By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Fan anticipation for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” tops that of any upcoming 2022 film, even the next “Spider-Man,” according to surveys reported by Entertainment Weekly and taken by Fandango. More than 6,000 Fandango December ticket buyers chose the “Black Panther” sequel as the film they most wanted to see in the New Year. “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” finished second, followed by the latest version of “The Batman” and another Marvel entity, “Thor Love And Thunder.”
It’s also good news for theaters that fans who were surveyed said they planned to view films in theaters more often in 2022 than in 2021.
Some 94 percent said they’d be going to theatrical films more in 2022, while 80 percent said they hoped to see five or more movies on the big screen in 2022, and 70 percent planned to see movies in premium large-screen formats whenever possible.
Other highly anticipated 2022 films included “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” “Avatar 2,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Mission: Impossible 7.”
“Spider-Man” did top the list of most anticipated family films, followed by “Pixar’s Lightyear,” “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”
“Halloween Ends,” perhaps the conclusion to the long-running franchise, tops the list of most anticipated horror films. It’s followed by “Scream,” “Jordan Peele’s Nope,” “Orphan: First Kill” and “The Black Phone.”
