CURATED LISTOct 16, 2026

15 Best Movies of 2022: From Indie Darlings to Blockbusters

2022 marked a massive resurgence for cinema, delivering a rare balance of boundary-pushing indie darlings, razor-sharp satires, and theatrical blockbusters that actually lived up to the hype. This curated collection brings together the 15 best movies of 2022, offering a definitive answer to what you should watch from one of the decade's strongest years in film. At the centre of the cultural conversation were the Academy Award-winning multiverse drama Everything Everywhere All at Once, Todd Field’s psychological character study Tár, Martin McDonagh’s darkly comic The Banshees of Inisherin, and the high-altitude spectacle of Top Gun: Maverick.

Beyond the major awards contenders, this handpicked watchlist spans every mood and genre so you can spend less time scrolling and more time watching. If you want biting social and culinary satire, look to Triangle of Sadness, The Menu, and Noah Baumbach’s White Noise. Action and thriller fans are covered with the neo-noir atmosphere of The Batman, Park Chan-wook’s romantic mystery Decision to Leave, the historical epic The Woman King, the sci-fi survival prequel Prey, and the tense indie crime drama Emily the Criminal. Rounding out the selection are three distinct triumphs in craft and heart: the British quirky comedy Brian and Charles, Pixar’s coming-of-age tale Turning Red, and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, a stop-motion masterpiece.

by Beck·15 titles

  1. TÁR (2022) poster

    TÁR

    Movie · 2022 · Music, Drama · 2h 38m

    86FP

    As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.

  2. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) poster

    The Banshees of Inisherin

    Movie · 2022 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 54m

    86FP

    Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.

  3. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) poster

    Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Movie · 2022 · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction · 2h 20m

    84FP

    An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.

  4. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) poster

    Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

    Movie · 2022 · Animation, Fantasy, Adventure · 1h 57m

    84FP

    During the rise of fascism in Mussolini's Italy, a wooden boy brought magically to life struggles to live up to his father's expectations.

  5. Top Gun: Maverick (2022) poster

    Top Gun: Maverick

    Movie · 2022 · Action, Drama · 2h 11m

    85FP

    After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

  6. Decision to Leave (2022) poster

    Decision to Leave

    Movie · 2022 · Thriller, Mystery, Romance · 2h 19m

    84FP

    From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.

  7. Triangle of Sadness (2022) poster

    Triangle of Sadness

    Movie · 2022 · Comedy, Drama · 2h 27m

    69FP

    A celebrity model couple are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged, alcoholic captain. What first appears Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island in a struggle of hierarchy.

  8. Brian and Charles (2022) poster

    Brian and Charles

    Movie · 2022 · Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction · 1h 31m

    73FP

    An endearing outlier, Brian lives alone in a Welsh valley, inventing oddball contraptions that seldom work. After finding a discarded mannequin head, Brian gets an idea. Three days, a washing machine, and sundry spare parts later, he’s invented Charles, an artificially intelligent robot who learns English from a dictionary and proves a charming, cheeky companion. Before long, however, Charles also develops autonomy. Intrigued by the wider world — or whatever lies beyond the cottage where Brian has hidden him away — Charles craves adventure.

  9. White Noise (2022) poster

    White Noise

    Movie · 2022 · Comedy, Drama · 2h 16m

    62FP

    Jack Gladney, professor of Hitler studies at The-College-on-the-Hill, husband to Babette, and father to four children/stepchildren, is torn asunder by a chemical spill from a rail car that releases an "Airborne Toxic Event" forcing Jack to confront his biggest fear - his own mortality.

  10. The Menu (2022) poster

    The Menu

    Movie · 2022 · Comedy, Horror · 1h 47m

    77FP

    A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

  11. Turning Red (2022) poster

    Turning Red

    Movie · 2022 · Animation, Family, Comedy · 1h 40m

    76FP

    Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.

  12. The Batman (2022) poster

    The Batman

    Movie · 2022 · Crime, Mystery, Thriller · 2h 57m

    78FP

    In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.

  13. The Woman King (2022) poster

    The Woman King

    Movie · 2022 · Action, Drama, History · 2h 15m

    80FP

    The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

  14. Prey (2022) poster

    Prey

    Movie · 2022 · Thriller, Action, Science Fiction · 1h 40m

    79FP

    When danger threatens her camp, the fierce and highly skilled Comanche warrior Naru sets out to protect her people. But the prey she stalks turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal.

  15. Emily the Criminal (2022) poster

    Emily the Criminal

    Movie · 2022 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 1h 37m

    78FP

    Desperate for income, Emily takes a shady gig buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a charismatic middleman named Youcef. Seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills, they hatch a plan to take their business to the next level.