30+ Movies Release in 2022
The movies have returned! Or so we hope when COVID-era box-office records are shattered once again as an automobile soars into space or a Spider-Man finds himself in the middle of a crime spree (and his other selves too). While box office receipts more than quadrupled from 2020 to 2021, we're still a long way from what we used to consider "average," which is wonderful news (for cinemas, certainly, but especially for Marvel and Sony, whose films claimed four of the top five highest-earning places).
January
Scream
Scream 2022 is the fifth installment in the franchise, the first to be directed by someone other than the late Wes Craven (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett perform behind-the-scenes duties), and the first time Ghost Face has been seen in over a decade. Because history repeats itself in these films, a new killer dons the Ghost Face mask, and familiar (Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette) and new faces (Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Dylan Minnette) are desperate to find out who is behind it. (On the 14th of January, in cinemas.) — Jen Chaney
A Hero
Rahim is played by Amir Jadidi, who is imprisoned for a slew of debts until his lover Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldoust) offers him a means to pay off his obligations. Rahim is thrown among folks who regard him as opportunistic and others who see him as an opportunity in what should be a simple strategy. Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian director, may be our greatest ethicist, and A Hero continues his exploration of incremental degrees of good and evil. (Available in cinemas on January 7 and on Amazon Prime on January 21.) Hadadi, Roxana
Compartment No. 6
Green Book in the Arctic Circle: On a platonic voyage from Moscow to Murmansk, a lesbian professor from Finland shares a railway cabin with a rough-hewn Russian miner. This is Finland's application for the International Film Oscar, where it just made the shortlist after winning the Grand Prix at Cannes. (Available in cinemas on January 26.) — Jones, Nate
The 355 (in theaters January 7)
Belle (in theaters January 14)
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (streaming on Amazon Prime January 14)
Scream (in theaters January 14)
The Pink Cloud (in theaters January 14)
The Royal Treatment (streaming on Netflix January 20)
Sundown (in theaters January 28)
The King’s Daughter (in theaters January 21)
February
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
Poly Styrene, the front lady for X-Ray Spex and a rare woman of color on the frontlines of the punk movement in late 1970s London, is honored in this documentary, which was published in the United Kingdom in 2021. Celeste Bell, Styrene's daughter, co-wrote and co-directed the film, which also examines their mother-daughter connection and features Ruth Negga as the late Styrene's voice. (On February 2nd, in theaters and select music venues.) Jen Chaney is a writer.
The Worst Person in the World
Joachim Trier's newest film is a humorous, sexual, sad look at the life of Julie (effervescent newbie Renate Reinsve) as she approaches 30, falls in and out of love, flirts with strangers, switches jobs, and throws a tampon at a mushroom-induced hallucination of her father. (February 4th in cinemas.) Rachel Handler is a writer.
Marry Me
Jennifer Lopez, who plays a worldwide pop artist, discovers that her partner, also a pop star (Maluma), is cheating on her just before the two are about to marry onstage. As a result, she chooses a random local teacher, played by Owen Wilson, from a throng and marries him instead. It's possible that this is the most significant film ever filmed. (On Peacock February 11th, in cinemas and streaming.) Rachel Handler is a writer.
A Banquet
Ruth Paxton's A Banquet is a fresh, subtle, and spine-chilling horror film about a bereaved family whose eldest daughter (Jessica Alexander) experiences a bizarre natural phenomena and finds herself unable to eat. Her mother (Sienna Guillory), who is already at her wit's end, does her best to accommodate and comprehend her daughter's probably supernatural condition while also attempting to hold together her own shattered psyche and collapsing family. (February 18 in theaters and on demand.) Rachel Handler is a writer.
Studio 666
It's the Foo Fighters' spooky mansion film you didn't know you needed! No, honestly, it appears to be entertaining. If any of the film's evil powers consume Mentos, the film will receive bonus points (or Footos). (Available in cinemas on February 25.)
Moonfall (in theaters February 4)
Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Part one in theaters February 10 and streaming on Netflix February 16)
I Want You Back (in theaters February 11)
Death on the Nile (in theaters February 11)
The Pact (in theaters February 11)
Dog (in theaters February 18)
Uncharted (In theaters February 18)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (in theaters and on Netflix February 18)
Mothering Sunday (in theaters February 25)
The Outfit (in theaters February 25)
Cyrano (in theaters February 25)
March
The Batman
Robert Pattinson returns to the realm of bat-themed franchise movies after graduating from the A24 Finishing School for Leading Men with Indie Cred. How will the third Batman reboot of the twenty-first century set itself apart from the others? According to writer-director Matt Reeves, the film emphasizes the Dark Knight's roots in detective comics. And, based on the trailer, by putting Pattinson in extreme amounts of eyeliner. (The film will be released on March 4th.)
Turning Red
Bao, a slick eight-minute animated exercise in emotionally harming any offspring of Chinese immigrants, was directed by Domee Shi in 2018. Her feature-length debut appears to be heartbreaking while still focusing on the bond between a Chinese Canadian mother and her child. When Mei, 13, becomes agitated, she discovers she has inherited the ability to transform into a red panda. As far as adolescent analogies go, that's really cute. (Available in cinemas on March 11th.)
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Julian Fellowes fans are in for a treat in 2022. The Gilded Age, his long-awaited HBO series about old money in late-nineteenth-century New York, premieres in January. Two months later, a sequel to Fellowes' drama about the Crawley family, Downton Abbey, is released in theaters. Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern), Ladies Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Edith (Laura Carmichael), Carson (Jim Carter), Mrs. Carson, née Hughes (Phyllis Logan), and, of course, the dowager countess (Maggie Smith), who mysteriously inherits a villa in southern France, are all featured in the film, which is set at the end of the 1920s. A road trip is in order! (Available in cinemas on March 18.)
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's next sci-fi action picture, Daniels, appears to be as wonderfully off-kilter as their 2016 first, Swiss Army Man. Evelyn Wang, played by Michelle Yeoh, is a seemingly ordinary lady with a husband, children, and a family company who discovers she exists in limitless worlds. The teaser for the flick promises a lot of kicking. "Don't make me fight you – I'm a beast!" Evelyn asserts, and Yeoh has never been incorrect in his assertions. (Available in cinemas on March 25.)
Great Freedom (in theaters March 4)
Lucy and Desi (streaming on Prime Video March 4)
Huda’s Salon (in theaters March 4)
Unwelcome (in theaters March 17)
Alice (in theaters March 18)
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (in theaters March 18)
The Torch (in theaters March 18)
The Unbreakable Boy (in theaters March 18)
The Lost City (In theaters March 25.)
April
Aline
This unauthorized Celine Dion biography, written and directed by Valérie Lemercier, depicts the 57-year-old actress as Aline Dieu (the last word is French for God) at various stages of her earthly life, including a startling, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids–esque age 5. The delightfully zany, unashamedly affectionate film is possibly the only way to convey Dion's life, since it resonates on the same frequency as the notoriously strange French Canadian chanteuse. (Available in cinemas on April 8.)
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Nicolas Cage takes on his most demanding character to date in this meta-narrative action-adventure comedy: Nicolas Cage. Nicolas Cage isn't just any Nicolas Cage. Nic Cage, who is cash-strapped and creatively dissatisfied, accepts a $1 million offer to attend the birthday celebration of a millionaire drug lord (Pedro Pascal) in Spain. But, according to the official synopsis, things go weird when this highly stylized version of the renowned actor is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and is compelled to channel his "most iconic and adored on-screen roles in order to rescue himself and his loved ones." More than Cage of Pig fame, think Con Air–era Cage. (Available in cinemas on April 22.)
Morbius (in theaters April 1)
The Contractor (in theaters April 1)
Easter Sunday (in theaters April 1)
You Won’t Be Alone (in theaters April 1)
Ambulance (in theaters April 8)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (in theaters April 8)
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (in theaters April 15)
Thirteen Lives (in theaters April 15)
The Bad Guys (in theaters April 22)
The Northman (In theaters April 22.)
Memory (In theaters April 22.)
65 (in theaters April 29)
May
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
In this adaptation of a Paul Gallico novel, Lesley Manville finally gets a leading role. The Oscar candidate for Phantom Thread portrays a cleaning lady in 1950s London who dabbles with French haute couture, crossing paths with Isabelle Huppert along the way. Surprisingly, Sony Pictures Classics did not distribute it. (Available in cinemas on May 6.)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (in theaters May 6)
DC League of Super Pets (in theaters May 20)
Legally Blonde 3 (In theaters May 20.)
Bob’s Burgers: The Movie (in theaters May 27)
Top Gun: Maverick (In theaters May 27.)
June
Elvis
Baz Luhrmann has set his eyes on Elvis Presley, America's king of rock and roll, nearly a decade after putting his dazzling imprint on The Great Gatsby. This biography starring Austin Butler as Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks as his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, would be the perfect fit for Luhrmann's excess style. (Available in cinemas on June 24.)
Jurassic World: Dominion (in theaters June 10)
Lightyear (in theaters June 17)
Oh Hell No (in theaters June 17)
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (in theaters June 24)
The Black Phone (in theaters June 24)
Where the Crawdads Sing (in theaters June 24)
Shotgun Wedding (In theaters June 29.)
July
Minions: The Rise of Gru
In case you're looking for a kid-friendly Joker, this sequel to Minions and prologue to the Despicable Me movies is an origin narrative that tells how a young Gru (Steve Carell) first became fascinated in being evil. (July 1st in cinemas.)
Thor: Love and Thunder
Most Marvel characters don't get a fourth solo feature, but it usually doesn't take them until the third to figure out who they are. Chris Hemsworth reunites with his wacky Ragnarok director Taika Waititi in Love and Thunder, while Natalie Portman returns for a plot arc in which she gains abilities of her own. (July 8th in cinemas.)
Bed Rest (in theaters July 15)
Bullet Train (in theaters July 15)
Mandate (in theaters July 22)
Where the Crawdads Sing (in theaters July 22)
Nope (In theaters July 22.)
Black Adam (in theaters July 29)
August
Bros
Billy Eichner's Bros is already the first big studio picture co-written by and starring an out homosexual guy, and it will be the first to cast LGBTQ+ actors in all of the main straight characters. TS Madison, Miss Lawrence, Symone, and Guillermo Diaz play the major lovebirds alongside Eichner and Luke Macfarlane. Nicholas Stoller, who co-starred with Eichner in the Netflix comedy Friends From College, will direct. (Aug. 12 in cinemas.)
The Man From Toronto (in theaters August 12)
Secret Headquarters (in theaters August 12)
Samaritan (in theaters August 26)
On a Wing and a Prayer (in theaters August 31)
September
The Woman King
Gina Prince-Bythewood only creates wonderful films. And it stars none other than Viola Davis as the commander of an all-female military regiment in the West African kingdom of Dahomey, in a narrative based on historical events from the nineteenth century. With 2020's The Old Guard, Prince-Bythewood established her action credentials, and she has always given both scale and intimacy to her films, no matter the theme. Imagine what she'll be capable of in front of the lens of a historical epic. (The film will be released on September 16th.)
Mission: Impossible 7
Director Christopher McQuarrie and actor Tom Cruise have already produced two fantastic Mission: Impossible films (as well as Jack Reacher, but... whatever), and there's no reason to think things will change with their third collaboration in what has become an impossibly awesome action franchise. Hayley Atwell and Esai Morales will join Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames, who will be joined by Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames. Cruise has been observed dangling from an airplane in the eighth chapter, which must be second nature to him by now. (The film opens in theaters on September 30.)
Dark Harvest (in theaters September 9)
Distant (in theaters September 16)
White Bird: A Wonder Story (in theaters September 16)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (in theaters September 23)
Don’t Worry Darling (In theaters September 23.)
October
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One)
Miles Morales, the most charming Spider-Man of them all, was last seen three years ago on the promise of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that "anyone may don the mask." It was a graceful conclusion to a dramatic and high-key historical animated picture with artistically distinct animation that felt fundamentally new and different. Miles' journey through the realms expertly cartooned by Sony Pictures Animation to recall his comics made a nice nostalgia play in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but all we want is more of Miles' adventure through the worlds meticulously cartooned by Sony Pictures Animation to conjure his comics. Did we mention that Dune's father, Oscar Isaac, is returning for the sequel? Thwip! (Available in cinemas on October 7.)
Till (in theaters October 7)
Ticket to Paradise (In theaters October 21)
November
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Even non-Marvel fans are likely to be interested in the outcome of the forthcoming Black Panther film. For starters, Chadwick Boseman's death in 2020 robbed us of not just one of our best performers, but also one of Marvel's most intriguing superheroes. It's great to hear that filmmaker Ryan Coogler will be back behind the camera for this one; he's one of the few names with the power to chart an unique route in what might have been a standard-issue superhero sequel. (November 11th in cinemas.)
The Flash (in theaters November 4)
Canterbury Glass (in theaters November 4)
Untitled Bee Gees Movie (in theaters November 4)
Spellbound (in theaters November 11)
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (in theaters November 18)
She Said (in theaters November 18)
Creed III (in theaters November 23)
The Fabelmans (in theaters November 23)
December
Avatar 2
Since before it was fashionable, James Cameron has been pushing movies back. The sequel to the first Avatar, which became the highest-grossing picture in the world thirteen years ago, will finally enter theaters. Will people flock to Pandora again? They'd best hurry, because the Avatar trilogy will be released every two years until 2028. (December 16th in cinemas.)
Violent Night (in theaters December 2)
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (in theaters December 16)
Untitled Star Wars Film (in theaters December 16)
Heaven and Hell (in theaters December 16)
Untitled Mario Bros. Movie (in theaters December 21)
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (in theaters December 23)
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