10 Awesome 2022 Movies That Didn't Deserve To Flop

2. The Northman

three hundred years of longing
Universal

Having won plentiful praise for his first two directorial efforts - 2015's The Witch and 2019's The Lighthouse - anticipation was high that Robert Eggers' third feature, The Northman, would be yet another smash hit for the filmmaker. While Eggers' 2022 effort did receive countless plaudits from critics, the movie sadly struggled at the box office.

The Northman was Eggers' most ambitious and, most importantly, costly picture of his career so far. While The Witch cost $4 million (and brought home $40 million) and The Lighthouse cost $11 million (bringing home $18 million), The Northman had a far greater budget that was up to $90 million. So, when the film's theatrical return fell just short of $70 million, that unfortunately rendered The Northman a financial flop.

Of course, the real shame here is that The Northman is a phenomenal film that has filled out plenty of Best of 2022 lists. Featuring Alexander Skarsgard as a revenge-seeking Viking Prince - with Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Claes Bang, Gustav Lindh and Bjork fleshing out the impressive cast - the movie is beautiful to look at, whilst being utterly brutal at the same time.

The Northman is likely Robert Eggers' finest film, yet it's the only one of his features to not make its budget back, let alone turn a profit.

 
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.