditions and protections. It led to important changes that will transform the industry for the better.

Here are some films that reflect their hard work over the last year — including some like… pic.twitter.com/TMH9LeQgsT

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 27, 2023