10 Awesome 2022 Movies That Didn't Deserve To Flop

5. Clerks III

Clerks 3 Dante Randall
Lionsgate

Kevin Smith has always been a divisive figure, with many lambasting the filmmaker's 'd*ck and fart jokes' sensibilities, whilst others are die-hard fans of Smith's View Askewniverse realm and beyond.

For the record, your writer here is a huge fan of good ol' Kev Smith, though that's not to say that there haven't admittedly been bumps in the road of the New Jersey native's résumé. So, much like 2019's Jay and Silent Bob Reboot split opinion, so too did this year's Clerks III.

If you're in the camp of enjoying the shared world of characters Smith first brought to life in 1994 with Clerks, you'll likely hold Clerks III up as one of the best films of the year. For that audience, this long-gestating threequel is a magnificent slice of emotion that picks things up with Smith faves Dante Hicks and Randal Graves as they now own the Quick Stop convenience store where Hicks worked during the original Clerks.

Here, we have a poignant tale of loss, life and legacy, complete with the expected Kevin Smith humour and heart. If you've ever liked even one of Smith's movies, Clerks III is an utter treat. Unfortunately, the film didn't even manage to make its budget back - with that $7 million budget countered by a $4.7 million box office.

Fortunately, Smith's films are usually relatively low cost affairs, and thus big box office isn't necessarily expected. Likewise, the filmmaker's pictures also tend to find a bigger audience upon landing on Blu-ray and DVD these days.

 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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.