Status: 25.12.2022 5:30 a.m
Wednesday, Avatar, Top Gun Maverick – whether in front of the small or big screen, these films and series are among the most successful of 2022.
By Antonia Mannweiler, tagesschau.de
One of the grand masters of film, Martin Scorsese – director of “Taxi Driver” and “Gangs of New York” – proclaimed a few years ago that the cinema he grew up with was gone. He was concerned with the content and techniques. The words could also match the continuous decline in cinema visitor numbers in recent years, which has been accelerated again by the Corona crisis.
According to the Motion Picture Association, even before the pandemic, in 2019, there were $42.3 billion in combined ticket sales, in 2021 it was only $21.3 billion. In stark contrast to this, the number of users of streaming services has exploded. Whether Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ – the market was hotly contested again this year.
But with the relaxation of the corona restrictions this year, cinema-goers pushed back in front of the big screens – and flushed billions into the coffers of the studios.
Top Gun: Maverick
A true cult classic returned to screens this year. In 1986, Tom Cruise wowed viewers worldwide as Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the first “Top Gun.” In the sequel of the film 36 years later, however, he trumped the success of that time. This time as a trainer for the young fighter jet pilots, the second part brought in almost 1.5 billion dollars – and became Cruise’s most successful film of his career. No other film took in more this year. In 2021, “Spider-Man – No Way Home” was still the most successful film worldwide with 1.9 billion dollars.
Jurassic World – a new age
Also a cult classic and also a sequel is the second most successful movie of the year 2022: “Jurassic World – A New Age”. It is the sixth film in the series after “Jurassic Park” was released in 1993. The action film, produced by Universal Pictures, grossed around $1 billion that year. Cast with actors from the first film, it will also be the last film in the Universal Pictures franchise, according to director Colin Trevorrow.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The story of surgeon Stephen Vincent Strange, who as the supreme sorcerer protects humanity against mystical and magical threats, was first filmed in 1978. British actor Benedict Cumberbatch has been playing Doctor Strange since 2016. The film, which opened in May of this year, has grossed $956 million to date.
Minions – looking for the mini boss
The animated film “Minions – In Search of the Mini Boss” is also among the top ten. The film also developed its own viral trend on the internet. Numerous videos were shared on the social media platform TikTok under the hashtag #Gentleminions, in which young people dressed up as the main character Gru – equipped with a suit and sunglasses – and visited the movie. The uproar even led to a cinema in Great Britain temporarily banning guests in suits from going to the cinema. It didn’t hurt viewership. The film grossed around $940 million from June through the end of the year.
In “Minions: The Rise Of Gru,” 12-year-old Gru plans to join a gang of villains with the help of the Minions.
Bild: picture alliance / empics
Black Panther – Wakanda Forever
There were numerous successful films and sequels from the Marvel Universe and Walt Disney Studio this year, including “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”. First airing in November, the action science fiction film is already one of the highest-grossing movies of the year at $787 million. The lead actor of the first film “Black Panther”, Chadwick Boseman, died in August 2020. The death of the main character was also woven into the sequel to the film, which stars Shuri’s sister.
The Batman
Numerous actors have slipped behind the Batman mask over the past few decades: Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney have all been on the road in the Batmobile. This year Robert Pattinson first played the role of Bruce Wayne, who hunts criminals in Gotham City. Since launching in March, The Batman has grossed around $771 million.
Thor – Love and Thunder
In July of this year, the fourth film in the Thor franchise, Thor: Love and Thunder, hit theaters. The action film, which stars Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, has grossed $761 million since its summer release.
“Water Gate Bridge” und “Moon Man”
The top ten most commercially successful films of 2022 were dominated by films produced in the USA. In addition, two Chinese films have also found their way into the list. In the sequel, “Water Gate Bridge,” Chinese soldiers fight over the Changjin River during the 1950 Korean War. The film was released for Chinese New Year in early February and has since grossed $627 million.
The Chinese science fiction comedy “Moon Man”, in which two people survive an asteroid impact on Earth, also turned out to be a box office success. The film grossed $460 million that year.
Avatar – the way of water
When the 3D film “Avatar – Aufbruch nach Pandora” was released in cinemas in 2009, it broke all records: To this day it is the most successful cinema film of all time with 2.9 billion dollars that have been grossed since then – ahead of “Avengers: Endgame ” and “Titanic”. The second part, which was released in cinemas in December, was eagerly awaited. Since then, the film has grossed $442 million.
Scene from the new movie “Avatar: The Way of Water”
Image: picture alliance/dpa/20th Century
What were the most successful series?
While the commercial success of films that are shown in cinemas can be seen quite quickly, the economic success of films on streaming platforms is not so easy to quantify. The success of streaming services can be measured in two categories, says Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, who heads the Marketing and Media Chair at the University of Münster tagesschau.de.
The crucial points are: How many new subscribers will I gain with the new content? And how does the new content affect the retention of existing subscribers? For example, to measure how many subscribers a new series generates, the content that the new user looks at first is looked at. Hennig-Thurau emphasizes that such models are inaccurate, but easy to understand.
In order to draw the right conclusions as far as the promising content is concerned, it is particularly important that this indicator is supplemented with information on which substances prevent subscribers from canceling their subscription: “Because the potential for new customers has now become quite manageable. “
Dominant series especially on Netflix
While the Netflix share lost almost half of its value this year, it was mainly productions by the American streaming giant that were among the most successful of 2022. In recent years, series films in particular have outperformed.
By the end of November 2022, the fourth season of “Stranger Things” had been at number one for the longest time among streamed English-language series and films, according to data provider Nielsen. With “Ozark”, “Cobra Kai”, “Inventing Anna”, “Bridgerton” and “Dahmer” other series from Netflix were at the top of the 2022 charts. With “Reacher” and “Rings of Power” there were only two Prime Video series in the top 20, with “Red” also made an animated film from Disney + on the list.
Series success “Wednesday”
Since then, however, this ranking may have changed again. In November, the Addams Family spin-off “Wednesday” was released by cult director Tim Burton, which follows the teenager Wednesday Addams as she solves a spooky murder series. The series became a huge hit: In just four weeks, it was streamed in almost 176 million households, according to Netflix. After the fourth season of “Stranger Things”, it is the second most successful English-language series on the streaming service.
16-year-old Nevermore Academy student Wednesday Addams solves a murder in “Wednesday.”
Bild: picture alliance / Everett Colle
Most expensive series: “Rings of Power” from Amazon
In September, the Amazon Prime-produced series and first season of “Rings of Power” began – a prequel to Lord of the Rings. At $715 million, it is said to be the most expensive series production of all time.
The streaming market used to be a growth business, but today the market, which is now characterized by cut-throat competition, is changing, says Hennig-Thurau. One consequence of this is a so-called dichotomization of the materials demanded by streaming stations – which produce either very cheap formats or extremely complex franchises and event spectacles. This change has already been completed in the cinema.
“Blockbusterization” of the film industry
“In our global and digital times, spectacular franchise material is disproportionately rewarded by the market,” says media economist Hennig-Thurau, who also describes this development as “blockbusterization”. That’s why Hollywood is frantically searching for these franchises. Because only they fulfill the two important and globally valid motives that attract viewers to the cinemas: escapism, i.e. distraction, and great heroes with whom one can identify. “They need these motifs in order to exploit the potential of the digital film industry,” says Hennig-Thurau. This would also explain the dominance of superhero films and their many sequels.
Despite some commercial successes, not only the US streaming giant Netflix was under a lot of pressure this year. Other large media groups such as Paramount Global, Disney or Warner Bros also had to cope with large losses on the stock exchange in 2022. Due to the increasing competition from streaming services, this market is now faced with the question of where to save: With the really big hits? Probably not, believes Hennig-Thurau. The cheap productions will also be pursued, as these are often highly profitable. For everything in between, however, it could become more difficult in the future, he estimates. Anyone who also likes film as a cultural form can only hope that companies like Apple, whose core business is not entertainment, will take on such productions.
Is cinema dead?
A fusion of cinema and streaming is taking place anyway. Films that are broadcast in cinemas are also shown exclusively or in parallel on the streaming platforms. When it comes to the investments of the big studios, it is not only the success at the box office that counts, but also the access rates on the platforms.
However, Hennig-Thurau does not agree that cinema is dead. It will have a different role. People and their user behavior have simply changed. The sofa has clearly become more attractive and the cinema has lost its technological superiority. “It will never be as big as it once was.”