Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Former President Barack Obama has been well-connected to the entertainment industry since leaving the White House with his Higher Ground production company releasing several movies and shows.
Obama recently shared his favorite films of 2023, including three movies he was attached to.
What Happened: Obama and his wife Michelle Obama founded Higher Ground, which signed an overall deal with streaming giant Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) in 2018. Higher Ground released several movies in 2023, including the recent Netflix hit "Leave the World Behind."
In a tweet, Obama shared a look at his favorite movies of 2023. The list included three films that were produced by Higher Ground.
"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," Obama tweeted.
The three Higher Ground movies, which were streamed on Netflix, were "Leave the World Behind," "Rustin" and "American Symphony."
Obama also acknowledged the Hollywood strike in his year-end post on his favorite movies.
"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."
Here's a look at the rest of Obama's list and the movie companies and stocks associated with them.
"The Holdovers": Focus Features, a unit of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
"Blackberry": IFC Films, a unit of AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX)
"Oppenheimer": Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corporation
"American Fiction": MGM, a unit of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
"Monster": Well Go USA Entertainment
"Anatomy of a Fall": NEON
"Past Lives": A24
"Air": MGM
"Polite Society": Focus Features
"A Thousand and One": Focus Features
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Balanced List: Obama balances his list with a mix of theatrical releases, streaming movies, independent and international films.
"Leave the World Behind" generated a ton of attention on social media, including from billionaire Elon Musk, over the use of electric vehicles in the apocalyptic film.
"Oppenheimer" was the fourth highest-grossing movie domestically in 2023 with $326.1 million and is the only high-grossing movie to make the list.
Several of the films were among the top-reviewed independent films and didn't fare as well at the box office. Obama's list also includes French film "Anatomy of a Fall" and Japanese film "Monster."
Most Obama fans know of his love of basketball and Michael Jordan, which makes the inclusion of "Air" about Jordan's deal with Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) unlikely to most.
Focus Features gets a prominent mention on the list with three of the 13 films, giving Comcast a total of four of the films on Obama's list.
Notably absent on Obama's list is "Barbie," which was the highest-grossing film of the year domestically and worldwide.
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Photo: Shutterstock
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