It’s A Stampede!: The movies of 2022

Ho, ho, ho-ly heck, it is almost the end of the year! The days that remain ahead for 2022 are few, but fear not, a whole new year is about to get started, ushering in some good fortune, plenty of happiness, and lots and lots of new movies.

In fact, 2023 has a whole host of new films on the horizon, including some eagerly anticipated blockbusters, which are likely to make mega-bucks at the box-office. Some of these I will discuss shortly, with a little highlight of what’s to come, and next year, I’ll also be reviewing them.

But before I get to all that, it is first time to say goodbye to this year. And before I can say goodbye, it is of course customary to take a look back at the past 12 months, to see what 2022 was all about.

This past year offered up plenty of movies, which in turn made oodles of cash at the box-office, so I need to give credit where credit is due. I also need to look at the less-successful films that were released this year, talk about all the streaming titles that we available at the touch of a button, and I need to provide a rundown of my Top Ten movies of 2022.

Why ten? I don’t know – it always seems to be ten, doesn’t it? Anyway, let’s not get bogged down with semantics, there are movies to discuss.

And before I discuss any of the films of 2022, I need to set the scene. As we are all aware, 2020 and 2021 were years that were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and for some territories around the world, this was a similar case for 2022.

So, this year is one which will mean different things to different audiences. In some parts of the world, there was a desire to head back to the cinema, while in other parts of the world, it has taken a while for cinemas to get bums back on seats, and streaming has remained the default way to view the latest movie releases.

And because movie studios are aware that audiences like the convenience of streaming, there has been a continued push for each studio to create, expand, and develop what they have online. Lots of money has been ploughed into streaming services (Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+, etc), in order to attract more subscribers.

However, while streaming is convenient for audiences, it isn’t necessarily all that profitable for movie studios. Some of these streaming giants are spending wads of cash on big budget movies (and television series) and are not reaping the same kind of rewards they have done in the past through cinema exhibition and/or Blu-ray and DVD sales.

So, what we’ve seen this year is a bit of a pivot. Whereas 2020 and 2021 saw a large number of premium, A-grade films released onto streaming services, or directly onto video-on-demand platforms, this year the majority of these big pictures have been held back and made available exclusively for the cinema.

Studios may want us all to subscribe to their streaming platforms, but they are also very keen for us to spend cash in movie theatres too. As such, this year a great deal of the expensive stuff has played in cinemas first.

If a studio has a high-profile movie on its hands and it believes the picture has legs, it will get a cinema release. But if the studio is not so confident, or they know the movie is a complete turkey, it will go direct to streaming.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, and there have been plenty of turkeys on screen too. I’ll discuss these things in due course when I take a look at some of the mistakes made by studios, and when I look at the worst films of the year.

The result of all this, is there has become a bit of a clear distinction between what’s hot and what’s not. Similar to how it used to be with cinema vs. direct-to-video titles (aka high-end vs. low-rent), this year we’ve seen a similar picture begin to form with regards to cinema vs. streaming.

Now, this is not me saying that all streaming services are pumping out rubbish, because this is clearly not the case. Just look at how much effort Shudder has been putting into developing its horror-streaming service, as an example of a studio offering a good balance of quality.

But what I am saying is that a great deal of films that have landed on streaming this year have not been up to scratch. With titles becoming snapped up by more and more streamers, and lots of the tentpole films trying to make a profit (or at least recoup their budget) on the big screen, it means some of the crappier pictures are all that’s left.

Yet despite all this, there is still plenty of good stuff out there, you just need to know where to look, and… *shameless plug alert* …this is where a blog like It’s A Stampede! comes in handy. I review all the good movies, all the bad movies, and everything in between, to provide a guide to what you should watch, and what you might like to avoid.

Yes, I know that everyone reviews stuff these days, and has an opinion about everything, but if you really want to keep up to date with what’s good and what’s bad in terms of movies, then movie reviews are essential. A few minutes casting your eyes over a review can save you an hour of flicking through streaming services, or a costly trip to the cinema.

And the job of a movie critic these days isn’t just to tell film fans what’s a hit and what’s a miss, it is also to make movie-goers aware of what’s available. With everyone’s attention now split in various different ways (TV, the internet, social media, etc), more often than not a film critic is there to highlight films that might simply pass you by, if you’re busy looking elsewhere.  

Now, I mentioned this last year, and I’ll mention it again this year (as I hear it a lot), too many people say to me: “there are hardly any new movies this year”, and I have to jump in and say to them, this is not true. It wasn’t true last year, it wasn’t true the year before, and it certainly isn’t true this year.

There are plenty of new movies out there, and I can prove it. Last year I reviewed 150 new movies (which is about three new movies a week), while this year I reviewed 200 new movies (about four a week).  

Next year, I plan to increase the review count again. I will increase it simply because there are lots more movies out there to talk about, and I am keen to cover as many as I can.

So, if you are firmly of the opinion there are hardly any new movies these days, then you are missing out on what is available. But hopefully, the following discussion on the films of 2022 will fill in all the relevant details.

Speaking of which, shall I start the conversation? OK, then.

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January to March

One of the first big films to kick-start 2022 was the psychological drama, The Lost Daughter. The movie – based on a book by Elena Ferrante – starred Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Jessie Buckley, and followed the story of a middle-aged British college professor, who travels to Greece for a vacation, only to find herself becoming lost in dark thoughts about her past.

The film was released onto Netflix, and received a fair bit of award-season buzz, but for me it didn’t quite cut the mustard. I was sold on the acting talent, but not so much on the film itself.

And the same could be said for another big film to land on streaming at the beginning of 2022: The Tender Bar. The movie – directed by George Clooney – starred Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, and Christopher Lloyd, detailed the life of author J. R. Moehringer, and was fine in places but the story lacked the required amount of oomph to make it top notch stuff.

Despite a few initial stumbles at the beginning of the year, things soon got off the ground with a succession of great pictures, including the horror movie Scream; as well as the likeable British family drama, Save the Cinema. And then came three truly superb movies in the shape of: Boiling Point, Mass, and Belfast.

I’ll start with Boiling Point first, and for those not familiar with this movie, Boiling Point is a British drama-thriller starring Stephen Graham. The movie follows a top restaurant chef as he conducts a service on the busiest night of the year, and it is both gripping and suspenseful.

The key selling point about this movie is that the whole picture is filmed in one continuous shot. There are no quick cuts here and there, it is just the actors doing what they do best, in a picture which is filled with tension.

If you’ve not watched (or even heard of) Boiling Point, then I highly recommend you give it a go. Director Philip Barantini pulls off something truly special, and the whole thing boasts excellent performances from the cast.

The next film is Mass, which is an American picture from writer/director Fran Kranz. The movie stars Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd, and Reed Birney, and tells the story of two sets of parents coming to terms with the deaths of their children, who were involved in a high school shooting.

As I’m sure I don’t need to say, Mass is a very topical film, which taps into an ongoing narrative about gun control. However, those who are not interested in getting into debates about rules, regulations, and laws, are still encouraged to watch the movie, due to its focus on the victims of this particular crime.

In the movie, one set of parents are grieving the loss of their son, after he became a victim in the shooting, while the other set of parents are coming to terms with the fact it was their son who pulled the trigger. Both sets of parents have plenty to say, leading to an emotional encounter, which is very, very moving.

Onto the third film now, and this is Belfast, a British coming-of-age drama, from writer/director Kenneth Branagh. The movie stars Jude Hill, Jamie Dornan, and Caitríona Balfe, and focuses on the Troubles in Northern Ireland during a time of civil unrest.

The movie – which plays out in black-and-white – is set during 1969, and follows the story of a young boy who is trying to make sense of the world around him. There’s violence on the street, and problems around every corner, and he’s living through it all as best as he can.

Touching, at times harrowing, but also filled with little moments of joy, Belfast is a truly wonderful film, which stands head and shoulders above the pictures that were released this year. The film played in cinemas at the start of 2022, but is now readily available on home video and video-on-demand platforms, and I really can’t recommend it enough.

Moving onto other movies that were out during the beginning of the year, and the first quarter of 2022 (aka January to March) saw the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley; Michael Showalter’s The Eyes of Tammy Faye; and Roland Emmerich’s completely bonkers sci-fi disaster movie, Moonfall. The much-delayed Death on the Nile finally got a cinema release during this period; Tom Holland did a spot of globe-hopping in the adventure movie, Uncharted; and Peter Dinklage belted out a few tunes in the romantic musical, Cyrano.

Meanwhile, Channing Tatum delighted in the canine-centric drama, Dog; Disney-Pixar served up the highly-enjoyable, Turning Red; and Ryan Reynolds and Walker Scobell starred in the time-travel picture, The Adam Project. And then there was the release of The Duke – a wonderful British comedy-drama, about an idealist do-gooder, who steals a painting in order to ransom it off.

Arguably the biggest movie at this point in the year was the highly-anticipated comic book film, The Batman. The movie – which opened in early March – acted as yet another Bat-reboot, with Robert Pattinson stepping into the famous cape and cowl.

As with more recent Batman films, The Batman was dark and gritty, but this time around it leaned more into the detective side of the character. It also stripped the Caped Crusader back to basics, with no Superman, no Wonder Woman, and not even a Robin in sight.

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April to June

Sliding into the second quarter of 2022 (April to June), and this is where the year started to reach summer blockbuster territory. Big cinema releases during this time included Michael Bay’s Ambulance; the game-inspired sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2; and the fun Channing Tatum/Sandra Bullock adventure-comedy, The Lost City.

Meanwhile, The Northman divided audiences during its release in select cinemas, as did the Nicolas Cage comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (although, I quite enjoyed it), and there was more comic book action from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Disney-Pixar released its second movie this year, via the Toy Story-spin-off, Lightyear, and there was more multiverse shenanigans in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Over on streaming, Disney+ offered up the musical teen drama, Sneakerella; Netflix served up Choose or Die; and Amazon delivered the Chris Pine-starring All the Old Knives. There was also plenty of pranks via Jackass Forever; some mystery and intrigue via the Chris Hemsworth thriller, Spiderhead; and some comedy and cartoon cameos from Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

And then there was one of the worst movies to be released in 2022, which was the animated feature film, Marmaduke. If you missed this one, count your blessings, because this dire cartoon, based on the comic-strip character of the same name, arrived on Netflix back in May, where it promptly faded out of sight.

The three biggest movies to make their debut during the second quarter of 2022 were the action-adventure picture, Top Gun: Maverick; the musical bio-pic, Elvis; and the dino-sequel, Jurassic World: Dominion. All three films were financial hits this year, and at least two of them received plenty of praise.

Top Gun: Maverick in particular not only blew-up the box-office when it hit cinemas, it also remained a hugely successful picture throughout the year. The film stuck around in cinemas for months (it’s still playing now), and convinced every person and their dog to head to the multiplex to check it out.

The Tom Cruise-starring film, a belated sequel to 1986’s Top Gun, had been waiting for a release for quite some time, following various delays related to the pandemic. However, Cruise was adamant this film would not go direct-to-streaming, and would most certainly play on the big screen.

This was exactly the right call on his part, as the film clocked up over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box-office. By sticking to his (Top)guns, Cruise proved that playing the waiting game could be a good thing, especially if you have a stellar picture on your hands.

As for Elvis, this was an immensely enjoyable picture, which told the life and times of Elvis Presley. The movie starred Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, and was filled with songs, drama, and all the glitz and glamour one might expect from an Elvis bio-pic.

I liked it very much. Butler was outstanding in the title role, and it has certainly landed a place amongst my favourite movies of the year.

On the flipside, Jurassic World: Dominion has landed a place on my list of worst movies of the year. Despite the huge success it achieved at the box-office (over $1 billion worldwide), it was a complete stinker, with a truly awful script and some dialled in performances from Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

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July to September

Moving into quarter three now (July to September), and as the summer blockbuster season continued, it became increasingly clear that blockbusters were a bit thin on the ground. Sure, Thor: Love and Thunder, DC League of Super-Pets, Nope, and Bullet Train were cropping up at the local multiplex, but the back-half of the summer season was all a bit underwhelming.

This shortage in big blockbusters was due to leftover issues related to the pandemic. A couple of big movies were shifted around and/or pushed back, and production delays due to COVID and COVID restrictions, also meant there were fewer top tier releases.

However, movies still kept coming out thick and fast, with streaming filling in the gaps. Disney+ offered up the action movie, The Princess; Amazon presented the tear-inducing drama, Don’t Make Me Go; Netflix delivered The Gray Man; and over on video-on-demand, Green Lantern: Beware My Power made its debut.

Other films included Rogue Agent, Thirteen Lives, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. Meanwhile, Jamie Foxx appeared in the vampire action movie, Day Shift; Sylvester Stallone fronted super hero flick, Samaritan; and Hugh Bonneville went all menacing for the thriller, I Came By.

Back on at the cinema, Where the Crawdads Sing proved to be a hit; the Olivia Colman-starring Joyride was utterly delightful; and Fall offered some tense, but completely preposterous nonsense. Oh, and then there was Beast – a movie in which Idris Elba fought a lion!

Easing out of the summer and heading into the autumn/fall season, George Clooney and Julia Roberts teamed up for the rom-com, Ticket to Paradise; Mrs. Harris went to Paris in the appropriately titled Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris; and Ana de Armas did what she could with the somewhat confusing (and very long) Marilyn Monroe picture, Blonde.

And then, just before we all entered the spooky season, Hocus Pocus 2 made its debut. The film – a belated sequel to 1993’s Hocus Pocus – landed on Disney+ on September 30^th, and saw Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reunite as the Sanderson Sisters.

Now remember what I said about studios picking and choosing their movies, and putting the more popular, crowd-pleasing titles on the big screen? Well, this is one of those cases where Disney opted for streaming instead, and sort of got it wrong.

The Mouse House got it wrong because while Hocus Pocus 2 was a huge streaming hit, which broke records for Disney+, it proved there was a massive appetite for this movie. This is a (sort of) bad thing, because Disney could have sold a lot of movie tickets to this film, had the studio opted to give it a theatrical release. 

Disney could have allowed this movie to play in cinemas for a limited run, which would have given it a significant revenue stream for a couple of weeks, before it moved effortlessly onto streaming ahead of Halloween. However, the studio opted not to do this and this seemed a rather baffling decision.

In fairness to Disney, the original Hocus Pocus bombed at the box-office back in ’93, so there is a fairly valid reason why this film went straight to streaming. But however you cut it, it was still a bit of a mistake not to send it to cinemas first.

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October to December

Moving into the final three months of 2022, and there was a lot (and I mean A LOT) of horror vying for attention. From October 1^st onward the spooky season was in full swing, with films such as My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!, Deadstream, and Smile popping up amongst others.

Other (non-horror) films appearing during this time included the home video release of the excellent British comedy-drama, Brian and Charles; the big screen arrival of Don’t Worry Darling; and the video-on-demand debut of Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons. For children there was Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; for comic book fans there was Black Adam; and for super-sleuths there was the comedy whodunnit, See How They Run.

Pushing past Halloween and into November, and Enola Holmes 2 hit Netlix; My Policeman arrived on Amazon; and The Woman King took to the big screen. Marvel then released Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and movies such as The Menu, Bones and All, and Strange World followed.

That last movie, Strange World, arrived with little fanfare and flopped at the box-office. Audiences simply didn’t show up, and in all fairness, they didn’t miss a great deal.

Although Strange World is the 61^st entry in Disney’s Animated Classics collection, and therefore has a certain prestige, it is a bit underwhelming. The lack of decent promotion certainly didn’t help the film, but it didn’t feel quite up to scratch either.

Releasing this film without the adequate marketing material to raise its profile was another mistake on Disney’s part. However, Disney wasn’t the only studio making mistakes – Netflix also shot themselves in the foot over the release of Glass Onion: A Knives of Mystery.

The Rian Johnson-directed sequel to 2019’s Knives Out arrived in cinemas in mid-November, where it played for one week, and one week only. As with all Netflix releases, Glass Onion was given a one-week theatrical engagement, ahead of its streaming debut in December, but this clearly wasn’t the right decision.

With limited screen availability, and not enough time for many people to go and see it, the film came and went before many audiences even knew it was out. Sure, they don’t have to wait long before it arrives on Netflix (you can stream it from December 23^rd), but similar to Hocus Pocus 2, this film could have made good money at the box-office.

Yes, it’s easy to say this in hindsight, but considering the high-profile nature of both properties, PLUS the anticipation from fans, AND the quality of the material, it just seems baffling that neither film was given an opportunity to shine on the big screen. I suppose the only consolation for Netflix is that Glass Onion did run long enough to make just over $13 million.

With only a few short weeks remaining in the year, 2022 served up children’s fantasy film, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical; and then switched gears to festive content for the Christmas-themed action-comedy, Violent Night. Meanwhile, streaming offered up the monster movie, Troll; as well as Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – one of two Pinocchio movies to be released during the year.

And then, with cinemas cleared of the heavy hitters, Avatar: The Way of Water made its debut. James Cameron’s highly-anticipated epic fantasy film – a sequel to 2009’s Avatar – floated its way into movie theatres on December 16th to become the big pre-Christmas movie.

That’s quite a lot of films, isn’t it? And yet, I’m still not done.

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World Cinema and Horror

In addition to all the above, throughout this year a great deal of world cinema titles were made available, largely through streaming platforms or video-on-demand services. Netflix, Shudder, Peccadillo Pictures, and one or two other streamers offered up a range of pictures, including the Norwegian sci-fi action-comedy, Blasted; the highly enjoyable Uruguayan zombie-horror, Virus 32; and the superb Spanish coming-of-age story, Live is Life.

Other films included the Argentinian comedy-drama All Hail; the Australian psychological slasher, Sissy; the French crime-thriller, Restless; and the Italian romantic horror, Don’t Kill Me. Some of my personal favourites included the Italian LGBTQ+ comedy-drama, The Invisible Thread; the Danish rom-com, Toscana; and the bloody brilliant Dutch/Danish/English-language horror movie, Speak No Evil.

And speaking of horror movies, 2022 was HUGE for horror. From Fresh and The Wasteland, to X and Bodies Bodies Bodies, horror was everywhere.

October/Halloween was arguably the biggest time for horror, with a succession of new titles cropping up one after the other, but the rest of the year was filled with scary movies and frightening films too. In February, Netflix revived Leatherface for Texas Chainsaw Massacre; in March rock band the Foo Fighters took to the big screen in Studio 666; and in June, Rory Kinnear took on multiple roles for the baffling British folk horror, Men.

Other horror movies throughout the year included WarHunt, The Invitation, Goodnight Mommy, Barbarian, and Terrifier 2. Hellraiser received the reboot treatment which was pretty damn good; and the BBC’s notorious paranormal drama, Ghostwatch, marked its 30^th anniversary with a HD home video re-release.

Due to the sheer success of the horror genre this year (as well as previous years), I expect we’ll see lots more next year. As a fan of this particular genre myself, I can’t wait!

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LGBTQ+ and Docu-Films

Outside of horror and the aforementioned world cinema releases, 2022 also served up plenty of LGBTQ+ movies, including Better Nate Than Ever, My Fake Boyfriend, Minyan, and Anaïs in Love. The genre also offered up the streaming title, Fire Island, and the big screen rom-com, Bros.

Bros really struggled at the box-office this year, despite being a fairly funny picture. Personally, I believe this wasn’t to do with the film, or its subject matter, but largely to do with the movie’s release date, which wasn’t great.

Bros hit US cinemas on September 30^th, just as everyone’s attention was turning to horror movies for the Halloween season; while in the UK, we got the movie midway through October. I can’t quite fathom why this film wasn’t given a summer release, or why it didn’t debut during Pride month, but I guess these decisions are way above my paygrade.

Speaking of which, is someone meant to be paying me? If they are, I accept all forms of money, as well as cake, crisps, and pizza.

Another genre of film which I covered this year on It’s A Stampede! was the docu-film. A number of documentaries were released in 2022, and I reviewed around a dozen of them, including Who Killed the KLF?, Our Father, Pennywise: The Story of IT, and GoldenEra.

Three of my favourite docu-films this year were George Michael – Freedom: Uncut; The Beanie Bubble; and Val (which was released in 2021 in the US, but 2022 in the UK). All three docu-films were marvellous – especially Val, which followed the life and career of actor Val Kilmer.

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The Worst and Best Movies of 2022

OK, so I’ve talked about different movies and different genres, highlighting some great and some not-so-great films of the year, but I’ve yet to discuss the best films of 2022, as well as the worst films. Shall I do the worst ones first? OK then.

As with every year, 2022 included a number of duds, ranging from the mind-numbingly dull Firestarter, to Disney’s soulless live-action remake of Pinocchio. I’ve previously mentioned how much I disliked Jurassic World: Dominion, which was a complete mess as far as I’m concerned, and the same can be said for the shockingly poor comic book vampire movie, Morbius.

Catherine Tate’s poorly received, The Nan Movie was a right dog’s dinner; horror film, Dashcam featured one of the most annoying characters in the history of cinema; and low-budget shark movie, Maneater was about as fun as having a root canal. And then there was Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, a horror-reboot that no one asked for, and once it arrived, no one liked… because it was shit.

As with Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, the much-anticipated Halloween Ends was also bad, but on a much grander scale. This film was conceived as the closing chapter in a recent trilogy, yet sadly it was pure tosh.

Halloween Ends wasn’t just bad, it was completely misjudged. It placed its focus on the wrong characters and ideas, it was disliked by many fans, and it left disappointment all around.

However, two films stood above the awfulness of Jeepers Creepers: Reborn and Halloween Ends to take the crown as the worst films of the year. The movies were Marmaduke (which I mentioned earlier), and Teen Titans GO! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse.

Both movies were children’s films that were lazily put together, badly written, and just poor in every way. Plus, in the case of the Teen Titans movie, the film had a ridiculously long and cumbersome title, that really should have been rethought by the marketing department.

I’d argue that Marmaduke was the worst of these two films as it was utter trash. It had no redeeming features whatsoever, and shouldn’t really be watched by anyone, not even corpses.

Right, now that the rubbish is taken care of, I’ll focus my attention on the best films of 2022. But before I do, I will say that 2022 has followed suit with pretty much every year, in that there has been something for everyone.

However, the summer of ‘22 really wasn’t spectacular, and if you’re a film fan who didn’t bother to rush to the pictures this year, I do understand. There were very few must-see blockbusters over the summer, and what was presented often felt underwhelming.

But look beyond all the big tentpole releases, good, bad, and lacklustre, and there was a wealth of marvellous films. If you enjoy watching movies for great stories, excellent drama, and some fine performances, then 2022 still delivered.

For me, the Top Ten movies of 2022 are as follows:

• 10) Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
• 9) Joy Ride
• 8) Elvis
• 7) Val
• 6) The Black Phone
• 5) Brian and Charles
• 4) Mass
• 3) Boiling Point
• 2) Top Gun: Maverick
• 1) Belfast

All of these movies were a cut above the rest and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

If you’ve not watched any of the movies in my Top Ten, then I highly recommend your check them out over the holidays. All of these titles are currently available through home video, video-on-demand platforms, or streaming services, so you don’t need to rush to your local cinema to watch them.

Outside of the Top Ten, other recommended movies include Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Matilda the Musical, The Batman, Dog, The Duke, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Speak No Evil, Bones and All, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The Lost City and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are also fun, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is enjoyable and emotional stuff.

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Looking Ahead to 2023

Looking ahead to 2023 now, and there are plenty of high-profile movies on the horizon including M. Night Shyamalan’s apocalyptic horror, Knock at the Cabin; boxing sequel, Creed III; and adventure movie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Meanwhile, Disney/Marvel Studios will debut Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Marvels from the ever-expanding MCU; while Warner Bros/DC will offer Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom from the currently imploding DCEU.

Other films to look out for in 2023 include Scream VI, Cocaine Bear, John Wick: Chapter 4, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Fast X, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, 65, and Wonka. There are also sequels for The Nun, The Equalizer, Insidious, Transformers, Indiana Jones, Magic Mike, The Expendables, and Trolls, and another whodunnit for Hercule Poirot in the shape of A Haunting in Venice.

Want more? OK.

Margot Robbie becomes a plastic plaything in Barbie; the Evil Dead series continues with Evil Dead Rise; and Disney dives under the sea to give The Little Mermaid the live-action treatment. Oh, and there are at least two Dracula-connected pictures coming out in 2023: The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and Renfield.

And if all that wasn’t enough, fresh from his success with Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise returns to the big screen with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. This will be the first multi-chapter Mission: Impossible movie to be released (Part Two arrives in 2024), and if the trailer is anything to go off, it should be bloomin’ awesome.

All this and much, much more is coming next year, and I have plans to cover it all on It’s A Stampede!. So, if you want to stay up-to-date with all the latest movie releases, you know where to come.

As for now, that’s about it for 2022. I hope everyone has a stress-free December, a lovely holiday season, and plenty of rest and relaxation if you’re due some time off.

Thank you for visiting It’s A Stampede! throughout the year, it is very much appreciated.

Alex