What Will Be The Highest Grossing Film Of 2022?

There may be more than four months remaining in the calendar year, but there is already a clear frontrunner on betting sites in the race for the highest grossing film of 2022.

Despite having its release date put back on several occasions - initially due to a complicated post-production process, before the Covid-19 pandemic also became a factor - Top Gun: Maverick has taken theatres by storm right across the globe. 

In advance of the box office figures being released at the end of this week, Joseph Kosinski’s action-adventure spectacle has grossed an astonishing $1,352,486,308.

Although its lead actor Tom Cruise has always possessed considerable box office cache, these numbers are nonetheless remarkable. 

Although its lead actor Tom Cruise has always possessed considerable box office cache, these numbers are nonetheless remarkable. 

When cinemas were initially shut at the beginning of the pandemic, there was genuine concern in the film industry as to whether audiences would return when societies started to open up again.

Streaming platforms have grown in popularity over the past few years, but the appeal of seeing blockbusters on the biggest screen possible evidently still remains.

With his previous film Mission: Impossible – Fallout in 2018, Cruise had the biggest hit of his long career. The sixth instalment of a long-running franchise, Fallout grossed $791.1m at the worldwide box office.

Top Gun: Maverick Leading The Way At Box Office

While this was an excellent piece of business, Top Gun: Maverick has usurped these takings by a significant distance. 

Even though Jurassic Park Dominion ($961,421,303) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($954,858,729) are close to reaching the $1 billion mark, the fact that Maverick is also still showing in the cinemas makes it unlikely that they will overtake them.

There was some scepticism over a Top Gun sequel being released 36 years on from the original, but audiences and critics alike have generally been in agreement as to the quality of Cruise’s latest star vehicle.

Specials betting sites are giving 4/5 on Top Gun: Maverick being the highest grossing film of the year, which seems like the most likely outcome at the moment.

Yet, there are a number of big releases between now and the end of the year that could well challenge Maverick’s credentials.

Return Of Avatar Series Imminent

Another sequel that is a long time coming, Avatar 2 (aka Avatar: The Way of Water) is slated for a December 16 release. 

Even though this leaves it with a very short window in its bid to surpass Tom Gun: Maverick this year, it can’t immediately be discounted either.

The original Avatar became the highest grossing film of all-time upon its release in 2009 and while Avengers: Endgame eventually took its place a decade later, last year’s re-release of James Cameron’s science fiction epic in Chinese theatres saw it returning to top spot. 

Cameron previously led box office sales for his Oscar-laden Titanic in the 1990s and 20th Century Studios are banking on the Canadian filmmaker producing the goods again.

The fact that it is being released during the holiday season - when cinema goers are known to flock to their local multiplexes in their droves - could well work in its favour. 

With all that in mind, Paddy Power are giving odds of 6/4 on it being the highest earner of the year.

High Anticipation For Black Panther Sequel

Getting a few weeks head start on Avatar 2 will be another sequel - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. 

When Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther was released in the spring of 2018, it was hailed as a film of great cultural significance.

The first Marvel Studios film with a black director and a predominantly black cast, it grossed $1.35bn at the box office and also broke new ground by being the first superhero film to earn a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards.

Interest in this sequel will be massive, though the sad passing of Chadwick Boseman (who portrayed the titular Black Panther in the original) means this sequel has been taken in a different direction to what was originally envisaged.

Having been a supporting part in the original, Letitia Wright’s Shuri is set for an expanded role in this sequel. 

There seems little sign of audience fatigue with the Marvel Cinematic Universe just yet, but it is still an outside bet for highest grossing film at 8/1 with Betfair.

Although its predecessor performed modestly with a box office tally of $366m (off a budget that was reported to be between $80 and 100 million), Shazam! Fury of the Gods is expected to do good business upon its release.

However, the fact that it won’t hit cinemas until December 21 means it will have precious little time to challenge 2022’s biggest earners. 

This is reflected in the odds of 25/1 being offered by betting apps.