With 2022 officially over, Top Gun: Maverick has ended the year as the #1 movie at the worldwide box office. The sequel to the original Top Gun, Maverick sees Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) returning to Naval fighter jets as he sets off on a secret mission to take out an unsanctioned uranium plant. Since its release in May, the film has been a smashing success, earning glowing reviews and leading an impressive box office run.
According to Box Office Mojo, Top Gun: Maverick ended the year with a worldwide box office total of $1.48 billion, narrowly beating out Avatar: The Way of Water's $1.39 billion take and Jurassic World Dominion, which dominated the box office after bad reviews and earned just over $1 billion. Filling out the other two slots in the top five are Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Minions: The Rise of Gru. Both films earned massive hauls during the year, but fell short of the $1 billion mark.
What Will Avatar's Final Box Office Totals Look Like?
Avatar: The Way of Water suffered from a late 2022 release on December 16 that left little room for it to claim the top spot by the end the year. It should be noted that Avatar: The Way of Water never stalled in its growth and even beat a Top Gun: Maverick milestone by becoming the highest-grossing 2022 film in the international box office by earning $956.9 million as opposed to Top Gun: Maverick's $770 million total. Considering that Avatar: The Way of Water's domestic sales were hampered by a severe winter storm, its $440.5 million U.S. take is only expected to grow after the holiday weekend. Within its three-week run, it is already more than halfway to $2 billion worldwide. It should be able to clear the mark with ease and compete with Avengers: Endgame's $2.79 billion worldwide total.
What Movie Might Claim The Top Of The Box Office in 2023?
Looking ahead, there are several upcoming blockbuster superhero movies on the way with Marvel Studios, Sony, and the DC Universe competing for the 2023 crown. The Marvel releases in 2023 include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Since Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be introducing Kang and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the final outing of the titular team, either could break box office records.
Meanwhile, Sony is preparing to release Kraven the Hunter and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. While the former isn't likely to break records after the failure of Morbius, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may be able to. DC, meanwhile, is releasing Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Blue Beetle, The Flash, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Of those, the Aquaman sequel might stand the best chance at reaching #1 due to the first movie's incredible performance. Competing non-superhero projects include Cruise's next movie, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Fast X, and Dune: Part Two. If Top Gun: Maverick's success is any indication, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning could take the top spot at the 2023 box office, thanks to Cruise's star power.
Source: Box Office Mojo