Once again, it is difficult to make an annual count of “the most successful films in Mexican cinema”, since this 2022, the box office of Mexican cinema does not add up to a quarter of what it generated in 2019, the year before the pandemic, when it reached $1,789 million pesos in collection (MDP) and Mexican films accounted for more than 8% of the national box office. Today, in contrast, Mexican cinema barely represents 3.5% of the collection of premieres in Mexico during 2022, and these did not add one more per week.
So is it worth doing a recount of “failures and disappointments of Mexican cinema”? Neither. First, because, honestly, 80% of the films that reached theaters this year would enter there. And second, because in Mexican cinema there is a new parameter of success: the conversation that films generate in streaming. In 2018 we talked about Rome. In 2020 we went crazy with I’m not here anymore. Now, in 2022, we talk about The fall Y the wow.
If we’re being honest, perhaps only the first two films in the annual top 10 at the Mexican box office made theatrical profits: And how is he? Y What a mess! The rest may do it in the streamingwhere perhaps they have a better opportunity to connect with that public that did not get up from their sofa to go see Mexican movies.
What is a fact is that –streaming or not— there are actors, actresses, directors, directors, projects and various people involved in Mexican cinema who, for different reasons, are winners or losers this year. Let’s do this tally (the five winners and the five losers go in their respective alphabetical order).
Recount of Mexican cinema 2022: winners and losers
Winner 1: Alejandra Márquez Abella
It triumphed resoundingly at the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), since The north over the void He won 3 awards: Best Mexican Fiction Feature Film, Best Screenplay (four hands with Gabriel Nuncio) and Best Actor, for Gerardo Trejoluna. Furthermore, his film can boast that it is the first winner to arrive so quickly at streaming after his win (just a week).
Loser 1: Tell me about yourself
It is extremely painful to write of this project as a box office disaster (it did not even debut in the top 10 of its week) for several reasons. The main one? because it is a standout coming-of-age Mexican, with outstanding performances. She might even have been the one Love, Simon mexican. But no: she drowned in an advertising campaign that did not sell her for what she is: a little gem. Our recommendation? Don’t miss it on streaming.
Winner 2: Ana Claudia Talancón
You can brag that I’m Your Fan: The Movie It is the only Mexican proposal that has debuted in first place in a pandemic. In addition, Ana Claudia had the most remembered red carpet coverage of 2022 (which included the announcement of the return of I’m your fan to tv). As if that were not enough, she has a cameo in the second highest-grossing Mexican film of 2022: What a mess! Added to this are TV projects such as The gallant Y The shelter.
Loser 2: Luis Estrada
Director of Hell He is used to having rough premieres. In the case of Herod’s Law, suffered from government censorship. With the perfect dictatorship, he “divorced” Videocine and although he had to pay it back, he ended up raising $189 million pesos. Now the “voluntary divorce” was with Netflix, because she did not get conditions like those of Bard for Hurray Mexico! Of course: perhaps in 2023 we will see him on the list of the winners of the year … because that is Luis Estrada.
Winner 3: Mauricio Ochmann
He made 1-2 at the Mexican film box office in 2022, with And how is he? ($65.2 million pesos) and What a mess! ($55.9). In fact, he has a new record: in three of the last six years, Ochmann has held the first annual place for Mexican cinema, as he already had it with do it like a man (2017) and We’ll see (2018). In addition, it had an announced Christmas premiere for Netflix (reliving christmas) and one of the best Mexican TV series of the year: Las Bravas, FCavailable on HBO Max.
Loser 3: Luis Mandoki
Phew! Apparently it is not a good year to be called Luis. In this case, it took ten years for Mandoki to return to the movies, after The early and brief life of Sabina Rivas, which was one of the ten highest grossing Mexican films of 2012, adding -in addition- eleven nominations and three Ariel awards. Now, Mandoki intended that presences was the one selected by the AMACC to represent Mexico in the Oscar, something that…did not happen. It is on Vix+ and boasts the return of Yalitza Aparicio to the cinema.
Winners 4: Monica del Carmen and Raúl Briones
The most famous couple in national fiction since Freddy Fernández ‘El Pichi’ and Evita Muñoz ‘Chachita’ once again conquered the Ariel, now as the protagonists of A cop movie, like the famous “Teresa and Montoya”, also known as “The love patrol”. They had already won before, in coercion (and in the same year) by Suffocation. We also saw Monica in Miss 89and Raúl, in The north over the void.
Losers 4: Mirreyes vs. Godínez 2, The Legends: The Origin and Frozen Eggs.
Beyond its quality (quite questionable in the case of the first, and quite compliant in the animations), has anyone heard of the premiere of these sequels on Vix+? The sad thing is that all three had box office potential to surpass And how is he? ($65.5 million pesos) as the highest-grossing Mexican film in the pandemic. But they all drowned in Vix+. What’s more: there are those who do not know that they were released.
Winner 5: Karla Souza
The actress premiered her long-awaited project with very favorable reviews The fallwhich debuted at FICM and in Los Cabos, quickly became streaming (Prime Video) and generated a necessary conversation, where the topic and his powerful performance were highlighted. As if that were not enough, she also starred in the musical I’m going to have a good timea film that is part of the top 10 highest-grossing Spanish films of 2022.
Loser 5: The mighty Victoria
The first thing that stands out is that this adventure film (atypical genre in Mexico) did not have the support of IMCINE. Second, that it is a period production, with outstanding production values (it cost $36 million pesos). The third is its cast: Damián Alcázar, Gerardo Oñate and Joaquín Cosío. What went wrong? Perhaps a campaign that would sell it better, since friendly period stories, such as the big little, yes they can generate good numbers. In the end, it debuted in sixth place of its week, with 1,202 screens and just $4.3 million pesos. It was left out of the top 10 annual Mexican cinema.
Edgar Apanco Fan-from-hell of movie numbers. He was an editor of business magazines (no, that’s not where his love of numbers comes from). Today he is an expert in box office reports and content marketing (happy marketing … #OkNo).