Universal First Film Studio to Pass $3 Billion Since 2019

Universal Pictures is having an incredible year in 2022. While Paramount has boasted the biggest theatrical hit in Top Gun: Maverick, and Disney has released two Marvel Studios films into theaters, Universal is currently conquering this year's box office. This weekend, Universal announced that it has passed $3 billion at the global box office throughout the first seven months of 2022, becoming the first studio to do so. 

Back in 2019, four studios managed to cross the $3 billion mark at the box office, but theaters are still recovering from the closures during the pandemic, and business is just started to return to normalcy. Seeing Universal hit such a meaningful milestone with multiple major releases left this year is something worth getting excited about.

Universal's 2022 theatrical success is anchored by two major blockbusters. Jurassic World Dominion, the third film in the Jurassic World series, brought back the original trio of stars from Jurassic Park and delivered $976 million worldwide, coming very close to the billion dollar mark. The long-awaited Minions sequel, Minions: The Rise of Gru, has added a total of $790 million across the globe. Those two films alone have accounted for more than half of Universal's box office this year, totaling $1.76 billion.

That said, Jurassic World and Minions represent just two success stories from Universal this year. The Bad Guys, the latest animated film from DreamWorks, impressed with $246 million worldwide. Universal had two R-rated films cross $100 million in 2022, with The Black Phone earning $152 million on an incredibly modest budget, and Nope crossing $113 million after just a couple of weeks. Nope gives Jordan Peele his third consecutive film to earn more than $100 million, following Get Out and Us.

Universal has had a great year so far, but the studio's box office total will only grow over the next few months, with a couple of big releases left to hit theaters. Among the upcoming films for Universal are Halloween Ends and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Both are part of extremely popular franchises and should bring in some serious business.

What have you thought of Universal's movies so far in 2022? Let us know in the comments!