If 2021 was the year that cinema revived from its supposed pandemic-induced demise, it means that movies can only be bigger and greater from here. Some of the most anticipated movie releases of the year, like Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, panned well with critics but had lackluster box office performances. But the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home suggests that audiences, starved for content, are willing to show up to see the latest and greatest. Dune, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and other Marvel movies, like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, also proved that movie theaters are alive and well.
With this in mind, 2022 looks like it’ll be a year packed full of big releases. From The Batman to the newest additions in the MCU like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, superhero and comics fans will be thrilled with what’s going to hit screens. Adaptations from literature like Cyrano and Death on the Nile promise romance and mystery, and ongoing trends, such as making movies about bands, singers, and video games will continue to persist. These are twenty-two movies in 2022 that we can’t wait to see.
22 The Batman
Robert Pattinson’s The Batman is one of the most anticipated releases of 2022. Dark, moody, and full of saturation in its coloring, The Batman looks like it’ll bring a darker and more brutal edge to the classic story of Batman.
21 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Set after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange’s spell results in a new evil emerging—one that’s quite familiar to the Doctor. Wanda Maximoff / The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) will be joining the cast of this movie.
20 Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon will mark another collaboration with both Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Based on a true story, the FBI needs to discover why members of an Indigenous tribe are systemically being killed.
19 A Hero
Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian auteur who already has two Oscars for his films, will have his newest film A Hero, winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival, released January 2022. The movie recently made the Oscars shortlist for Best International Feature and is a favorite to win.
18 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One)
Miles Morales returns in 2022 for a two-part sequel, starting with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One). He'll be leaving Brooklyn to travel across the Multiverse and team up with Spider-People from alternative universes to fight a new, unknown foe. Shamiek Moore will join forces with Hailee Steinfeld and Oscar Isaac in this movie.
17 Cyrano
Joe Wright's Cyrano brings together music and classic literature. Based on a musical, which was in turn based on an 1897 play, Cyrano de Bergerac can do it all. But his lack of confidence in his appearance may cost him the love of his life, leading an incredible journey to see what happens.
16 Uncharted
Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg join forces in this adaptation of the beloved video game series Uncharted. The movie is a prequel to the video game series, showing how the main two characters met each other for the first time.
15 Bob's Burgers: The Movie
Bob's Burgers has been a beloved television show for almost a decade now. It's been long overdue that a movie based on America's favorite burger joint is in the works, and it seems that it's finally happening in 2022.
14 Elvis
Baz Luhrmann is back in the film world with a biopic about Elvis Presley. Austin Butler stars as Presley, while Tom Hanks will portray his manager. Knowing Luhrmann, this film will be extravagant and a visual feast for the eyes.
13 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Chadwick Boseman may no longer be with us, but the spirit of the Black Panther continues with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The original cast returns under the premise that the world created in the first film would continue to be explored. T'Challa's sister Shuri will also play a bigger role in this movie.
12 Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Although this is the ninth film in the franchise, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a direct sequel to 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A twenty-five-year-old drags her little sister and friends on a business trip to Texas, which proves to be a fatal mistake after Leatherface decides to hunt them down.
11 Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel to the 1986 movie Top Gun. After thirty years in service, Tom Cruise's Pete is at the perfect place he needs to be, but when he begins training a new group of graduates, he'll have to confront his past and future in a way he never has before.
10 Sonic the Hedgehog 2
The world's favorite hedgehog is back in 2022 with Sonic the Hedgehog 2, featuring his new sidekick Miles. This time they're trying to save the Master Emerald from Doctor Eggman and Knuckles the Echidna, creating a new epic adventure on the big screen.
9 The Lost City
The Lost City stars Sandra Bullock as a romance novelist who, after a kidnapping attempt, gets stranded in the jungle with her cover model (Channing Tatum). A quadruple threat falling under the romantic-comedy and action-adventure film, this movie is going to be a treat.
8 Jurassic World Dominion
Jurassic World Dominion is the next entry in the franchise. Set four years after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the world must now grapple with dinosaurs as an invasive species. With an all-star cast, Jurassic World Dominion looks like it'll be an exciting new update with a lot of potential.
7 Death on the Nile
Although Armie Hammer's inclusion has drummed up controversy, Death on the Nile is another adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. After a murder on the boat, it becomes a race against time to find the killer before killing another person.
6 Turning Red
Pixar and Disney team up again, but this time the main character of Turning Red is a thirteen-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl named Meilin. One day she turns into a giant red panda, and while she can turn back into her human self, moments of extreme emotion cause her to turn back into the panda.
5 Nope
An all-star cast of Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun will star in Jordan Peele's next film: Nope. The world will be blessed with yet another Peele horror film in 2022, although the plot is currently unknown.
4 The Flash
While plans for a movie about the Flash originally back in 2004, an actual movie won't be a reality until The Flash's release in 2022. The Flash decides to travel back in time to save his mother, but if time travel movies haven't taught enough, things quickly begin to go awry because of it.
3 The Worst Person in the World
The Worst Person in the World recently made the Oscar shortlist for Best International Feature, and its lead actress won Best Actress at Cannes Film Festival. Both wishful and sad in tone, it'll be a haunting film deserving of the attention it's received.