Hits like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and “Top Gun: Maverick” may have helped boost box office sales in 2022, but haven’t saved the a lackluster year’s industry.
New estimates show the domestic box office is expected to end around $7.35 billion for 2022, down 33% from 2019, when ticket sales brought in more than $11 billion.
While the number is still up 68% from 2021, many Americans have once again turned to their streaming services to avoid having to leave their homes.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic may be to blame for some of the weak earnings, many in the entertainment industry seem to believe that the lack of desirable production is the main cause for concern.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, grossing more than $420 million domestically for The Walt Disney Company.
Margot Robbie’s ‘Babylon’ Opened Christmas Weekend to Under $5 Million
Movie ticket sales over Christmas weekend were $86 million from Friday to Sunday according to ComScore, down nearly 70% from 2021 when “Spider-Man: No Way Home” rose to the top of the charts.
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ managed to emerge a winner this weekend, however, raking in $56 million over the holiday weekend.
Even the production company behind the year’s biggest domestic film, “Top Gun: Maverick” ($718 million), has struggled.
“We’re still emerging from the COVID haze,” Paramount Pictures chief executive Brian Robbins said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“There are a few films that we barely crossed the finish line,” Robbins said.
The studio still managed to claim five of the top 25 domestic box office spots for 2025 with “Maverick,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” ($190 million), “Smile” ($105 million), ” The Lost City” ($105 million) and ‘Scream’ ($81 million).
Despite those numbers, the Paramount executive said he believes current production has yet to bring in the full range of potential customers in the post-pandemic world.
“Apart from big tentpoles, genre films and some family movies, I don’t think we’ve seen audiences come back completely,” Robbins said.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ grossed over $718 million domestically in 2022
Tom Cruise led Paramount Pictures in their greatest movie of all time with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
The film earned over $1.4 billion at the global box office
Robbins may also have weighed in on the lackluster performances of some non-legacy films with failed star power.
Margot Robbie, Christian Bale and John David Washington’s $14 million “Amsterdam,” directed by David O’Russell, have lost millions after costing more than $80 million to make and despite a litany of costars including Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Taylor Swift, Michael Shannon.
Similarly, Robbie’s “Babylon,” directed by Damien Chazelle, grossed a surprisingly low $3.5 million in its opening weekend over the Christmas holidays.
Brad Pitt, Jean Smart and Tobey McGuire star alongside Robbie in the director’s film “La La Land” which cost $110 million to make.
Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt star in Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon,” which grossed just $3.5 million in its opening weekend. The film cost $110 million to make
One of the year’s biggest winners was The Walt Disney Company, which earned $1.7 billion domestically from “Wakanda Forever” ($427 million), “The Way of Water” ($279 million) and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”. ($411 million).
However, the same company also suffered major losses on the animation panel with “Strange World” ($35 million) which lost around $100 million and “Lightyear” ($226 million) which had a budget production of 200 million dollars.
Box office numbers for “Lightyear” may have impaled after the film found itself amid controversy surrounding Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The film originally featured a kiss between two female characters which was briefly deleted and later reinstated by Disney executives.
Disney’s ‘Strange World’ only grossed $35 million and hit Disney+ a month after its theatrical debut
Disney and Pixar’s “Lightyear,” which was a spin-off of the “Toy Story” franchise, managed to recoup its production budget but only fetched $26 million.
The film became embroiled in Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and was criticized for featuring, deleting and then reinstating a kiss between two female characters.
Second only to Disney in the category of box office winners was Universal Pictures, which earned $1.6 billion domestically from sequels “Jurassic World: Dominion” ($376 million), “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($369 million).
Jordan Peele’s latest foray into the horror-suspense category, “NOPE,” claimed No. 14 on the list of highest-grossing films with $114 million.
Alternatively, Billy Eichner’s gay comedy “Bros” earned Universal just $11 million domestically after costing $22 million.
Paramount Pictures took third place on the list with $1.3 billion, followed by Warner Bros. Pictures with $934 million and Sony with $854 million.
A disappointing year for Warner Bros., which made more than half of its domestic box office profits with “The Batman” ($369 million) and “Black Adam” ($168 million).
Warner Bros. also released “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” in April for just $95 million, a drop far from previous films in the Harry Potter universe.
HIT: Disney’s ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ grossed $411 million domestically
FLOP: ‘Lightyear’ barely turned a profit after costing over $200 million
HIT: ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’ made $279 million on Christmas Day
FLOP: Universal Pictures’ ‘Bros’ only made $11 million
HIT: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ grossed just over $340 million after July release
FLOP: Despite Costing Over $80 Million, ‘Amsterdam’ Only Made $14 Million
HIT: ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ had the best of both worlds with a limited theatrical release and a wide release on Netflix in December
FLOP: Sony’s “Morbius” Only Made $74 Million Domestically
In total, only 71 films received full “wide release” in North America in 2022.
The average domestic box office gross for a movie in 2022 was just over $100 million, according to ComScore.
Netflix and Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” received the “best of both worlds” in 2022 after a limited theatrical release in November and first streaming service in December.
The film, starring Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn and Edward Norton, was theatrically released for just one week in less than 700 theaters but managed to gross $13 million.
Other studios skipped the limited release and went straight to streaming services.
Hulu released “Prey,” the latest installment in the “Predator” franchise, while Pixar and Disney launched “Turning Red” directly on Disney+ in March.
Netflix’s ‘Glass Onion’ grossed $13 million after hitting theaters for just one week
The film debuted in just 696 theaters nationwide before making its way to Netflix on December 23.
0