Ranked roundup
The best films of 2022
25 ranked · updated July 2026
The cinematic landscape of 2022 was defined by stories of profound redemption, the weight of legacy, and the resilience of the human spirit. These selections highlight how directors masterfully blended high-stakes spectacle with intimate character studies to reflect our complex, often chaotic, modern world.
How this ranking works
Ranked by a Bayesian-weighted score combining each title's average rating and rating count (minimum 200 ratings to qualify, weighted toward titles with more votes), filtered to films released in 2022.
Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick earns its top spot by perfectly balancing visceral aerial action with a poignant, character-driven exploration of mentorship and long-awaited personal redemption.
Explores: Mentorship, Legacy, Redemption.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
This film masterfully uses a classic quest structure to deliver a surprisingly deep meditation on mortality and the courage required to embrace a second chance.
Explores: Mortality, Second Chances, Bravery.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Guillermo del Toro elevates stop-motion animation to a high art form, grounding a familiar fairy tale in the stark, somber realities of historical fascism and grief.
Explores: Fascism, Father-son relationships, Mortality.
Purple Hearts
Everything Everywhere All at Once captures the chaotic essence of the immigrant experience, using an absurdist multiverse framework to examine intergenerational trauma and existential meaning.
Explores: Marriage of convenience, Redemption, Opposites attract.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
Tetsuro Kodama
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero revitalizes its iconic franchise by focusing on themes of legacy and technological conflict through vibrant, high-energy martial arts animation sequences.
Explores: Good vs Evil, Legacy, Technological Superiority.
The Whale
Darren Aronofsky
The Whale is a harrowing, claustrophobic character study that finds profound humanity in its exploration of estrangement, physical suffering, and the desperate search for redemption.
Explores: Redemption, Estrangement, Obesity.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Daniel Scheinert
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Existentialism, Intergenerational trauma, Immigrant experience.
Suzume
Makoto Shinkai
Suzume stands out for its beautiful marriage of magical realism and disaster cinema, offering a sensitive look at how individuals navigate personal loss and fate.
Explores: Grief and Loss, Environmentalism, Fate vs. Free Will.
A Man Called Otto
Marc Forster
A Man Called Otto succeeds as a heartwarming dramedy that effectively uses intergenerational friendship to explore the healing power of community for a grieving widower.
Explores: Grief and Loss, Intergenerational Friendship, Finding Purpose.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
This animated fable distills complex emotions into a simple, visually striking journey that emphasizes the transformative power of kindness and unconditional friendship in life.
Explores: Friendship, Kindness, Self-discovery.
20th Century Girl
20th Century Girl captures the bittersweet essence of adolescence and nostalgia, grounding its teen romance in the authentic, messy experiences of first love and friendship.
Explores: First love, Friendship, Nostalgia.
The Batman
Matt Reeves
Thirteen Lives provides a gripping, grounded account of international cooperation, emphasizing the resourcefulness and bravery required to survive against overwhelming natural forces in a crisis.
Explores: Corruption, Vigilantism, Moral Decay.
Prey
Dan Trachtenberg
Prey is a masterclass in survival action, showcasing the ingenuity of an underdog protagonist against a technologically superior threat in a high-stakes cultural clash.
Explores: Underdog, Cultural clash, Survival.
Thirteen Lives
Ron Howard
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: International Cooperation, Man vs. Nature, Resourcefulness.
Hustle
Jeremiah Zagar
Hustle delivers a compelling underdog story that captures the grit of professional basketball while highlighting the emotional stakes of mentorship and finding a second chance.
Explores: Underdog Story, Second Chance, Mentorship.
Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Environmentalism, Colonialism, Family Loyalty.
Luck
Peggy Holmes
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Good Luck vs. Bad Luck, Environmental Balance, Self-Acceptance.
RRR
S. S. Rajamouli
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Brotherhood, Anti-Colonialism, Nationalism.
The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Coming of Age, Academic Struggle, First Love.
Emancipation
Antoine Fuqua
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: The Underground Railroad, Perseverance, Brutality of Slavery.
The Woman King
Gina Prince-Bythewood
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Female Empowerment, Sisterhood, Resistance Against Colonialism.
The Black Phone
Scott Derrickson
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Child Abduction, Psychic Abilities, Resilience.
Aftersun
Charlotte Wells
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Father-Daughter Relationship, Nostalgia, Memory.
The Fabelmans
Steven Spielberg
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: family secrets, the power of cinema, artistic ambition.
Redeeming Love
D.J. Caruso
A standout among the best films of 2022.
Explores: Prostitution, Redemption, Unconditional Love.
Common questions
What are the best animated films from 2022?
The top-rated animated films of 2022 include the visually stunning Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, the anime features Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and Suzume, and the heartfelt short The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.
Which 2022 movies deal with themes of redemption?
Many of the year's best films explored redemption, most notably Top Gun: Maverick, where a veteran pilot finds new purpose, The Whale, which follows a man seeking reconciliation, and the sports drama Hustle, focusing on a scout's attempt to change a young athlete's life.
Are there any good 2022 films about the immigrant experience?
Everything Everywhere All at Once is widely considered a definitive 2022 film regarding the immigrant experience, using an absurdist multiverse narrative to explore the complexities of intergenerational trauma and the pressures of balancing family life with the search for personal meaning.