13 years in the making, and with hundreds of millions of dollars ploughed not only into the production but also the actual development of much of the technology used to bring it to life, James Cameron has claimed that Avatar: The Way of Water will need to become “the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” to break even.
Well, here we are on the eve of the film’s release, and if tracking estimates are accurate, it seems the sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time could find itself quarter of the way to Cameron’s break-even point with projections pointing towards a global opening of $525 million, with $175 million domestically and a further $350 million worldwide including China.
Avengers: Endgame holds the record for the biggest worldwide opening with a staggering $1.224 billion, and that film went on to briefly nudge the original Avatar from the top of the all-time chart before a re-release pushed it back down to second. The biggest gl0bal opening since the pandemic was Spider-Man: No Way Home on $600.5 million, and that went on to earn $1.916 billion worldwide, the sixth-most of all time.
SEE ALSO: Read our ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ of Avatar: The Way of Water
As with the original Avatar, we’ve surely all wondered at least once or twice whether Cameron’s decades-long investment in his sequels would backfire spectacularly. Has the filmmaker managed to prove his detractors wrong once more? We shall soon find out…
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.
Return to Pandora when Avatar: The Way of Water is released in cinemas on December 16th, 2022.
