The list was updated weekly and ranked by avg l.b. user rating, extracted from here.

Included documentaries and festival films of 2021 that had their first national release in 2022 (i.e. After Yang, Hit the Road). Note: I only included confirmed 2022 releases, not generally undistributed 2021 films. The list did not include films that had some national releases in 2021 but U.S. releases delayed for 2022 (i.e. The Worst Person in the World).

There was a 1,000 view minimum threshold for any films to be eligible to enter the list. Also note: for blockbusters and highly anticipated movies that tend to get a lot of views and ratings before they come out, I waited until after their release date before I added them. If anything seemed premature, they were added because it's had at least one festival screening. Films need to have a valid IMDb page to qualify for entry. For a version of the list without documentaries and a lower minimum, see Rahat's list.

Exclusions:
• Short films, concerts, and web videos.
• TV miniseries, unless they had a theatrical release.
• Music-adjacent documentaries are excluded unless they have a film festival premiere. They are prone to fan manipulation.
• Making of featurettes, unless they had a theatrical release.
• Films that extend or conclude narratives from TV shows. Prequels, spin-offs, or standalone films are allowed.

See the Letterboxd Official tag for my other 'official' year lists. Each list concluded shortly after their respective Oscar ceremonies so their ranking is a permanent time capsule. I will also be conducting Metacritic's 'official' top 50 of 2022 under similar rules. You can find other Metacritic top 50s here.

The list concluded on March 20th, 2023, the week after the Academy Awards.