The 50 Best Movies of 2022

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – January 4, 2023

Here is Metacritic's final list of the 50 best-reviewed movies of 2022, ranked by Metascore. This list only includes films receiving at least 7 reviews from professional critics.

All films released between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 in at least one U.S. theater or directly to streaming or VOD/digital services were eligible for inclusion. Short films and reissues are excluded. Titles are ranked by Metascore (a weighted average of scores from top professional critics) prior to rounding based on scores as of January 1, 2023.

Additional content by Keith Kimbell.

4 of 25 photo by IFC Films

86 Happening

(#20) Writer-director Audrey Diwan’s sophomore feature won the Golden Lion as the top film at 2021's Venice Film Festival and made its way to American theaters in the spring of 2022. Adapted (with Marcia Romano) from Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel, Happening stars French-Romanian actress Anamaria Vartolomei as Anne, a university student in 1963 France who finds few options when she wants to terminate her pregnancy. Certainly a tough (but rewarding) watch, Happening's ticking-clock, social-realist approach takes cues from two other critically acclaimed films about abortion: Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Somtimes Always.

Watch it on AMC+ (and streams on Hulu beginning Jan. 22)
Also available to rent or buy at digital stores including Prime Video and Apple

“Throughout, Diwan’s gaze remains clear, direct, fearless. She shows you a part of life that the movies rarely do. By which I mean: She shows you a woman who desires, desires to learn, have sex, bear children on her terms, be sovereign — a woman who, in choosing to live her life, risks becoming a criminal and dares to be free.” —Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

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