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.

8 of 25 photo by Film Movement

(#16) Belgium's official Oscar submission from 2021 (it made the shortlist but ultimately failed to get a nomination), the directorial debut for Laura Wandel is a harrowing tale of playground bullying and family, depicting a schoolyard with the same unflinching, unsentimental intensity as a prison drama or war film, as described by The Wrap critic Ben Croll. Literally seen from a child's POV for most of its runtime, Playground (or Un Monde as it is titled in its native country) centers on a 7-year-old girl who witnesses her older brother being bullied by his classmates at their new school. She attempts to protect him by informing their father, but he warns her to keep quiet—and leaves her to grow up in a hurry and navigate the situation on her own.

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“A claustrophobic portrait of pre-adolescent turmoil, this is an exceptionally taut drama. It’s Wandel’s debut feature, and it feels like she’s been preparing for it her whole life.” —Alex Godfrey, Empire

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