Top 40 Ranked

Best 2022 Movies Ranked

The Definitive Cinematic Masterpieces of the Year

Explore the best cinema from a landmark year. Discover top-rated award winners, blockbuster sequels, and indie gems in our curated ultimate movie guide.

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About Movies in 2022

In the long sweep of cinematic history, 2022 will likely be remembered as the year the theatrical experience finally stopped holding its breath. After two years of shuttered doors and tentative delays, the industry moved past the existential dread of the pandemic and embraced a chaotic, maximalist energy. It was a year defined by the return of the populist blockbuster, the resurgence of the auteur, and a surprising shift in what audiences were willing to support with their wallets.

The most undeniable success story was Top Gun: Maverick. By the time it took to the skies in May, many critics theorized that the traditional movie star was an extinct species. Tom Cruise proved otherwise. Maverick was not just a sequel, but a masterclass in technical precision and earnest storytelling that reminded viewers why they liked going to a dark room with five hundred strangers. It was a film that felt tactile and real in an era of digital blur, and its massive box office receipts gave the industry a much needed shot of adrenaline.

However, the year was not solely about legacy sequels. If Top Gun was the heart of the year, Everything Everywhere All at Once was its soul. A chaotic, multiversal indie effort from the duo known as Daniels, it became a genuine cultural phenomenon through word of mouth. It proved that audiences were hungry for original, challenging concepts as long as they were anchored by deep emotional stakes. Michelle Yeoh gave a performance for the ages, and the film eventually swept the Oscars, signaling a generational guard change in what the Academy considered a Best Picture winner.

For film fans who prefer a darker hue, 2022 was also a banner year for psychological depth and visual flair. Todd Field returned from a long hiatus with TÁR, an icy and brilliant character study that ignited endless debates about power and cancel culture. Meanwhile, Martin McDonagh reunited the dream team of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson for The Banshees of Inisherin, a tragicomedy that turned a small island feud into a profound meditation on mortality and legacy.

The horror genre also enjoyed a creative peak during this stretch. Films like Barbarian and Pearl showed that mid-budget filmmaking was still the best place for taking risks. These movies were lean, mean, and highly original, carving out a space for themselves alongside the heavy hitters. Even the big budget spectacle saw a seismic shift as James Cameron returned with Avatar: The Way of Water. While skeptics doubted the relevance of Pandora after a decade away, the film proved that Cameron remains the undisputed king of the global box office.

Ultimately, 2022 felt like a homecoming. It was the year we realized that streaming services could not fully replace the physical presence of a cinema. From the maximalist brilliance of RRR to the intimate autobiography of Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans, the year offered a diverse menu that catered to every possible taste. It was significant because it restored our faith in the longevity of the medium. We stopped asking if movies were dead and started wondering what would happen next. For any film historian, it stands as a pivot point where the old world and the new world finally found a way to coexist.

The Complete Rankings

Based on the top picks in drafts on SnakeDrafts

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40
2022 in Yao Mei Living 13 Hamlets (2022)
Yao Mei Living 13 Hamlets
2022

The protagonists try to achieve their ideals of life in the context of revitalizing the countryside. In the story the ethnic mountain villages and today's modern cities integrate, combining the bustling city with the tranquil beauty of the mountains.

1h 44m
Tie Yu
Liao Mengyan, Liu Tianbao, 覃诚芳, 陈炫羽
39
2022 in White Noise (2022)
White Noise
2022

Jack Gladney, professor of Hitler studies at The-College-on-the-Hill, husband to Babette, and father to four children/stepchildren, is torn asunder by a chemical spill from a rail car that releases an "Airborne Toxic Event" forcing Jack to confront his biggest fear - his own mortality.

Comedy
Drama
2h 16m
Noah Baumbach
Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Raffey Cassidy
38
2022 in Amsterdam (2022)
Amsterdam
2022

In the 1930s, three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and an attorney—witness a murder, become suspects themselves and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.

Mystery
Comedy
2h 14m
David O. Russell

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37
2022 in BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022)
BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
2022

A renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, after being named the recipient of a prestigious international award, is compelled to return to his native country, unaware that this simple trip will push him to an existential limit.

Comedy
Drama
Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Íker Sánchez Solano, Ximena Lamadrid
36
2022 in The Quiet Girl (2022)
The Quiet Girl
2022

A quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with relatives for the summer. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.

Drama
1h 34m
Colm Bairéad
Catherine Clinch, Andrew Bennett, Carrie Crowley, Michael Patric
35
2022 in Fire of Love (2022)
Fire of Love
2022

A doomed love triangle between intrepid French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, and their beloved volcanoes.

Documentary
1h 34m
Sara Dosa
Alka Balbir, Guillaume Tremblay, Miranda July, Katia Krafft
34
2022 in The Northman (2022)
The Northman
2022

Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy's mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who's on a mission to save his mother, kill his uncle and avenge his father.

Action
Adventure
2h 17m
Robert Eggers
33
2022 in Close (2022)
Close
2022

Two 13-year-old boys spend an idyllic summer together, but their connection is put to the test when they become the subject of speculation at school.

Drama
1h 44m
Lukas Dhont
Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Émilie Dequenne, Léa Drucker
32
2022 in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
2022

Nancy Stokes, a retired schoolteacher, is pretty sure she has never had good sex. Now that her husband has died, she is determined to take a tour of sexual vistas that until now she has only imagined. She even has a plan; it involves an anonymous hotel room, and a sex worker who calls himself Leo Grande.

Romance
Drama
1h 37m
Sophie Hyde
Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack, Isabella Laughland, Les Mabaleka
31
2022 in The Eternal Daughter (2022)
The Eternal Daughter
2022

An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past.

Drama
Mystery
1h 36m
Joanna Hogg
Tilda Swinton, Carly-Sophia Davies, Joseph Mydell, Crispin Buxton
30
2022 in Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)
Cha Cha Real Smooth
2022

Fresh out of college and stuck at his New Jersey home without a clear path forward, 22-year-old Andrew begins working as a party starter for bar/bat mitzvahs—where he strikes up a unique friendship with a young mom and her teenage daughter.

Comedy
Drama
1h 48m
Cooper Raiff
Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Vanessa Burghardt, Evan Assante
29
2022 in Empire of Light (2022)
Empire of Light
2022

The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England in the 1980s.

Drama
Romance
Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Toby Jones, Colin Firth
28
2022 in Resurrection (2022)
Resurrection
2022

A woman's carefully constructed life is upended when an unwelcome shadow from her past returns, forcing her to confront the monster she's evaded for two decades.

Drama
Horror
1h 44m
Andrew Semans
Rebecca Hall, Tim Roth, Grace Kaufman, Michael Esper
27
2022 in Hustle (2022)
Hustle
2022

After discovering a once-in-a-lifetime player with a rocky past abroad, a down on his luck basketball scout takes it upon himself to bring the phenom to the States without his team's approval. Against the odds, they have one final shot to prove they have what it takes to make it in the NBA.

Drama
Comedy
1h 57m
Jeremiah Zagar
Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, Juancho Hernangómez, Ben Foster
26
2022 in Living (2022)
Living
2022

London, 1953. Mr. Williams, a veteran civil servant, is an important cog within the city's bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of World War II. Buried under paperwork at the office and lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a devastating medical diagnosis forces him to take stock, and to try and grasp some fulfilment before it passes permanently beyond reach.

Drama
1h 42m
Oliver Hermanus
Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Tom Burke
25
2022 in Bones and All (2022)
Bones and All
2022

Abandoned by her father, a young woman embarks on a thousand-mile odyssey through the backroads of America where she meets a disenfranchised drifter. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.

Horror
Romance
2h 11m
Luca Guadagnino
Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Anna Cobb
24
2022 in After Yang (2022)
After Yang
2022

When his young daughter's beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.

Science Fiction
Drama
1h 36m
Kogonada
Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith
23
2022 in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
2022

Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. When a documentarian discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, his resulting short film brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.

Animation
Comedy
1h 30m
Dean Fleischer Camp
Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer Camp, Isabella Rossellini, Joe Gabler
22
2022 in She Said (2022)
She Said
2022

New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a generation — a story that helped launch the #MeToo movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood.

Drama
History
2h 9m
Maria Schrader
Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher
21
2022 in Babylon (2022)
Babylon
2022

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters in an era of unbridled decadence and depravity during Hollywood's transition from silent films to sound films in the late 1920s.

Drama
Comedy
3h 9m
Damien Chazelle
Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Jovan Adepo
20
2022 in The Woman King (2022)
The Woman King
2022

The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

Action
Drama
2h 15m
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim
19
2022 in Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Triangle of Sadness
2022

A celebrity model couple are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged, alcoholic captain. What first appears Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island in a struggle of hierarchy.

Comedy
Drama
2h 27m
Ruben Östlund
Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly de Leon, Woody Harrelson
18
2022 in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
2022

Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll: He has burned through eight of his nine lives, leaving him with only one life left. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.

Animation
Adventure
1h 43m
Joel Crawford
Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek Pinault, Harvey Guillén, Wagner Moura
17
2022 in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
2022

During the rise of fascism in Mussolini's Italy, a wooden boy brought magically to life struggles to live up to his father's expectations.

Animation
Fantasy
1h 57m
Mark Gustafson
Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Burn Gorman
16
2022 in RRR (2022)
RRR
2022

A fictional history of two legendary revolutionaries' journey away from home before they began fighting for their country in the 1920s.

Action
Adventure
3h 5m
S. S. Rajamouli
N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Olivia Morris, Ray Stevenson
15
2022 in Elvis (2022)
Elvis
2022

The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Drama
Music
2h 39m
Baz Luhrmann
Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson
14
2022 in Decision to Leave (2022)
Decision to Leave
2022

From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.

Thriller
Mystery
2h 19m
Park Chan-wook
Tang Wei, Park Hae-il, Lee Jung-hyun, Go Kyung-pyo
13
2022 in Aftersun (2022)
Aftersun
2022

Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories fill the gaps between camcorder footages as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the troubled man she didn't.

Drama
1h 41m
Charlotte Wells
Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Brooklyn Toulson, Celia Rowlson-Hall
12
2022 in The Whale (2022)
The Whale
2022

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Drama
1h 57m
Darren Aronofsky
Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau
11
2022 in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
2022

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

Action
Adventure
2h 42m
Ryan Coogler
10
2022 in The Fabelmans (2022)
The Fabelmans
2022

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Why it ranks

Steven Spielberg turns the camera on his own origin story to deliver a vulnerable, nuanced portrait of the artistic impulse and the domestic fractures that shaped him. This is a luminously shot memoir that avoids easy nostalgia, opting instead for a bittersweet interrogation of family and film.

9
2022 in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
2022

World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of friends.

Comedy
Crime
2h 20m
Rian Johnson
Why it ranks

Rian Johnson weaponizes the whodunit as a razor-sharp satire of the tech-bro elite and the vapidity of modern influence. The film functions as a brightly colored, intricately layered puzzle box that delights in dismantling the unearned confidence of its eccentric ensemble.

8
2022 in Turning Red (2022)
Turning Red
2022

Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.

Animation
Family
1h 40m
Domee Shi
Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Hyein Park
Why it ranks

This vibrant coming-of-age story breaks the Pixar mold with its bold anime-inspired visual flair and its refreshingly honest take on the messiness of puberty. It captures the specific, frantic energy of early-2000s girlhood with a heart that feels both intensely personal and universal.

7
2022 in Nope (2022)
Nope
2022

Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.

Horror
Science Fiction
2h 10m
Jordan Peele
Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott
Why it ranks

Jordan Peele’s most ambitious work yet shifts the gaze upward, subverting the UFO subgenre to comment on our culture’s obsessive hunger for spectacle. It is a terrifyingly confident exercise in Spielbergian scale and Hitchcockian suspense that rewards careful observation.

6
2022 in The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
The Banshees of Inisherin
2022

Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.

Drama
Comedy
1h 54m
Martin McDonagh
Why it ranks

Martin McDonagh finds a cruel, hilarious poetry in the dissolution of a lifelong friendship set against the isolation of the Irish coast. This bleakly comic fable balances sharp-tongued wit with a crushing sense of loneliness, anchored by career-best work from its central duo.

5
2022 in TÁR (2022)
TÁR
2022

As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.

Music
Drama
2h 38m
Todd Field
Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Sophie Kauer
Why it ranks

Cate Blanchett delivers a performance of icy, meticulous brilliance in this chilly examination of power dynamics and the fragility of high-culture status. Todd Field’s direction is as precise and demanding as a symphony conductor, resulting in a cerebral autopsy of a self-inflicted downfall.

4

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

Action
Adventure
Why it ranks

James Cameron returns to prove his unrivaled mastery of large-scale spectacle, utilizing groundbreaking high-frame-rate technology to create a breathtakingly immersive aquatic ecosystem. The sheer ambition of its world-building renders most other blockbusters pale and flat by comparison.

3

In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.

Why it ranks

Matt Reeves strips away the superhero polish to deliver a rain-soaked, tactile detective procedural that treats Gotham as a character rather than a backdrop. The film’s suffocating atmosphere and commitment to noir aesthetics provide a necessary, grimy pivot for the genre.

2
2022 in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Everything Everywhere All at Once
2022

An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.

Action
Adventure
2h 20m
Daniel Scheinert
Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong
Why it ranks

A maximalist explosion of creativity that manages to be both a chaotic multiverse romp and a profound meditation on generational trauma. The Daniels reinvented the visual grammar of modern cinema while anchoring their absurdity in a deeply resonant emotional core.

1

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

Action
Drama
2h 11m
Joseph Kosinski
Why it ranks

This legacy sequel shuns digital artifice in favor of tactile, high-altitude kineticism that reminds audiences why the theater experience remains essential. It is a masterclass in propulsive storytelling and technical precision that surpasses its predecessor in every measurable way.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts

The list features a diverse range of genres, with a strong presence of action, drama, and science fiction. Notable films like 'The Batman' and 'Avatar: The Way of Water' highlight action and adventure, while 'TÁR' and 'The Fabelmans' bring compelling drama to the forefront.

Yes, the list includes high-profile sequels such as 'Avatar: The Way of Water' and 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,' both of which continued their respective franchises with critical and commercial success. These films highlight the year’s embrace of blockbuster cinema alongside original stories.

Films like 'TÁR' by Todd Field and 'Decision to Leave' by Park Chan-wook demonstrate a strong auteur presence with distinctive storytelling and visual style. 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' also stands out for its inventive direction by Daniel Scheinert.

The 2022 movies captured a renewed enthusiasm for theatrical experiences, combining blockbuster spectacles with intimate dramas and innovative narratives. This reflects the industry's shift towards embracing maximalist energy and catering to diverse audience tastes after pandemic-related disruptions.

Yes, indie gems like 'Aftersun' by Charlotte Wells and 'The Banshees of Inisherin' by Martin McDonagh received widespread critical praise. These films offer nuanced storytelling and character depth, balancing the list’s blockbuster offerings with indie sensibilities.

Major themes include identity, transformation, and redemption, as seen in 'Turning Red' and 'The Whale.' Additionally, films like 'The Batman' explore darker, psychological themes, while others engage with music, history, and cultural narratives, such as 'Elvis.'

'Everything Everywhere All at Once' masterfully blends action, adventure, and science fiction with comedy and drama, creating a unique genre hybrid. Similarly, 'Nope' mixes horror and science fiction, showcasing the year's trend towards genre crossovers.
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