Last year, James Cameron once again reigned supreme, at least in terms of box office revenue. Although Avatar: Way of the Water didn’t quite match the success of its predecessor, it nevertheless managed to earn enough money to become the fourth-highest-earning movie of all time and the top movie of 2022. Tom Cruise’s return as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell won the domestic box office with $718 million in domestic ticket sales, but it placed second globally.
The top nine movies on this list were all sequels or reboots, with the exception of the Chinese sci-fi comedy Moon Man. Those weren’t the only sequels to draw viewers to the theatre, as reported by Paste Magazine.
10. Moon Man
Box office: $627 million
Director: Zhang Chiyu
Stars: Shen Teng, Ma Li
9. Water Gate Bridge (The Battle at Lake Changin II)
Box office: $627 million
Director: Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Dante Lam
Stars: Wu Jing, Jackson Yee, Duan Yihong, Zhang Hanyu
8. Thor: Love and Thunder
Box office: $761 million
Director: Taika Waititi
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman
Rating: PG-13
7. The Batman
Box office: $771 million
Director: Matt Reeves
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Jayme Lawson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell
Rating: PG-13
6. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Box office: $843 million
Director: Ryan Coogler
Stars: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett
Rating: PG-13
5. Minions: The Rise of Gru
Box office: $940 million
Director: Kyle Balda
Stars: Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, RZA, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Alan Arkin
Rating: PG
4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Box office: $956 million
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams
Genre: Action, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
3. Jurassic World: Dominion
Box office: $1 billion
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Isabella Sermon, Justice Smith
Rating: PG-13
2. Top Gun: Maverick
Box office: $1.49 billion
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jenifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Monica Barbaro, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Greg “Tarzan” Davis
Rating: PG-13
1. Avatar: The Way of Water
Box office: $2.21 billion
Director: James Cameron
Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jack Champion, Jemaine Clement, Joel David Moore, Brendan Cowell, CCH Pounder
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Source: Paste Magazine
