After a challenging start to 2021, the global box office reignited with the stunning success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is still swinging away.
The latest Spider-Man movie is currently up to a massive $1.62 billion, making it the eighth biggest movie of all time. While it was always going to be a hit, No Way Home's mega haul is something that many didn't think was going to be possible with cinemagoing still not quite back to 'normal'.
Its success has renewed belief that we could get back to regular $1 billion hits at the box office. We might not get nine of them, as we did in an unprecedented 2019, but there's hope that No Way Home isn't just an anomaly, with plenty of blockbuster potential to come in 2022.
So what could actually be the biggest box-office hit of 2022? There might be three Marvel movies on the way, but we actually think the year's highest-grossing movie might come from outside of the MCU.
Let's start by looking at the Marvel contenders in 2022, not including Morbius (sorry Jared Leto).
We've got three MCU movies heading our way this year if the release dates stay the same: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6), Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11).
Of those, the Black Panther sequel looks most likely to hit $1 billion, given the first movie made a tremendous $1.34 billion worldwide. That outing was a cultural event and anticipation will be equally high for the sequel, especially in terms of how it will pay tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.
Doctor Strange 2 might get a Spider-Man boost, but the character doesn't appear to be one of the most beloved in the MCU. The first movie 'only' took $676.4 million worldwide and while MCU sequels have generally seen a boost in numbers, it remains to be seen if the multiversal madness can be as much of a draw as it was for No Way Home.
After a series high of $850.5 million globally for Thor: Ragnarok, the fourth Thor movie has a shot at $1 billion too. Not only does it feature a crossover with Guardians of the Galaxy's cast, but also brings back Natalie Portman for the first time since Thor: The Dark World.
That will prove to be an exciting combination for Marvel fans, especially after Thor: Ragnarok was so well received. It means you can't rule the movie out from hitting $1 billion, but it still doesn't feel like it'll be as massive as something else this year.
So what movie do we think could top any of those at the box office this year? Jurassic World: Dominion, of course.
The threequel had a one-year delay from its originally-planned June 2021 release and will now arrive in cinemas on June 10. It might not seem as though there's much hype around for its release, but you can't argue with the numbers of the previous two outings of the franchise.
Jurassic World rode the nostalgia wave to a huge $1.67 billion in 2015, the same year that Star Wars came back into our lives with The Force Awakens. While Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dipped to $1.31 billion in 2018, that's still a very impressive number when you consider it wasn't well-received and stands at 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.
If those numbers aren't evidence enough that we can expect Jurassic World: Dominion to dominate cinemas this summer, then consider what we already know about the new movie.
The threequel will bring back Sam Neill and Laura Dern as Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler for the first time since Jurassic Park III. They'll be joined by Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm, following his cameo role in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
It marks the first time that the OG trio has been on screen in a Jurassic Park movie since the first movie. Unlike Goldblum's role in Fallen Kingdom, director Colin Trevorrow has been promising that they all play a significant role, alongside the returning Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing.
Their reunion might not be Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield teaming up with Tom Holland, but it's still an enticing prospect for Jurassic Park fans. Even those who might have skipped the Jurassic World movies could be drawn back in, much like some non-MCU Spider-Man fans came back for No Way Home.
You can also add to their comeback that Jurassic World: Dominion has been spoken about as the culmination to the entire franchise, including the original Jurassic Park trilogy, and Trevorrow has been saying that all six movies will feel like "one long story".
No Way Home was marketed the same way as being a wrap-up to Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy. With the surprise inclusion of Maguire and Garfield, it also acted as a wrap-up to all eight live-action Spidey movies to date, and the box-office performance shows just what a draw a 'finale" can be.
After all, it's telling that the two biggest MCU movies to date are Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. They acted as the two-part finale to the entire Infinity Saga of the MCU, which started way back in 2008 with Iron Man.
Endings just have a way of drawing back fans who might otherwise have faded away from the franchise. Combined with the returning stars, and Jurassic World: Dominion feels like it has the same perfect storm that boosted No Way Home.
That's not a guarantee that the movie will do huge numbers this year. It could turn out to be awful and people stay away, while it might also be that cinemas are again affected by delays or closures in the months to come. Here's hoping they won't be, but it's not something we can rule out after the past two years.
There are also some other contenders to Jurassic World: Dominion's potential box-office crown elsewhere in the year.
Avatar 2 might not seem like it's going to be a winner after we've waited so long, but the first movie is still the biggest movie of all time and you can never bet against James Cameron (especially when it comes to sequels).
You've also got two potentially big DC movies with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will aim to repeat and succeed Aquaman's $1.14 billion success, and The Flash, which has its own No Way Home-esque multiverse crossover with Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton's versions of Batman.
There's also Minions 2: The Rise of Gru which might sound like we're just taking shots in the dark, but the first movie did take $1.16 billion at the box office in 2015. In the absence of big family competition, barring perhaps Lightyear, they could be a major draw.
Those all feel a bit less like sure-fire bets than Jurassic World: Dominion though, especially after what we've seen with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Will 2022 be the year that proves superheroes are no match for dinosaurs? Watch this space.
Jurassic World: Dominion is set for release in cinemas on June 10, 2022.
Universal Studios/Amblin Entertainment Inc Jurassic World: The Exhibition tickets - London
Universal Pictures Jurassic World: Dominion Blu-ray steelbook
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Universal Pictures Jurassic World
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Universal/Amblin Entertainment Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Seasons 1-3 [DVD] [2021]
Universal/Amblin Entertainment 'Welcome To Jurassic Park' limited edition art print
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
