In 2020 I saw 22 films in theaters — 20 before COVID, followed by an August Drive-In showing of “The New Mutants” and indoor theater experience in Vermont seeing “TENET”. From May to December 2021, I saw 32 films at indoor theaters and “Free Guy” and “Shang-Chi” at Drive-Ins.
This year, no Drive-In films (though I’m thrilled Drive-Ins did even better this year than last year), but I’m pleased to say I saw 62 new releases at indoor cinemas. I won’t list them all, but I’d like to share some of my favorite experiences:
Private critics screenings for awards season voting consideration are always nice. This year included “Bardo” and “White Noise”. Also nearly had the theater to myself for regular showings of “Scream”, “Breaking Bread”, “The Lost City”, “Lightyear”, “Nope”, “See How They Run”, “Amsterdam”, “Avatar: The Way of Water” (yes, there were only six people at the showing I went to) and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”.
But some of my favorite theatrical experiences of 2022 were packed or crowded showings with dozens to hundreds of fellow moviegoers. The energy was palpable for “The Batman”, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Elvis” and “Thor: Love and Thunder”.
I saw “Downton Abbey: A New Era” and “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” with diehard fans of their series, and “Jackass Forever” with those who grew-up with that show. Admirers of Robert Eggers’ work were at “The Northman”. Clear lovers of online sensation “Marcel the Shell” attended its Berkshire International Film Festival screening.
Other film fest showings of “Raymond & Ray” (Woodstock) and “The Whale” and “Living” (FilmColumbia) were crowded, with a wide age-range of moviegoers.
I saw “Minions: The Rise of Gru” with tons of kids who laughed out loud throughout. I sat front-row for a “Moonage Daydream” screening, surrounded by enthusiastic David Bowie fans. Younger, Harry Styles fans were definitely at my showings of “Don’t Worry Darling” and “My Policeman”.
For $3 National Cinema Day in September, I was in a packed theater for “Where the Crawdads Sing”. Many attendees hadn’t been to a movie in years. One woman thought it was one of the best films she’d ever seen. There were also a lot of older people at the NYC showing of “The Fabelmans” I attended… who also hadn’t been to a movie in quite some time (maybe decades?)
$5 Regal Monday Mystery Movies of “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” and “Spirited” were memorable. “TAR”, my No. 1 movie of 2022, was an incredibly immersive experience.
What I got a sense of during my 62 theater trips in 2022, more than anything else, is that everyone was in a good mood. An anticipated release, combined with the right day and especially the right price, make for a must-visit trip to the cinema.
Everyone *really* wanted to be there — from kids at “DC League of Super-Pets” and “Strange World”, to teens seeing “Uncharted”, to twenty somethings at “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Bullet Train”, to fifty year olds at “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” and seventy year olds at “Official Competition” and “Glass Onion”.
Except maybe the three 75-80 year olds at “Bodies Bodies Bodies” who talked through most of it before a much younger guy told them to be quiet with about 10 minutes to go. I still can’t figure out that one.