10 Awesome 2022 Movies That Didn't Deserve To Flop

1. Turning Red

three hundred years of longing
Pixar

Of the 25 Disney Pixar movies to be released to date, Turning Red is comfortably the poorest performer when it comes to box office take-home. Likewise, Turning Red is a mightily great film that perfectly captures the spirit and tone of what has for so long made Pixar pictures so entertaining, engaging and emotionally impactful.

The aforementioned box office take-home for this most recent Pixar release was 'just' $20 million, which is a figure made all the more startling when you realise the film cost $175 million to make. In terms of financial duds, Turning Red bombed hard.

As detailed by Variety prior to Turning Red's release, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 caused Disney to opt against giving the film a widespread theatrical release. With a fear of cinemas being forced to close once more, combined with the slow box office recovery of family friendly pictures following prior enforced closures, the decision was made for Turning Red to be put out on Disney+ in territories where that streaming service was available.

While hope was that Turning Red would drive an increase in Disney+ subscriptions, the reality is that the picture ended up being a financial dud for Pixar and the House of Mouse.

As alluded to, Turning Red really is a fantastic movie for so many reasons. Centred on a 13-year-old Canadian-Asian girl who transforms into a giant red panda when she gets excited or emotional, the picture is a clear metaphor for the changes a teenage girl goes through, and it also explores the pressures put on those teens by society and even their own family. In addition to these themes, there's the usual joy, heart, wit and wisdom that's come to be expected from Pixar offerings, and it's also great - and painfully overdue - that Turning Red is the first Pixar movie to be solely directed by a woman, that being Domee Shi.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.