James Cameron’s sci-fi spectacle Avatar: The Way of Water continued its charge at the top of the box office over the Christmas holidays, with the long-awaited sequel surging beyond the $850 million mark worldwide in its second weekend on screens.
Domestically, the Avatar sequel grossed $56 million in its second weekend, with four-day estimates including the holiday Monday taking it to $280 million. However, internationally the film added a further$168.6 million, bring its international total to $601.7 million for a total of $881.3 million worldwide.
In terms of 2022’s biggest movies, The Way of Water has now leapfrogged Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, although that sequel also reached a milestone over the weekend as it surpassed $800 million globally. Ahead of both – for the time being – are Minions: Rise of Gru ($939.4 million), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($955.8 million), Jurassic World Dominion ($1.001 billion) and Top Gun: Maverick ($1.489 billion).
James Cameron has previously said that the movie needs to become “the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” – i.e. around the $2 billion mark – to break even. How high will The Way of Water go? Will it topple Top Gun: Maverick to become the year’s biggest, and can it go on to hit Cameron’s break-even point? The next few weeks will certainly be interesting.
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Avatar: The Way of Water is directed by James Cameron and sees Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Matt Gerald, Dileep Rao, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sigourney Weaver all reprising their roles from the 2009 blockbuster, while new additions to the cast include Kate Winslet, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Filip Geljo, Jamie Flatters, Bailey Bass, Trinity Bliss, Jack Champion, Duane Evans Jr., Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Keston John, and CJ Jones.
Avatar: The Way of Water is in theaters now.
