Google has revealed the top searches for 2023 in a variety of categories, including the most popular movies, TV shows, music, and much more.
So, in the world of film, the most Googled movie was Barbie, which just edged out Oppenheimer (you may have suspected that’d come in second, considering the whole ‘Barbenheimer’ thing).
Jawan came in third, followed by Sound of Freedom, and John Wick: Chapter 4 came in fifth, just keeping Avatar: The Way of Water out of the top five.
The Last of Us is the most popular TV program search, followed by Wednesday – no surprise considering the buzz created by the latter (which was amazing) and the gaming connection with the former (which was also excellent).
Ginny & Georgia are next, followed by One Piece and, in fifth place, Kaleidoscope.
In the world of music, the most sought song was or Idol by Yoasobi (supposedly the theme music from the anime series Oshi no Ko), followed by Try That In A Small Town by Jason Aldean. Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53 (Shakira and Bizarrap) came in third, followed by Unholy (Sam Smith and Kim Petras) and Cupid (Fifty Fifty) in fifth.
Shakira was the most sought musician, followed by Jason Aldean (who mirrored his position in the song bracket), Joe Jonas, Smash Mouth (whose singer Steve Harwell sadly passed away this year), and Peppino di Capri.
Check out the entire breakdown of Google’s search phrase popularity in 2023, which covers everything from news to sports stars to more obscure topics like the top searches for museums.
Our ever evolving searches
Google’s rankings for the top songs used with its ‘hum to search’ functionality, two of which were, oddly, by the Imagine Dragons – Bones was number one, and Believer was number five. Yoasobi’s Idol also made an appearance (pun intended) at number three.
In terms of movies, the top actors were Jeremy Renner, Jenna Ortega, Ichikawa Ennosuke IV, Danny Masterson, and Pedro Pascal (who should have been higher, surely?).
We’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight the top game searches, with Hogwarts Legacy taking the lead ahead of The Last of Us. Connections came in third, followed by Battlegrounds Mobile India, and Starfield came in fifth, just defeating Baldur’s Gate 3 into sixth place.
It’s also worth mentioning that Google debuted its Trends Time Capsule, which examines popular searches from the past. Using this, we can see that World of Warcraft, for example, was the most searched game from 2005 to and including 2010. Minecraft held the top slot for six consecutive years, from 2012 to 2017, but Warcraft surpassed it by returning to the top spot in 2020-2021.
There is plenty interesting content to explore here, and you will most likely find these various ranks to be a time suck. We most certainly did – but what was the most popular sauce in 2002…
