The big movies of 2022By Matthew Martin| January 18, 2022 Movie Blogs This page contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Learn more Previous Page Having already considered the first half of 2022, let’s skip over to the second half of the year and look at eleven movies for genre fans to get excited about… JULY THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER Box Office Prediction: $900 Million Who would have thought that, of the original “Big Three” MCU heroes, Thor would be the one to get a fourth movie? His first outing was a bit underwhelming and the follow-up was a total mess, but Ragnarok completely reinvigorated the franchise and took the character from “also appearing” to “main-event.” This one promises to pass the hammer to Jane Foster though knowing director Taika Waititi, the plot will be secondary to the witty dialogue and surreal set-pieces. The only thing holding the movie back is the release date: I can’t for the life of me figure out why Disney is releasing this on July 8th instead of the Fourth of July Weekend (with a release on the 1st). That will likely end up only a minor footnote, however. I expect this one to come close to crossing the billion-dollar mark. BLACK ADAM Box Office Prediction: $500 Million It feels like The Rock has been promoting this movie for ages. In fact, Dwayne Johnson was originally approached to play Shazam when that movie was first in development back in 2006. Instead, he pitched the idea of playing the hero’s arch-nemesis. For the next fifteen or so years the movie has been in development (sometimes in development-hell). Now, finally, it is ready to release. Movies about villains/anti-heroes are hard to pull off but the Black Adam character lends itself well to the sub-genre. This won’t be like Sony trying to make a Kraven the Hunter movie without Spider-Man. I expect this one to surprise a lot of people. NOPE Box Office Prediction: $250 Million I know nothing about this movie other than it is (A) a horror film (B) directed by Jordan Peele. Considering the excellence of Get Out and the goodness of Us (I initially gave it a 10/10 but it probably deserves a mark or two below that, in hindsight), I have high expectations for the movie. Both Get Out and Us made about 250 Million. I expect this one to do about the same. AUGUST Nothing as of yet. There’s usually a great little horror movie or some other mid-budget film that pops up in August. As of now, there’s nothing on the horizon, but I’m sure something will quietly be released. SEPTEMBER MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 Box Office Prediction: $750 Million My anticipation for this is sky-high. Thus far, there has not been a bad M:I movie since the second one, way back in 2000. Especially when you start with the fourth movie (Ghost Protocol), this has been one of the most reliably excellent franchises in all of Hollywood. The movies flow with excellent pacing, clever storytelling, fun characters, and breathtaking stunt work. There’s nothing revealed yet about the story and that’s fine with me; half the fun of these movies is being surprised. The only thing that won’t be a surprise will be the quality of the production. OCTOBER SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (Part one) Box Office Prediction: $900 Million Into the Spider-Verse was in my top three favorite films of 2018. It remains a visually stunning delight even after multiple rewatches and is arguably the best Spider-Man movie yet made (it’s in the top three for sure). The sequel has been eagerly anticipated for a long time so it was with great excitement that it was announced last year and even more so the news that it was the first in a two-parter. In the first movie, Miles Morales had to contend with the multiverse coming to him. In the sequel, he’ll be the one who’s off exploring the multiverse. Hijinks and shenanigans will ensue as will great box office results. The first one was released with only modest fanfare but word of mouth did it a big favor. This one has the potential to do monster numbers at the box office. HALLOWEEN ENDS Box Office Prediction: $175 Million Will this finally be the end of the Halloween franchise? How many times can you even tease that and not deliver? How many times can you actually do that and then bring Michael Myers back anyway? Halloween Ends will conclude a trilogy of films meant to bring closure to the story that began in 1978. The first of these films was excellent. Last year’s sequel was a movie so bad it was almost enjoyable as a farce. My expectations for the third one are, therefore, completely up in the air. I want to believe the second one suffered because the creative team only had two core stories and just stretched things out in order to crank out a trilogy. If that’s the case then the third movie ought to return to the quality of the first. I hope so. I don’t want to have to sit through another (unintentional) farce. NOVEMBER THE FLASH Box Office Prediction: $700 Million Bringing in DC’s own version of the “multiverse” might seem like a ripoff of Marvel but, like most things between the two comic creators, DC did it first, but Marvel beat them to the punch at the cinema. WB and DC have struggled to get into a groove from the outset of their shared universe of comic films. So far, the only bonafide hits they’ve had have been from Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Obviously, Batman belongs on that list too but Matt Reeves’ movie is wisely staying away from any connection to a shared universe. Flash is one of the last vestiges of Zack Snyder’s maligned attempts to oversee the DCEU, and the scarlet speedster’s first solo film will see him interact not only with Batman as played by Ben Affleck, but also Michael Keaton. There are hints that WB will use this movie to erase all the unpopular aspects of Snyder’s universe, clearing the slate for a fresh batch of films. All that is window dressing to the real news: The prospects of seeing Michael Keaton—one of the biggest icons in comic book cinema—donning the cape and cowl once more is likely enough to give Flash a nice payday at the box office. Where the DCEU goes from here, however, is still a mystery. BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER Box Office Prediction: $1 Billion Black Panther’s first solo outing was a billion-dollar movie and a surprise nominee for Best Picture. In the time since, beloved star Chadwick Boseman has died of colon cancer, leaving many unanswered questions surrounding the direction of the franchise. You can be sure MCU mastermind Kevin Feige and director Ryan Coogler have worked out an appropriate direction to take the film, and you can also be sure the box office will be just as massive. Black Panther is bigger than the MCU; for many, it’s a cultural icon. Expect the ticket sales to bear that out. DECEMBER ILLUMINATION’S SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE Box Office Prediction: $600 Million On the one hand, we know so little about the movie. On the other hand, even the bare minimum that we do know is enough to form an opinion: It’s an Illumination production based on Super Mario Bros, starring Chris Pratt as the titular hero (and Charlie Day as Luigi), written and directed by Lord/Miller (the maestros behind The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). I have no idea what to expect and yet, I kind of know exactly what to expect. I know this: If the movie is in any way good it will do gangbusters at the box office. I predict gangbusters. AVATAR 2 Box Office Prediction: $1.2 Billion Avatar is a movie that is frustrating to watch on home video. It’s a film made for the theatrical experience, particularly the 3D theatrical experience…provided the cinema you’re at is a top-notch facility. If all the stars align, Avatar is a movie that is “experienced” more than it is watched or enjoyed. On home video, even with the nicest setup, it’s just not the same and the weakness of the story is brought to the forefront. The sequel has been in development for a long time and there is excitement around its release, but while James Cameron has yet to fail at the box office, I don’t think this is going to be another 2 billion-dollar movie. I do think it will be the biggest movie of the year, though. AQUAMAN & THE LOST KINGDOM Box Office Prediction: $850 Million The first Aquaman movie was a surprise, not only in that it was a genuinely enjoyable movie but also that it was WB’s first billion-dollar earning comic book movie not to star Batman. James Wan is back at the helm and all we know about the movie is the director wants to expand the world introduced in the first film. Considering how unorthodox Wan can be, that gives me hopes that the sequel will be more of an Empire Strikes Back to the first one’s A New Hope, introducing new characters and ideas that build on the first, instead of boringly retreading the same ground with different window dressing (a big problem with Wonder Woman 84). I don’t expect the sequel to reach a billion, however, mostly because the competition will be stiffer this time around with the Mario movie appealing to younger kids and Avatar 2 appealing to genre fans. It will be a hit, however. * * * * * So there be the big movies of 2022, which one are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!
