If you're tired of real-life drama, soothe yourself with a drama-filled film: the best new drama films of 2022 range from the highly anticipated cinematic epic "Downtown Abbey" to "Where The Crawdads Sing: A New Era" and the book-to-film adaptation "Where The Here are some must-sees in the drama department to add to your 2022 watch list. (If that's not enough drama for you, check out our guide to the best drama movies of 2021.)

Premiere: January 28 (on HBO Max (open in new tab))

Starring Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, Niles Fitch, Will Ropp, Rumi Polak, John Ortiz, Julie Bowen, Shailene Woodley

Story Traumatized by a school shooting, new friends Vada and Mia overcome their emotional depression as their relationships and worldview are forever changed.

First released February 10, 2022

Cast Zoe Kravitz, Rita Wilson, Byron Bowers, Erika Christensen, Jamie Camil, India de Beaufort, Robin Givens

Story Steven In director Soderbergh's latest film, an aspiring technician discovers evidence of a crime recorded by an AI assistant.

Premiere date: March 4, 2022

Cast Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Marea Emma Chandrawija, Justin H. Ming, Sarita Chowdhury, Haley Lou Richardson

Story A family living in the near future A family living in the near future contemplates love and life after their son, an A.I., has a breakdown.

First released March 18, 2022

Cast Mark Rylance, Zoe Deutch, Dylan O'Brien, Johnny Flynn, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Simon Russell Beale

Story An orderly (Rylance) living in 1950s Chicago maid tailor (Rylance) must outwit gangsters who use his store for business.

Premiere: 2022 May 20

Cast Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Joanne Froggatt, Laura Haddock, Carmichael, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Maggie Smith

story Nine months after the events of the first "Downton Abbey" film, the Crawley family heads to the south of France after their mansion is taken over by a film crew.

First released May 6, 2022

Starring Emma Passarow, Belmont Kamery, Andie MacDowell, Dermot Mulroney, Kate Bosworth

Story An insomniac teenager in this adaptation of Sarah Dessen's popular novel, Auden and Eli, two insomniac teenagers, sleep and have carefree adventures in a small seaside town.

First released May 13, 2022

Starring Sofia Capel, Levica Ann Reusl, Jason Toller, Alice Gray, Michael Omelko, Evelyn Clare

Story This Ninja Thyberg (open in new tab) film, aspiring performer Bella Cherry (Kappel) discovers that becoming a star in L.A.'s porn industry is harder than she imagined.

Release Date June 3, 2022

Starring Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, Juancho Hernangomez, Ben Foster, Kenny Smith, Jordan Hull, Robert Duvall

Story Comedy legend Sandler plays a basketball scout who discovers a talented player (played by real-life ballplayer Hernangomez) in Spain and decides to take him to the NBA.

Release date June 17, 2022

Cast Dakota Johnson, Cooper Reiff, Evan Asante, Vanessa Burgert, Raul Castillo, Leslie Mann, Brad Garrett

Story A stuck-up college graduate becomes a bar becomes a mitzvah entertainer and strikes up a friendship with a young mother and her autistic daughter.

Premiere: 24 June 2022

Cast Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, David Strathern, Garrett Dillahunt, Arna O'Reilly, Michael Hyatt

Story Adapted from the best-selling novel about a woman growing up in a North Carolina swamp who becomes a suspect in the murder of her former lover.

Premiere June 24, 2022

Starring Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeYonge, Kodi Smit-McPhee, David Wenham, Richard Roxburgh, Natasha Bassett

Story Directed by Baz Luhrmann by Baz Luhrmann, a biopic of the rock and roll legend about his rise in the music industry and his complicated relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Release date: August 31, 2022

Cast Tilda Swinton, Idris: Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Pia Thunderbolt, Berg Ozturk, Khan Guldur, Alira Brown, Peter Betroni, Rian McKessy

Story A mythologist unleashes a djinn and grants three wishes.

Premiere: October 7, 2022

Cast Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Jamie Lawson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Haley Bennett, Kevin Carroll, Whoopi Goldberg

Story 14-year-old The film is based on the true story of the murder of Emmett Till, 14, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. Her decision to have his funeral in a public casket became the catalyst for the civil rights movement.

Premiere: October 7, 2022

Cast Harry Styles, Emma Colin, David Dawson, Linus Roache, Gina McKee, Rupert Everett

Story Styles is in 1950s England and Marion ( Colin), a closed-off police officer who is married to a schoolteacher, but also has a secret relationship with museum curator Patrick (Dawson).

Premiere: November 18, 2022

Starring Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Samantha Morton, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher

Story Based on the book by Jodi Kanter and Megan Toohey, "She Said" chronicles the efforts of journalists to expose Harvey Weinstein's history of sexual harassment.

Premiere: November 23, 2022

Cast Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Florian Munteanu, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Selenis Leyva, Filicia Rashad

Story Apollo Creed's son and heavyweight champion Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut.

First released November 24, 2022

Starring Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Julia Butters, David Lynch

Story In a semi-autobiographical story by Steven Spielberg, about an aspiring teen filmmaker growing up in Arizona.

Premiere: December 23, 2022

Starring Naomi Ackie, Nafessa Williams, Clark Peters, Tamara Tunney

Story Master of None star Ackie, in collaboration with the Houston family, produced plays the late musical icon in this authorized biopic.

Premiere: December 25, 2022

Cast: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Tobey Maguire, Olivia Wilde, Jean Smart, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Lee June Lee, Katherine Waterston

Story A new film by Damian Chazelle, director of La La Land, about the rise and fall of film industry workers during the transition from silent films to talkies in the late 1920s.

Premiere: undated

Cast Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Scott Shepard, Pat Healy, Brendan Fraser

Story Martin Scorsese directed Adapted from the best-selling novel, a series of murders in 1920s Oklahoma come to the attention of the newly formed FBI.