2021 was meant to be the year that cinema found its feet again following the pandemic closures of 2020, but it took a very last-minute rescue by Spider-Man: No Way Home to prove that for the right movie, audiences will return to theaters in huge numbers. With a number of movies having been pushed back from this year, studios are now hoping that this means 2022 will be another chance for the cinematic experience to return to something closer to a pre-pandemic state. Leading the charge are numerous offerings from DC and Marvel, a new survey by Fandango reveals. Robert Pattinson’s upcoming take on Batman and Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam are two of the most anticipated performances of next year.
The Batman was originally planned to release in 2021 but just like many of the other biggest movie releases, the film was shunted about the schedules to try and give it the best chance of success. Now along with fellow DC movie Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson in the title role, Robert Pattinson’s debut as Bruce Wayne looks like it is the most anticipated new performance coming next year. Just to hammer home exactly how dominant the two comic book giants are looking in 2022, between the top five new performances, top five returning performances, and top five movies the only non-comic book based movies to feature are Avatar 2 and Jurassic World: Dominion. Check out the full statement below:
"Fandango, the nation's leading movie ticketing service, asked more than 6,000 of its ticket-buyers in December about the top movies they want to see on the big screen next year. The top five most anticipated blockbusters for 2022 are Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Batman, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Jurassic World: Dominion.“
From the survey carried out, Fandango deduced that 2022’s most anticipated returners are pretty much made up of Marvel’s biggest stars, with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor topping the list, with Benedict Cumberbatch’s return as the titular character of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in a close second. The top five rounded off with Natalie Portman for her return a Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder, Zoe Saldana as Neytiri in Avatar 2 and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
When it comes to new performances, along with Robert Pattinson and Dwayne Johnson in their respective roles as Batman and Black Adam, it is a full comic book roster of Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder, Issa Rae as Spider-Woman in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Zoe Kravitz as the latest actress to take on the role of Catwoman in The Batman.
“Audiences are looking for unforgettable experiences at the theater and 2022 promises to deliver a bounty of exciting new movies that you must see on the big screen," said Fandango Managing Editor Erik Davis. "From some of the biggest returning characters like Spider-Man, Batman, Catwoman, and Doctor Strange, to memorable franchises like Black Panther, Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, and Jurassic World, the new year is packed with thrills, chills, and adventure around every corner."
The list of the biggest movies of 2022 kicks off with The Batman, which arrives in cinemas on March 4th, 2022.