Even though it was released at the tail end of last year, Avatar: The Way of Water has already generated over $1.4 billion worldwide! From long-awaited sequels to big-budget spectacles, there were plenty of high-earning movies released in 2022. With this in mind, Top10Casinos analysed Box Office Mojo and IMDb to determine: what were the highest-grossing movies of 2022, and how well did they perform with fans and critics?
The 10 highest-grossing movies of 2022
| Rank | Movie | Country | IMDb rating (/10) | Worldwide box office earnings ($) |
| 1 | Top Gun: Maverick | American | 8.4 | $1,488,732,821 |
| 2 | Avatar: The Way of Water | American | 7.9 | $1,443,938,691 |
| 3 | Jurassic World: Dominion | American | 5.6 | $1,001,978,080 |
| 4 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | American | 6.9 | $955,755,804 |
| 5 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | American | 6.6 | $939,628,210 |
| 6 | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | American | 7.2 | $821,703,712 |
| 7 | The Batman | American | 7.8 | $770,836,163 |
| 8 | Thor: Love and Thunder | American | 6.3 | $760,928,081 |
| 9 | Water Gate Bridge | Chinese | 5.4 | $626,571,697 |
| 10 | Moon Man | Chinese | 6.5 | $460,237,662 |
Please find the full dataset HERE.
Top10Casinos can reveal that the highest-grossing movie of 2022 is Top Gun: Maverick. The Tom Cruise-led sequel to the iconic 1986 warplane action flick Top Gun was a hit with movie-going audiences for its incredible high-adrenaline cinematography and fast-paced sequences. Earning close to $1.5 billion, it is also the most esteemed movie on the list, with an IMDb user review rating of 8.4 out of 10.
In second place is James Cameron’s recently-released sequel to 2009’s Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water. The long-awaited return to the fantasy world of Pandora has received a high user review rating of 7.9 on IMDb, and though many critic reviews have been harsher on the big-budget spectacle, it has still earned itself over $1.4 billion worldwide.
In third place is Jurassic World: Dominion. The third instalment in the Jurassic World franchise was an expected blockbuster hit. Though it was met with lukewarm to poor reviews from critics and audiences alike, currently sitting at 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb, the movie nonetheless thrived at the box office, earning over $1 billion worldwide.
In fourth place is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The sequel to Marvel Studios’ 2016 Doctor Strange was primarily lauded, much like the original, for its visual effects, and earned over $955 million worldwide. But though Multiverse of Madness was the highest-earning superhero movie of 2022, it wasn’t the only one to make the list. On the contrary, another three appear in the top 10: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in sixth ($821 million worldwide), The Batman in seventh ($770 million worldwide), and Thor: Love and Thunder in eighth ($760 million worldwide).
Minions: The Rise of Gru takes fifth place, earning $939 million worldwide. Helped by a fervent online promotion campaign, Rise of Gru once again saw Illumination Studios banking off of the immeasurable success of 2010’s Despicable Me, and is the only movie on the list made strictly for kids.
Ninth and tenth place are handed to two Chinese movies from the past year, the only non-American releases on the list. Water Gate Bridge is a historical action film based on Chinese efforts during the Korean War, serving as a sequel to 2021’s The Battle at Lake Changjin. Though it is the lowest-rated movie on the list, with a score of 5.4 out of 10 on IMDb, it has earned $626 million worldwide. Moon Man, for its part, is a comedic sci-fi flick based on a South Korean webcomic series, and has earned $460 million worldwide.
No movie on the top 10 highest-earning list of 2022 is entirely original. 8 out of 10 are sequels, 1 is a series reboot (The Batman), and 1 is an adaptation of an existing property (Moon Man).
Methodology:
- To find the highest-grossing movies of 2022, Top10Casinos analysed the box office earnings of movies released in 2022 using Box Office Mojo.
- It then made a note of these films’ directors, genres, and review ratings using IMDb.
- A table was made to rank these movies, from highest to lowest-earning.
- All data was collected on 04-01-2023 and is accurate as of then.
Please find the full dataset HERE.