As movie-goers excitedly return to cinemas after the pandemic, Universal became the first studio to pass $3 billion at the box office in 2022. This marked the eighth time that the studio managed to reach this milestone, the last one being back in 2019.
Universal’s success was due to multiple films that became blockbuster hits this year. Leading the charge was Jurassic World: Dominion, which earned more than $974 million worldwide. The film brought back Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill to reprise their role from the original Jurassic Park trilogy in this modern continuation of the film.
Following the dinosaur blockbuster was the animation film, Minions: The Rise of Gru, which earned over $790 million. The film captured the attention of Gen Z due to the popular ‘Gentleminions’ trend on TikTok, which led to a few cinemas pulling down screenings and banning formal wear in their venues. But despite the backlash, it was reported that this film helped make July the most successful month for movies in 2022.
Joining Universal’s top film releases for 2022 are The Bad Guys with over $245 million, The Black Phone with $152 million, and the newly released Jordan Peele horror film, Nope, with $113 million.
While Universal was the first to reach that milestone, their films were unable to surpass the success of Top Gun: Maverick by Paramount Pictures, as it currently grossed over $1.3 billion at the box office, and Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which earned $411 million.
While 2019 was the year of Avengers: Endgame, Universal reached this milestone back in 2019, with films such as Us, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and The Secret Life of Pets 2 is the studios most successful films that year according to Box Office Mojo.
Universal Studios has been releasing successful movie titles this year and it seems like they won’t be stopping anytime soon. Universal announced on both their website and CinemaCon that they will be releasing more films later this year. Such as Bros, the first same-sex rom-com starring Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane, She Said — a film based on the 2019 New York Times expose of Harvey Weinstein, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (the sequel for the 2011 Shrek spin-off, Puss in Boots).