by fitable films in 2022 were identified by new financial data. Top 10 Films
Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick, two successful sequels to older films, were released last year. This was a tremendous year for films overall. New episodes of some of Hollywood’s greatest series, including Marvel, DC, Jurassic World, Despicable Me, and others, were also released. Total top 10 Films released.
The Top 10 Films of 2022
Deadline provided box office, revenue, expense, and profit information for the most successful Top 10 films of the previous year in its ten “2022 Most Value Blockbuster” articles. Some of the figures may surprise you.
10.) Smile
The box office performance of Paramount’s Smile, which earned an outstanding sum and set a record for a non-sequel horror film since 2019’s Us, may have been the biggest surprise of 2022.
The film had a $17 million production budget, $107 million in total expenses, and was able to earn an astonishing profit of over $100 million, making it the most profitable horror film of the year.
.Box Office: $217.4 million
.Revenue: $208 million
.Expenses: $107 million
.Profit: $101 million
9.) Thor: Love and Thunder
Despite receiving a lot of criticism, Thor: Love and Thunder nevertheless managed to earn an incredible $760.9 million at the box office (the lowest of last year for Marvel Studios), bringing in $650 million for the production company.
The Asgardian sequel would have made significantly more money than $103 million had it not not for the fact that it cost $547 million, making it the most costly and least profitable MCU film of 2022.
.Box Office: $760.9 million
.Revenue: $650 million
.Expenses: $547 million
.Profit: $103 million
8.) Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish took a while to arrive because its predecessor came out in 2011. Perhaps consumers were yearning for more in this world because the Shrek franchise, from which Puss In Boots is a spin-off, has been mainly absent since then.
This element, together with the positive reception (Puss in Boots 2 now has a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 94%), enabled the movie to earn a respectable profit of $120.2 million on its revenue of $478.7 million.
.Box Office: $478.7 million
.Revenue: $440 million
.Expenses: $319.8 million
.Profit: $120.2 million
7.) The Batman
After years of anticipation and well-received previews, The Batman became the seventh-highest-grossing DC film ever, earning $770.9 million at the box office. It was the first standalone Batman film since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
The movie made a $177 million profit on $458 million in total expenses, less than anything Marvel released in 2017.
.Box Office: $770.9 million
.Revenue: $635 million
.Expenses: $458 million
.Profit: $177 million
6.) Jurassic World: Dominion
The current trilogy with Chris Pratt has shown that the infamous Jurassic Park franchise is still a major force in Hollywood. Every film in the Jurassic World trilogy made over $1 billion in revenue, despite the sequels Fallen Kingdom and Dominion receiving varying reviews.
Dominion, the franchise’s capstone film that included three returning cast members from the original Jurassic Park, had a sizable profit of $229.7 million, a significant decrease from the $470 million+ profit of 2015’s Jurassic World but a tiny increase from the $235.4 million of Fallen Kingdom.
While it’s undeniable that Dominion was a major success—it ranked as the sixth-biggest film of 2022—better word-of-mouth buzz might have elevated the film to a position of actual box office hegemony.
.Box Office: $1 billion
.Revenue: $750 million
.Expenses: $520.3 million
.Profit: $229.7 million
5.) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The 2018 movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had high expectations as it broke box office records and had a significant cultural impact on Hollywood. Since the original star Chadwick Boseman went away in 2020, Marvel Studios had the difficult duty of making this film in his place, which now serves as an homage to him.
Even though Letitia Wright’s Shuri had to step into the starring position, Wakanda Forever was a huge hit, earning $859 million, a significant decrease from Black Panther’s $1.34 billion in revenue.
- Box Office: $859 million
- Revenue: $750 million
- Expenses: $491 million
- Profit: $259 million
4.) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange 2 was aggressively marketed by Marvel Studios as a massive event that was essential to the Multiverse Saga, filled with cameos, and a must-see. Multiverse of Madness was one of 2022’s largest films and Marvel’s most profitable of the previous year, which is not surprising given how well-liked the MCU has grown and how important a component of the new storytelling age it is.
Despite its enormous magical scope, the costs came in just around $500 million, which is about average for Marvel Studios. With its over $1 billion worldwide box office, the sequel to Doctor Strange significantly outperformed its predecessor to make a $284 million profit.
.Box Office: $955.7 million
.Revenue: $780 million
.Expenses: $496 million
.Profit: $284 million
3.) Minions: The Rise of Gru
Despicable Me 4’s release date was soon established for 2024 by Illumination after Minions: The Rise of Gru’s success. It represented yet another prosperous entry in the renowned animated series, the most recent two of which, Minions and Despicable Me 3, all brought in over $1 billion.
The Despicable Me prequel’s TikTok trend of big groups attending screenings in suits definitely boosted The Rise of Gru’s box office, as The Rise of Gru even became a viral sensation.
The production expenditures of $368 million are rather typical for animation; by comparison, Disney spent $373 million to create the Toy Story spin-off Lightyear last year, which unfortunately resulted in a $106 million loss.
.Box Office: $939.6 million
.Revenue: $750 million
.Expenses: $368 million
.Profit: $382 million
2.) Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun, which was released in 1986, has genuinely endured the test of time and continues to be viewed by many people today. In 2022, Top Gun: Maverick, the legacy sequel, broke a significant post-pandemic record previously held by Spider-Man: No Way Home at the box office.
The overwhelmingly favourable word-of-mouth reviews and lack of rivals undoubtedly helped Maverick rule the box office all summer long in 2022, becoming Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing film to date.
Even with enormous $753.9 million in expenses, the film managed to make $391.1 million for Paramount, partly because participations (cuts of earnings paid to certain performers and staff) were above-average at $280 million; by comparison, Doctor Strange 2 earned $40 million.
.Box Office: $1.49 billion
.Revenue: $1.15 billion
.Expenses: $753.9
.Profit: $391.1 million
1.) Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar: The Way of Water, the James Cameron follow-up to 2009’s blockbuster blockbuster Avatar, was always anticipated to be a tremendous hit. However, many questioned if the sequel could achieve the same success 13 years later.
Avatar 2 surpassed already-high predictions to earn $531.7 million on a $2.32 billion box office take, making it the most profitable movie of 2022 and the third-highest-grossing film of all time. This amount may potentially be much higher given that, in Cameron’s words, the sequel was “the worst business case in movie history” and piled up absurd expenses of $1.09 billion.
.Box Office: $2.32 billion
.Revenue: $1.62 billion
.Expenses: $1.09 billion
.Profit: $531.7 million
Why Avatar 2 Won’t Be 2022’s Most Promising Success
Without a doubt, Top 10 films on the aforementioned list was a huge hit and raked in astronomical profits for its respective studios. The triumph of Avatar: The Way of Water, which replicated the 2009 original’s popularity to rank as the third-highest-grossing film of all time, was notably historic. However, the profits could have been much higher if the costs hadn’t been quite so high.
While the Top 10 Films most successful films of the year are all from well-known franchises with recognisable names and characters, the horror original Smile may be 2022’s most impressive smash. The Paramount film, which currently ranks as the 37th highest-grossing horror film of all time, managed to stand on its own two feet and become a genuine sensation on an incredibly small budget.
The Sosie Bacon-starring horror’s strong test screening results convinced Paramount to rethink its original plan to dump it directly onto Paramount+, and the studio will definitely be thanking its lucky stars. Smile 2 has not yet been announced, but after agreeing to a first-look contract with Paramount for future projects, director Parker Finn recently discussed what a sequel would entail.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is off to a fantastic start, but only time will tell which film will go on to become the most popular of 2023. However, there are still a lot of strong contenders to come, such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
