To many fans' surprise, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been publicly chosen as the best movie of 2022, beating fan favorites like The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick, and more.
It's been an interesting year for comic book movie fans. For one, both Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder were met with mixed reactions from both fans and critics. Then, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever became easily the most highly praised MCU installment since Spider-Man: No Way Home.
As for the DCU, Dwayne Johnson's self-hyped movie, Black Adam, didn't do too well at the box office. However, Matt Reeves' The Batman performed admitably with favorable reactions through and through.
Outside of superheroes in general, movies like Jurassic World Dominion landed with a thud, while Top Gun and Elvis both impressed.
However, despite the projects that were thought to be favorites, Benedict Cumberbatch's Multiversal shenanigans might have leaked into this timeline.
Multiverse of Madness Wins Big at PCAs
During the 2022 People's Choice Awards (PCAs), Marvel Studios got a big win over the DCU.
The awards given throughout the PCA are voted on by the public, with voting open from October 26 to November 9.
In the category of Best Movie of 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness won the award and beat out The Batman.
The other nominees were Bullet Train, Elvis, Jurassic World Dominion, Nope, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Top Gun: Maverick.
For Best Action Movie of 2022, Top Gun: Maverick took the win in the following group of nominees:
- Black Adam
- Bullet Train
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Jurassic World Dominion
- The Batman
- The Woman King
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Top Gun: Maverick
Chris Hemsworth from Thor: Love and Thunder took home the win for best Male Movie Star of 2022:
- Brad Pitt – Bullet Train
- Chris Hemsworth – Thor: Love and Thunder
- Chris Pratt – Jurassic World Dominion
- Daniel Kaluuya – Nope
- Dwayne Johnson – Black Adam
- Miles Teller – Top Gun: Maverick
- Ryan Reynolds – The Adam Project
- Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick
Elizabeth Olsen got another win for Marvel in Best Female Movie Star of 2022:
- Elizabeth Olsen – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Gal Gadot – Death on the Nile
- Jennifer Garner – The Adam Project
- Jennifer Lopez – Marry Me
- Joey King – Bullet Train
- Keke Palmer – Nope
- Queen Latifah – Hustle
- Viola Davis – The Woman King
Olsen was also chosen for Best Action Hero, even while playing the villain in Doctor Strange 2:
- Chris Hemsworth – Thor: Love and Thunder
- Chris Pratt – Jurassic World Dominion
- Dwayne Johnson – Black Adam
- Elizabeth Olsen – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Joey King – Bullet Train
- Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick
- Viola Davis – The Woman King
- Zöe Kravitz – The Batman
For best Sci/Fantasy show of 2022, Stranger Things triumphed over HBO Max's House of The Dragon:
- House of The Dragon
- La Brea
- Moon Knight
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
- Stranger Things
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- The Umbrella Academy
Strange Things' Noah Schnapp also won best Male TV Star of 2022, beating out Moon Knight's Oscar Isaac and Obi-Wan Kenobi's Ewan McGregor.
- Dwayne Johnson – Young Rock
- Ewan McGregor – Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Ice-T – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- Jason Bateman – Ozark
- Noah Schnapp – Stranger Things
- Norman Reedus – The Walking Dead
- Oscar Isaac – Moon Knight
- Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us
A Mistake in the Multiverse
While Multiverse of Madness certainly wasn't hated or even greatly disliked, it's hard to see a popular vote choose it over hits like Batman or Top Gun: Maverick. As for Wakanda Forever, that movie was released just after the voting period had ended, so it was never up for consideration in the first place.
Maybe Scarlet Witch's rampage through the fabric of reality has had some unforeseen effects.
Either way, some people are certainly happy with Strange's win. Somehow even fan backlash couldn't keep Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff from winning her 'Best Action Hero' award.
It's no surprise to see Thor: Love and Thunder not get anything besides Chris Hemsworth as the best Male Actor—considering how some feel about the film, it's lucky to have even gotten that. It probably helps to have been an original Avenger, after all.
Interestingly enough, The Batman's Robert Pattinson didn't even get a nomination in that category, despite getting heaping amounts of praise after his debut
The Batman is now streaming on HBO Max, while Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness can be found on Disney+.
