2022 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, critics' lists of the best films of 2022, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, and movie programming. Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures celebrated their 110th anniversary, Motion Picture Association celebrated their 100th anniversary, Aardman celebrated its 50th anniversary and Illumination celebrated its 15th anniversary.
Evaluation of the year In his article highlighting the best movies of 2022, Richard Brody of The New Yorker said, "This year, it's all the more important to offer a widely inclusive list, because a wide range of American filmmakers have caught up with the inescapable phenomenon of the recent past: the resurgence of openly anti-democratic forces and brazenly hate-driven ideologies, the crisis of illegitimate rule, the menace of authoritarianism, the potential end of even our current debilitated American democracy. The phenomenon is certainly not limited to the United States, and filmmakers from around the world have long been confronting it in their own countries bravely, insightfully, and ingeniously. For years, many of the best American filmmakers have been making films of political outrage, with the unsurprising likes of Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, and Frederick Wiseman at the forefront, and such younger filmmakers as Jordan Peele, Garrett Bradley, and Eliza Hittman joining them. This year offers a shift in the cinematic paradigm by way of a host of memorable movies; there's something new and extraordinary in the air, and it has precisely to do with history and memory—and, most powerfully, their intersection."
Highest-grossing films
+Highest-grossing films of 2022 Rank Title Distributor Worldwide gross 1 Avatar: The Way of Water 20th Century $2,320,250,281 2 Top Gun: Maverick Paramount $1,495,696,292 3 Jurassic World Dominion Universal $1,001,978,080 4 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Disney $960,775,804 5 Minions: The Rise of Gru Universal $940,628,210 6 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Disney $859,208,836 7 The Batman Warner Bros. $772,245,583 8 Thor: Love and Thunder Disney $760,928,081 9 The Battle at Lake Changjin II Bona $626,571,697 10 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Universal $485,261,639
2022 box office records The Jurassic Park franchise became the tenth film franchise to gross $6 billion with the release of Jurassic World Dominion. Additionally, Jurassic World Dominion became the 50th film to gross $1 billion worldwide. The Marvel Cinematic Universe became the first film franchise to gross $26 billion, $27 billion, and $28 billion with the releases of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The Despicable Me and Shrek franchises became the first animated film franchises and the 15th and 17th overall film franchises to gross $4 billion with the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Studio records With the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures led over other film distributors in worldwide box office grosses and crossed the $4.9 billion mark for the eighth year. Disney's cumulative gross was generated from 16 film releases across its various studio divisions. Top Gun: Maverick became the highest-grossing film distributed solely by Paramount Pictures worldwide, surpassing Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and also Paramount's highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada, surpassing Titanic (1997).
Film records Avatar: The Way of Water became the 51st film to gross $1 billion worldwide, the sixth film to gross $2 billion worldwide, the sixth-fastest film to cross the billion-dollar mark at 14 days, the second fastest to gross the $2 billion mark, the highest-grossing film of 2022, and the highest-grossing film of the COVID-19 pandemic era. It had the 11th-biggest global opening of all time and the third-biggest global opening for a film in the pandemic era behind Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, earning $441.7 million in its first weekend. It also achieved the second-highest global opening weekend ever for a film released in IMAX cinemas with $48.8 million. Top Gun: Maverick became the 49th film to gross $1 billion worldwide. Additionally, the film surpassed Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) to become Tom Cruise's highest-grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office and also surpassed War of the Worlds (2005) to become Cruise's highest-grossing film at the domestic box office. It also passed The Mummy (2017) as Cruise's biggest opening weekend at the worldwide box office and also passed War of the Worlds (2005) as Cruise's biggest opening at the domestic box office and his first film to open to over $100million in the U.S. Top Gun: Maverick also passed Shrek 2 (2004) for the lowest second-weekend drop (29%) for a film that opened to over $100 million. It also passed Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), another Jerry Bruckheimer produced movie, to have the highest Memorial Day opening weekend and passed Shrek 2 (2004) to have the lowest second-weekend drop for a movie that made over $100 million in its opening weekend. Jurassic World Dominion became the 50th film to gross $1 billion worldwide. The Jurassic Park film franchise grossed over $6 billion with the release of Jurassic World Dominion. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness surpassed Spider-Man 3 (2007) to become director Sam Raimi's highest-grossing film. Minions: The Rise of Gru became the highest-grossing animated film released since the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassing the 2020 anime film Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever attained the biggest opening weekend ever for a film released in the month of November in the U.S. and Canada with $181.3 million. It was also the third-biggest opening weekend for a film in the U.S. and Canada during the pandemic era, behind Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Disney Africa reported that the film set an all-time box office record in West Africa and had the biggest opening of 2022 in East Africa, as well as the second-highest box office gross ever in Southern Africa. In Nigeria, it achieved the highest opening weekend ever for a film. Avatar became the first movie to gross more than $2.9 billion worldwide, following a worldwide re-release. KGF: Chapter 2 becomes the most-liked trailer and teaser on YouTube with 9 million likes, surpassing Avengers: Infinity War likes.
Events March 11 - Everything Everywhere All at Once premieres at South by Southwest, becoming a cultural phenomenon in the independent film community and eventually A24's highest-grossing film at the time. April – DNA testing indicates that Marilyn Monroe's biological father was Charles S. Gifford, her mother's line manager at a film studio. April 8 – AT&T sells WarnerMedia, the parent company of Warner Bros., to Discovery, Inc., which then reorganizes to form the new media company Warner Bros. Discovery. September 10 - The Fabelmans premieres at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the festival's People's Choice Award and marked the film's director Steven Spielberg's first film premiere at the festival.Brent Lang, "Toronto Film Festival CEO Cameron Bailey on Landing Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ and Returning to Splashy Premieres" . Variety, July 28, 2022.
Award ceremonies +2022 film award ceremonies Date Event Host Location(s) January 9 79th Golden Globe Awards Hollywood Foreign Press Association Beverly Hills, California, U.S. January 29 9th Feroz Awards Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España Zaragoza, Spain February 12 36th Goya Awards Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain Valencia, Spain February 12 11th Magritte Awards Académie André Delvaux Brussels, Belgium February 25 47th César Awards Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma Paris, France February 27 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 6 37th Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Awards Santa Monica, California, U.S. March 614th Gaudí AwardsCatalan Film AcademyBarcelona, Spain March 11 2022 American Film Institute Awards Beverly Wilshire Hotel Beverly Hills, California, U.S. March 12 74th Directors Guild of America Awards Directors Guild of America Beverly Hills, California, U.S. March 12 49th Annie Awards ASIFA-Hollywood Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 1327th Critics' Choice AwardsBroadcast Film Critics Association Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 1375th British Academy Film AwardsBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsLondon, England, UK March 14 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards Actors and Actresses Union Madrid, Spain March 15 National Board of Review Awards 2021 National Board of Review New York City, New York, U.S. March 19 33rd Producers Guild of America Awards Producers Guild of AmericaBeverly Hills, California, U.S. March 2074th Writers Guild of America AwardsWriters Guild of America, EastWriters Guild of America WestLos Angeles, California, U.S. and New York City, New York, U.S. March 26 42nd Golden Raspberry Awards Golden Raspberry Awards Foundation Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 27 94th Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Los Angeles, California, U.S. May 1 9th Platino Awards EGEDA, FIPCA Madrid, Spain May 3 67th David di Donatello Accademia del Cinema Italiano Rome, Italy 3–4 June 22nd International Indian Film Academy Awards International Indian Film Academy Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates July 17 40th Hong Kong Film Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Association Ltd. Hong Kong August 3067th Filmfare AwardsThe Times GroupMumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaSeptember 10–1110th South Indian International Movie AwardsVibri Media GroupBengaluru, Karnataka, India September 29 8th APAN Star Awards Korea Entertainment Management Association Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea September 30 Chunsa Film Art Awards 2022 Korean Film Directors Association Sowol Art Hall, Seoul, South Korea October 6 31st Buil Film Awards Busan Ilbo Busan, South Korea October 25 47th Saturn Awards Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Los Angeles, California, U.S. December 6 48th People's Choice Awards People's Choice Awards Santa Monica, California, U.S. December 17 28th Forqué Awards EGEDA Madrid, Spain
Film festivals List of some of the film festivals for 2022 that have been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).