2022 was a year full of memorable movies like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water. These 10 films were the most popular with U.S. audiences.
The year 2022 was a pretty decent one for cinema. From small auteur-driven films like Pearl and The Fabelmans to major blockbuster events like Nope and Elvis, the film industry delivered plenty of movies that packed theaters and rocked audiences worldwide.
Now that 2022 is over, it’s time to look back on the movies that, for better or worse, stuck with us. These are the most popular movies of 2022 based on their U.S. domestic box office gross as of March 18, 2023. (The * indicates that the movie is still in theaters and making money.)Honorable mention: Black Adam ($168 million)
Dwayne Johnson finally had his dream film come to life with Black Adam. But with lackluster reviews and less-than-desirable box office numbers, it didn’t quite shake up the DC Universe as many people had hoped.
Despite this, it still gave many audiences a stunning, thrilling, and enjoyable superhero romp as the Man in Black faces off against the Justice Society and the Intergang. It also caused quite a buzz by bringing back Henry Cavill’s Superman — at least for a little bit. Black Adam‘s place in the top 10 was recently usurped by Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which showcased incredible legs in early 2023 and ended up beating the mighty Rock at the box office.10. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ($181 million*)
When Puss in Boots: The Last Wish debuted around Christmas, no one had high expectations. After all, it had been nearly a decade since the last Puss in Boots movie, and CGI toons were a dime a dozen. Plus, aside from Minions: The Rise of Gru, animated movies aimed at kids had been struggling at the box office since the pandemic. And certainly, The Last Wish‘s unspectacular opening weekend at the box office suggested it would have a hard time reaching $100 million, let alone making the top 10 list of box office champs for 2022.
Yet the swashbuckling cat persisted, and audiences kept on coming back week after week. The Last Wish became a genuine word-of-mouth hit, due in large part to its different animation style, which clearly took inspiration from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse‘s kinetic visuals. The animated picture proved there’s life in the nearly two decade old Shrek franchise, and that animated movies could still pack audiences into theaters.9. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($190 million)
Earth’s favorite blue hedgehog raced back into theaters, this time joined by his two friends, Tails and Knuckles, to give audiences another thrilling adventure.
