Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Sony/Universal
Given the impressive box-office receipts earned by Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water, one might infer that—nearly three years after the arrival of COVID-19—the movies are back!
Diagnosing the state of the industry, however, isn’t quite so easy, since studios continue to skimp on mainstream theatrical releases (down 33 percent from pre-pandemic times), thereby tilting the balance of pop-culture power toward streaming. How films are distributed and seen remains in constant flux, confounding cinephiles and casual moviegoers alike. The result: a 2022 slate whose finest offerings have, in many cases, flown under the radar.
Nonetheless, if attracting the public’s attention has frequently been a difficult task for tentpoles as well as indies, imports, and documentaries, the year has produced a bounty of stellar offerings, proving that when it comes to artistic daring, invention and expressiveness, the medium remains in excellent health.