2022 Box Office Retrospective

2022 was not as some predicted a good year at the Box Office! With ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ bridging the holiday season between 2021 and 2022, some felt encouraged and emboldened, predicting box office revenues of over $33B, but it wasn’t to be, and the top 200 films have only managed to rack up $18.17B in revenues, compared to 2018’s $41.1B, with only nine films passing the $500M mark. So… What things should we reflect upon following 2022’s box office run?

Pandemic?– There is no question that the pandemic has hit releases and audience willingness to enter theatres, particularly in China, and thus has affected audience numbers, ticket sales and revenues. The burning question, when reviewing the year’s lacklustre performance is… How long can the industry hide behind the pandemic as an excuse for failing revenues, before we address the other underlying issues?

Ticket prices?- Both industry press, the wider press and cinema-goers have highlighted and commented on the price of tickets, and as we come out of the pandemic more than a few releases have seen increases in ticket prices in certain cities and regions, in an effort to cash in on the popularity of those titles. The industry needs and the audience wants to see, consistent pricing. Some have also called for greater attention to performance rankings, and the need for them to be ‘adjusted for inflation’ when making comparisons to past releases.

Content?– We should ask ourselves what content the audience actually wants to see; analyse the market more accurately; and be certain of the commercial appeal of storylines. When catering for specific demographics, films need to draw that audience out to theatres and bring in a profit, if not, it’s questionable whether those storylines or projects should be pursued on a commercial basis. Too many films are failing to entertain audiences, and fulfil their promise to deliver revenues and profits to set against creative and budgetary demands made during production when they hit the box office.

Marketing?– 2022 has shown an obvious connection between success and disappointment in box office revenues and the marketing budgets and efforts for films. I take my hat off to those that ran successful campaigns and reaped the rewards, but the message has been clear, cut or neglect your marketing department’s budget and efforts at your peril.

The Look and Feel?– I watch Films to be entertained. The trend to be edgy, and deliver gritty realism is one thing, but far from helping or reflecting the subject matter, it can too often detract from the production value and make projects look cheap. The broader question is, however… Could it be turning audiences off, from both the big and small screen? It doesn’t have to be shot in Technicolor, but too many productions deliver a look and feel associated with unscripted.

Theatrical Windows and Streaming?– It would appear that we have yet to find a decent balance between the Theatrical and Streaming windows. It would appear that when the audience knows that a film will go straight to streaming in 45 days, some may be inclined to wait for a film to stream if they have a subscription to that service, rather than experience the film for the first time on a big screen in the theatre. More flexibility, and potentially a pause between the two releases may encourage the audience back to theatres. While, some Studio Heads, investors and pundits may take the view that theatrical is dying and will never return to pre-pandemic levels, others are most definitely bullish, and investing in theatrical.

Box Office Runs – I’m not going to review the Box Office for every film, but the following represent Box Office that I’ve commented on throughout the year, or that I feel warrants mention.?

Spider-Man: No Way Home – The year started well for Sony Pictures Entertainment, with ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ on top of the box office following its debut on the 15th?of December 2021. The film had become the 10th highest-grossing film ever as it crossed the $600M domestic mark by January 2nd, and had racked up $1.5B worldwide by Jan 9th. That said, by the end of January we were already discussing ‘slow weekends’ at the box office. Some of the sheen was lost with the dispute between BAFTA and Sony over security and piracy concerns on the awards platform raised by Sony, which led to its failure to qualify for the BAFTAs. By February ‘Spider-man No Way Home’ had surpassed ‘Avatar’ to become the 3rd?highest-grossing movie at the US domestic box office, and with a re-release in September has now racked up box office revenues of $814M domestic and $1,9B worldwide.?

Scream – Paramount’s ‘Scream’ dethroned Spider-man from the top spot in mid-January with a domestic debut of $34M, and would go on to earn $81.6M domestic and ￡140M worldwide.

Death on the Nile – February’s Super Bowl Weekend release of ‘Death on the Nile’ was muted for 20th?Century Studios, taking $12.8M domestic, and the weekend was generally quiet. The film went on to take $137.3M globally.

Uncharted – Tom Hollands ‘Uncharted’, released late February, came hot on the heels of the success of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ for Sony Pictures entertainment, and topped the box office with a $44M opening weekend, going on to bring in $401.74M worldwide, but didn’t quite achieve the runaway success of Spidey.?

The Batman – Warner Bros. ‘The Batman’ opened in March to a whopping $128M domestic, and $248.5M worldwide, it was the second biggest opening since the beginning of the pandemic. The film racked up a further $66 domestic, in its second weekend, and crossed the $300M mark in its third weekend. The short theatrical window before streaming on HBO Max, and its rightful withdrawal from release in the Russian market following the invasion of Ukraine may well have held it back from breaking the Billion mark.?

Morbius – Columbia Pictures vampire flick ‘Morbius’ started April off sinking its teeth into the box office with a $38M domestic opening and would go on to achieve $167.4M.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – Paramount scored when ‘Sonic 2’ hit theatres in the second week of April to a hefty $71M domestic and $141M worldwide. By the end of its run, it had brought in $402.6B worldwide.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Warner Bros.'s next instalment of the Harry Potter prequel stories had been expected to do great things. “After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible yes, but great.” However, launching on Easter Weekend, the movie failed to cast a spell on audiences with a lacklustre opening weekend of $43M domestic. The $200M film, went on to earn $405.16M worldwide, largely from international revenues.?

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – The latest movie in the Marvel catalogue, ‘Doctor Strange 2’ opened to a whopping $185M domestic and $450M worldwide, taking its place as the 11th?highest opening of all-time, more than doubling the original ‘Doctor Strange’ film’s box office. In total, the film took $955.75M worldwide over its run.

Downton Abbey: A New Era – The second cinematic outing for the much-loved aristocratic, Crawley family, from Focus Features, debuted in late May, delivering $16M domestic, and $51.7M worldwide on opening. In all, it would bring in $92.35M worldwide.

Top Gun: Maverick – The decision by the Paramount leadership to hold back the release of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ due to the pandemic proved to be absolutely, and quite literally, on the money. Whereas other studios had chosen to release with shorter theatrical windows, simultaneously on streaming platforms, or simply straight to streaming, Paramount held their nerve and was suitably rewarded. Backed by a phenomenal marketing campaign and heightened audience anticipation, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ took off on May 27th?for the holiday weekend with a whopping $160.5M domestic, scoring the biggest Memorial Day box office opening of all time. In international markets, it raked in a further $124M, the first of many career bests for Tom Cruise. The film kept on delivering, and by June 14th?TGM had flown past ‘Doctor Strange 2’ as the highest-grossing film of the year, and seemingly had no intention of descending at the box office, passing the $1B mark on June 26th. For me, it is undoubtedly the Best Picture of the year, and certainly the most entertaining. It would be nice to see it given the recognition that it warrants during awards season.

Jurassic World Dominion – The next instalment in Universal’s Dino series opened to a healthy $143.3M domestic and $389.1M worldwide in early June. It would go on to rake in $1.001B over its theatrical run.

Lightyear – Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ found itself in the midst of a number of Disney’s and its own controversies, at home and abroad, before it had even hit the theatres, which undoubtedly hurt its chances at the box office. By the time it reached theatres on June 17th, it had been banned in 14 markets. The ‘Toy Story’ spin-off earned $51M domestic in its opening weekend, and stalled at a disappointing $226.42M for the $200M budget animation.

Elvis – Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ epic for Warner’s, an obvious Oscar contender, opened on June 24th?achieving an opening weekend of $31.2M domestic and finally unseating TGM from the No. 1 spot. It racked up a haul of $286M Worldwide, though, with so many Elvis fans worldwide, it left me wondering, why marketing had failed to draw this substantial audience to theatres?

Minions: The Rise of Gru – Universal’s second outing for the mischievous animated minions hit the ground running over the 4th?of July Weekend bringing in a healthy $123M domestic by Independence Day. It would go on to earn $939.43M in its theatrical run.

Thor: Love and Thunder – The next film in the Disney and Marvel Universe’s strategy landed in the lap of the gods over the second weekend in July with a hefty $143M, hammering past ‘The Batman’ and TGM, but not quite besting ‘Doctor Strange 2’ for opening weekends in 2022. It would go on to earn $760.92M worldwide.

Bullet Train – Brad Pitt's Bullet train hit screens at the beginning of August delivering Sony a $30M domestic opening and going on to rack up $239.2M worldwide.

Nope – Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror, ‘Nope’ for Universal, opened in late July to $44.36M as the box office slowed. It went on to book $171.23M worldwide.

DC League of Super Pets – Warner Bros. DC Universe $90M animation opened at the end of July with $23M, failed to wag its tail and really perform, but hung in to earn $203.85M worldwide.?

The Invitation – Sony’s horror offering ‘The Invitation’ opened in the top slot late in August, on a weekend where the box office appeared to have died, booking a lowly $6.8M and struggling to raise the dead with a total of $33.7M worldwide by the end of its run. Horror may not perform as well as other genres but the box office attendance was very disappointing.

The Woman King – Sony’s critically acclaimed ‘The Woman King’ opened on September 16th?with $19.05M and led the box office through a quiet period, bringing in $92.27M by the end of its run.

Don’t Worry Darling – Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ for Warner Bros. released late in September, cost $35M, and was plagued by behind-the-scenes scandals, disappointed in its opening weekend and by the end of its run had only brought in $86.7M in revenues at the Box Office. There may be no such thing as bad publicity, but I do wonder if it affected audience interest?

Smile – Paramount’s Smile, the film that leaves you screaming, opened in theatres on September 30th leading the box office with $22.6M and brought in $216.13M during its run.

Halloween Ends – The final instalment of the Halloween trilogy with Jamie Lee Curtis opened on October 14th?with a domestic $40.05M Oct 14 and brought in $104.18M during its run. I couldn’t help but wonder if its release was a little premature for Halloween, and that it may have done better if it opened on the same weekend as the festival?

Black Adam – Black Adam did $7.6M in previews and $67M on opening but failed to hit $100M domestic in its first week, and while it was on top, the box office was generally sluggish and it settled into deliver $391.27M against its $195M budget.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Disney’s Marvel Studios ‘Black Panther’ sequel had much to live up to as the legacy sequel to honour the late Chadwick Boseman and the original film’s $202K opening, and $1.34B run. However, whereas the original film opened during the Winter Olympics, China’s box office was closed for business. Despite these challenges, it opened to a healthy $181.33M domestic, and without China, and indeed Russian markets racked up $810.26M against its $250M budget.

‘She Said’?– Universal’s film, seen as an obvious awards season contender, was expected to do well. However, this important film for women’s issues sadly failed to deliver its demographic. It opened on November 18th?to $2.2M domestic and only delivered $11.45M worldwide during its run.

Strange World – Disney’s $120M budget animation ‘Strange World’ opened on November 23rd?to a very disappointing $12.15M in a season where big-budget family animations tend to fly. By the end of its run, it had only racked up $66.96M.

Avatar: The Way of Water – James Cameron’s much-awaited sequel to ‘Avatar’ for 20th?Century Studios, a decade in the making, got rave reviews in press previews and opened on Dec 16th?to $134.1M domestic and $434.5M globally. James Cameron films have a tendency to slow burn and while the domestic box office has lagged TGM, it has rocketed internationally, becoming the fastest film to $1B in 2022. As 2022 closed it has amassed revenues of $1.193B in 15 days, and if it can keep up the momentum will have no issue delivering on the $2B mark that JC wants to see it break through.

Thanks for reading and have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2023

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