Since its release on December 15, James Cameronthe expected sequel Avatar: The Way of the Water has been a force to be reckoned with. It set the tone for its box office presence by delivering an impressive $435 million opening weekend at the global box office. According to early predictions, the film was also poised to take the Christmas box office lead in an undisputed holiday theatrical race. Keeping the wins coming, Variety revealed that The Water Way crossed $855.4 million at the worldwide box office.
Locally, Avatar: The Way of the Water grossed $56 million from 4,202 theaters in its second weekend. The film’s domestic box office faced challenges as extreme weather conditions affected cinema attendance over the Christmas weekend. His return of $56 million marks a 58% drop from his first national showing. By comparison, this year’s other highly anticipated sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is currently still in theaters, saw a 63% drop at the domestic box office for its second weekend. Current predictions believe Avatar: The Way of the Water will reach $82 million through Monday, for its second weekend tally, bringing its national total to $278 million.
Internationally, The way of the water earned $601 million. While breaking the $600 million mark is a significant achievement for any movie, the sequel wasn’t as spectacular as expected after securing the widely coveted and often unreachable Chinese release. Despite the anticipation of the film in the country, China is currently facing a new wave of COVID cases, leading to theater closures, which significantly affects weight transportation. Avatar 2 had to do in the Chinese market. However, it’s not doing too badly as its worldwide total of $855.4 million makes it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2022. It’s also expected to cross the $1 billion mark by the end of the year. . With this feat, he would join the ranks of Top Gun : Maverick et Jurassic World : Dominionthe only two other films that managed to cross $1 billion this year.
The 13-year-long sequel has a mammoth task ahead of it as its iconic 2009 predecessor. Avatar, is currently the highest-grossing film of all time with over $2.9 billion at the box office. The way of the water must approach Avatarthe lifetime total of to be considered a successful business; as Cameron notes, it must “be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” to break even. What is important to note is that Avatar hit its box office record with several re-releases over the years, including one earlier this year, which helped the film hit the $2.9 billion mark.
Avatar: The Way of the Water featured an exciting return to Pandora as well as the return of Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, et Sigourney Weaver parallel to the arrival of Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, CCH Pounder, Jermaine Clement, Britain Dalton, James Flatters, Bailey Bass, Jack Champion, and more. The star-studded affair, along with Cameron’s return to the director’s chair, added to the significant anticipation for the sequel. With its box office and positive reviews, it’s safe to say The way of the water delivered on its promise of spectacle and box office dominance.
Avatar: The Way of the Water is currently in theaters. Check out Deadline’s interview with Worthington, Lang and the producer Jon Landau sous: