A wide variety of motion pictures has drawn the interest of Michigan film buffs in recent years. But an old toy and an old video game have inspired the movies that resonated most with Michiganders in recent years,
BetMichigan.com, where you can get the best Michigan online casino bonuses, used Google Trends to analyze the most popular movies in recent years for Michigan residents. We looked at search results under “Film” for a five-year period from Oct. 1, 2019, to Oct. 1, 2024.
Rank | Movie | Interest Over Time |
1 | Barbie (2023) | 10 |
2 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) | 6 |
3 | Elvis (2022) | 4 |
4 | Oppenheimer (2023) | 3 |
5 | Dune: Part One (2021) | 2 |
T6 | Smile (2022) | 1 |
T6 | M3GAN (2022) | 1 |
T6 | 1917 (2019) | 1 |
T6 | It Ends With Us (2024) | 1 |
T6 | Saltburn (2023) | 1 |
T6 | CODA (2021) | 1 |
T6 | Nope (2022) | 1 |
Folks interested in the film world, as it pertains to the Great Lakes State, might also want to check out our list of the best movies shot in Michigan.
The 2023 film “Barbie” drew the most search interest with 10 points, according to our research. The smash box office hit was about the adventures of dolls that begin to live a human existence. Margot Robbie, who also co-produced the movie, stars as the title character, with Ryan Gosling as Ken.
The first Barbie doll from Mattel was released in 1959. According to Britannica.com, Barbie’s physical appearance was patterned after a cartoon character in a West German newspaper, “Bild Zeitung” in the 1950s. Barbie was later accompanied by the Ken doll – Mattel co-founders Ruth and Elliot Handler were a married couple that had a daughter named Barbara and a son named Ken.
Over the decades, Barbie has blossomed into a powerhouse toy franchise with every accessory imaginable. Now that list of trinkets to accompany a Barbie set can include an Academy Award, which the film won for Best Original Song at the 2024 Oscars, for Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For.”
Another movie based on beloved fictional characters was “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” from 2023. The animated feature only drew 59% approval at the Rotten Tomatoes website, but its search interest was 6 points, good for second on our list. This picture, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, is not to be confused with the live-action 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie that starred Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper.
Third on our list is “Elvis” from 2022, the latest film chronicling the life of rock legend Elvis Presley. Austin Butler was nominated as Best Actor at the Oscars for his portrayal of the singer, who died in 1977. Other portrayals of Presley’s life include a 1979 TV movie starring Kurt Russell and a 2005 miniseries with Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing Elvis.
“Oppenheimer” is No. 4 among Michigan moviegoers for search interest. It made about $329 million in domestic box office, about half of what “Barbie” made as the two movies competed for financial and cultural supremacy in the summer of 2023. But “Oppenheimer” gained a more prestigious reputation and cleaned up at the 2024 Academy Awards, winning Oscars for Best Picture, Cinematography, Film Editing and Original Score, plus individual honors for Cillian Murphy (Best Actor), Robert Downey Jr. (Best Supporting Actor) and Christopher Nolan (Best Director) among 15 nominations.
The 2021 film “Dune” rounds out our top five. A sequel was released in spring 2024, helping to bolster the case that this iteration of the sci-fi novel’s film adaptation was a greater success than the 1984 version, which drew mixed reviews at best. The new version stars Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Issac.
Bookmark BetMichigan.com for more pop culture coverage, such as favorite Christmas movies in Michigan.
Author
Jim Tomlin writes and edits for BetMichigan.com. In 30 years as a journalist he has worked for publications such as the Tampa Bay Times, Saturday Tradition, Saturday Down South and FanRag. He now lends his sports and gambling expertise to BetMichigan among other websites.
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