The Best New Crime Movies Of 2023, Ranked By Fans

If you spent 2023 watching people rob banks, solve murders, outsmart con artists, or untangle
decades-old conspiracies… congratulations, you had a great year at the movies. Crime films came in
every flavor last yearsleek heist tales, throwback detective stories, true-crime dramas, and twisty
thrillers that had everyone texting “WAIT, have you seen this yet?”.

This ranking of the best new crime movies of 2023 is driven by fans, not just critics. It pulls
from fan-voting lists on Ranker, audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb user ratings, and
Letterboxd favorites, plus coverage from crime-focused outlets like CrimeReads and Murder & Mayhem.
In other words, these are the crime films people actually talked about, rewatched, and argued about online.

How This Fan-Powered Crime Movie Ranking Works

Before we dive into bodies, clues, and double-crosses, a quick note on how this list came together:

• New crime movies only: We focus on 2023 releases with a core crime or thriller element (detectives, heists, organized crime, conspiracies, serial killersyou know, a typical Saturday night).
• Powered by fans: Priority goes to movies that rank highly on fan-voting lists like Ranker’s “Best Crime Movies of 2023” and that show strong audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Letterboxd.
• Backed by critics, not ruled by them: We still sneak a look at critic roundups from major outlets and best-of-2023 lists, especially when fans and critics agree something’s special.

With that, grab your popcorn (and maybe a fake passport). Here are the best new crime movies of 2023, ranked by the people who obsess over them most: the fans.

1. A Haunting in Venice

Kenneth Branagh’s third outing as Hercule Poirot sneaks in as a spooky crime treat. Mixing classic
whodunit structure with supernatural overtones, A Haunting in Venice strands a retired Poirot
in a decaying Venetian palazzo during a séance gone very, very wrong. When a guest turns up dead,
Poirot is dragged back into detective mode whether he likes it or not.

Fans love this one because it finally lets Branagh’s Poirot loosen up. The film is tighter and moodier
than his earlier Agatha Christie adaptations, blending candlelit corridors, masked figures, and
jump-scare energy with the satisfaction of watching the world’s fussiest detective surgically dismantle
everyone’s alibis. It’s half ghost story, half murder mystery, and fully watchable on a rainy night.

2. To Catch a Killer

If your ideal crime movie involves profiling a sniper and wrestling with the ethics of law enforcement,
To Catch a Killer delivers. Set in Baltimore on New Year’s Eve, the film follows a gifted but
troubled young cop (Shailene Woodley) recruited by an FBI investigator (Ben Mendelsohn) to help track down
a mass shooter whose motives are murky and terrifying.

What makes fans rank this one so highly isn’t just the tension of the hunt, but the way it pokes at
deeper questions: who gets blamed when systems fail, what “profiling” really means, and how broken
people can still be uniquely suited to stopping other broken people. It’s a crime thriller with enough
big ideas to keep you thinking long after the credits roll.

3. Sound of Freedom

One of the most talked-about crime dramas of 2023, Sound of Freedom dramatizes the story of
Tim Ballard, a former U.S. government agent who leaves his job to rescue children from human
trafficking networks. The film became a box office phenomenon and a lightning rod for debate, but
audiences responded strongly to its emotional intensity and “ordinary hero versus a monstrous system”
structure.

As a crime movie, it leans more into rescue missions and undercover operations than puzzles and clues.
Fans rank it high because it feels urgent and personal, with stakes that are painfully real. It’s not
“fun” in the traditional crime-movie sensebut it’s undeniably gripping.

4. Reptile

Netflix’s sleeper hit Reptile gives us Benicio del Toro in full slow-burn-detective mode,
investigating the brutal murder of a real estate agent. The deeper he digs, the more he uncovers a
rotting web of corruption, drugs, and double-dealing that stretches far beyond one crime scene.

Critics were divided, but fans turned Reptile into one of 2023’s most-watched streaming crime
thrillers. Part of the appeal is its “old school” feel: this is a movie where people sit in cars, stare,
and lie to each other for long stretchesand somehow it’s riveting. The atmosphere is thick, the
twists keep coming, and del Toro’s weary, suspicious gaze could probably solve a crime all by itself.

5. Boston Strangler

True-crime fans gravitated toward Boston Strangler, a period crime drama that follows
reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole as they risk their careers (and safety) to connect a
series of murders in 1960s Boston. Rather than focusing purely on the killer, the film centers
the journalists doing painstaking, unglamorous investigative work.

The crime-movie appeal here is procedural: watch two under-estimated women push back against
institutional stonewalling and sexism while slowly assembling a horrifying pattern. Fans rank it
highly for its strong performances, moody period detail, and the satisfaction of seeing an investigation
unfold through typewriters, phone calls, and stacks of clippings instead of miraculous database searches.

6. Sharper

If you love crime movies where everyone is lying and no one is who they say they are,
Sharper is pure catnip. Set in New York City high society, the film weaves together the
stories of con artists, heirs, and marks through a non-linear narrative that constantly reframes what
you think you know.

Fans enjoy how Sharper rewards close attention. Each chapter plays like its own little crime
storyromantic, tragic, or triumphantuntil you start to see the bigger con unfolding. It’s stylish,
cynical, and full of that delicious “ohhh, so that’s what that scene meant” energy that keeps people
recommending it to friends.

7. Luther: The Fallen Sun

John Luther finally got his big-screen case in Luther: The Fallen Sun, and fans of the
character turned out in force. Disgraced, imprisoned, and still unable to let evil go unchecked,
Luther breaks out to track a sadistic serial killer who uses surveillance, blackmail, and the internet
itself as weapons.

The movie is grim, operatic, and occasionally outrageousbut that’s exactly what Luther devotees
want. This is a crime thriller cranked to eleven: apocalyptic stakes, grotesque crime scenes, and
Idris Elba radiating “I will absolutely walk through fire to catch you” energy. It’s less about
whodunit and more about how far one detective will go when the system fails.

8. Murder Mystery 2

Not every great crime movie has to be bleak. Murder Mystery 2 reunites Adam Sandler and
Jennifer Aniston as Nick and Audrey Spitz, now running their own detective agency and somehow still
wildly out of their depth. When their billionaire friend is kidnapped from his own lavish destination
wedding, they wind up in another collision of ransom schemes, shady associates, and ridiculous disguises.

Fans rank this one highly because it’s comfort food: a crime-comedy with big travel-vlog energy.
The mystery is playful, the jokes come fast, and the central couple is genuinely charming. Think
“lighthearted crime caper” rather than “existential spiral”perfect for people who like their
murders with side orders of banter and car chases.

9. Mafia Mamma

In Mafia Mamma, Toni Collette plays a suburban mom who discovers she has inherited her
grandfather’s Italian crime family. Suddenly, PTA meetings and carpool lines give way to consigliere
briefings, turf disputes, and the extremely awkward process of learning how to be a don while still
texting your kid to put the lasagna in the oven.

Fans enjoy the way the film flips classic mafia tropes into culture-clash comedy. Yes, there are
hits, betrayals, and power struggles, but the emotional core is about identity: how do you reconcile
who your family expects you to be with the life you’ve built? It’s messy, loud, and just grounded
enough to make you root for a heroine who keeps accidentally becoming more ruthless.

10. Heist 88

Heist movies occupy a special place in crime-fan hearts, and Heist 88 hits a lot of the
right beats. Inspired by true events, the film follows a criminal mastermind (Courtney B. Vance)
pulling one last job before prison: recruiting young bank employees to help steal millions via the
U.S. banking system itself.

Fans rank it as a crowd-pleaser because it leans into the fun parts of the genreplanning sessions,
tension-filled countdowns, and the joy of watching an overconfident institution get blindsided.
It also nods toward issues of inequality and opportunity, making the heist feel less like pure greed
and more like a twisted shot at justice.

Honorable Mention: Killers of the Flower Moon

Some people would put Killers of the Flower Moon at the very top of any 2023 list, period.
Martin Scorsese’s sweeping historical crime drama, centered on the Osage Nation murders in 1920s
Oklahoma and the birth of the FBI, is more epic than “Friday night crime flick,” but it’s built on
one of the most horrifying criminal conspiracies in American history.

Many fans treat it as the prestige anchor to their 2023 crime viewing: long, heavy, unforgettable,
and best paired with a follow-up Google deep dive into the real events.

Why Crime Fans Loved 2023 So Much

Looking across these titles, a few patterns stand out:

• Crime blended with other genres: Horror-tinged mysteries (A Haunting in Venice), political and social drama (Sound of Freedom, Killers of the Flower Moon), and crime-comedies (Murder Mystery 2, Mafia Mamma) kept the genre fresh.
• Investigators beyond the usual cops: Journalists, con artists, reluctant heirs, and retired detectives share the spotlight with traditional law enforcement heroes.
• Streaming-friendly stories: Many of these films were built to be discovered on Netflix, Hulu, or other platformsperfect for late-night binges and instant group chats about “that twist”.

Put simply: 2023 gave crime fans options. Whether you wanted a classy whodunit, a grim procedural,
a true-crime deep dive, or a silly caper, there was something in the release schedule for you.

Real-World Viewing: Experiences With 2023’s Best Crime Movies

Rankings and scores are fun, but the real magic of these crime movies lives in how people watch
them in the wildon couches, in theaters, in Discord channels, and in group chats full of spoiler
warnings and all-caps reactions.

Watch Parties, Paused Frames, and Amateur Detectives

One of the most common fan experiences with 2023’s crime movies was the “pause and rewind” moment.
With films like A Haunting in Venice, Sharper, and To Catch a Killer, viewers
kept stopping the movie to rewind suspicious glances, odd lines of dialogue, or unusual props in the
background. The living room became a mini incident roompeople pointing at the screen, building
theories, and loudly accusing the wrong person about thirty minutes in.

Some audiences turned these movies into full events: themed snacks (Italian desserts for
Boston Strangler night, cannoli for Mafia Mamma, champagne and cheap sunglasses
for Sharper), group polls to guess the culprit, and small prizes for whoever predicted the
twist first. When a movie is built around deception and reveals, fans naturally turn it into a game.

The Streaming Scroll: “What Crime Thing Are We Watching Tonight?”

Because so many of 2023’s crime movies landed quickly on streaming services, another very real
experience was the “algorithm roulette” grind. You’d open your app meaning to watch just one thing
and end up scrolling past Reptile, Luther: The Fallen Sun, and Murder Mystery 2
while everyone in the room says “I’m fine with anything” but clearly isn’t.

When people finally did commit, they found that crime movies made excellent “multi-task” viewing.
You could fold laundry through the quieter dialogue scenes, then suddenly everyone froze when a body
showed up, a gun appeared, or a suspect said something that clearly did not match their story
twenty minutes earlier. Crime films rewarded focus but were forgiving enough to live in the
backgrounduntil they weren’t.

Debates, Discomfort, and True-Crime Crossovers

Movies like Sound of Freedom, Boston Strangler, and Heist 88 sparked a
different kind of fan experience: post-movie arguments. People went online to dissect how closely
these films stuck to real cases, whether they oversimplified complex issues, and how responsible
they were in portraying real victims and communities.

For true-crime fans who already listen to podcasts and read long-form articles, these movies were
gateways to deeper research. A two-hour film became the start of a weeks-long rabbit hole: court
records, documentaries, archived articles, and analysis pieces. The line between “crime movie night”
and “informal criminology seminar” got very blurry in 2023.

Catharsis in Chaos

Underneath all the murder boards and hot takes, one reason fans flocked to these movies is pretty
simple: they offer catharsis. The real world often feels like a messy crime with no satisfying
resolution. In a good crime movieeven a messy, twisty onesomeone eventually gets caught, a
scheme collapses, or at least the truth comes out.

Watching a dogged detective, stubborn journalist, or wildly unqualified amateur finally crack the case
scratches a very human itch. You get to experience chaos, betrayal, and dangerand then turn off the TV
knowing that, at least in this small fictional universe, the pieces fit together. Fans left 2023’s best
crime movies feeling unsettled, thrilled, entertained, and just a little more convinced that persistence
and pattern-recognition can still matter.

Whether you’re here for the haunting palazzos, the bank vault blueprints, the courtroom showdowns, or the
slow close-up on the one character who has been lying the whole time, 2023 gave crime devotees plenty of
reasons to keep watching, arguing, and re-ranking. And yes, we’ll probably be debating this “best of” list
until the next wave of heists and whodunits hits.