Avatar: The Way of Water, helmed by acclaimed director James Cameron, has become a box office sensation in typical Avatar fashion. Despite having its opening weekend numbers below expectations, the sequel proved to have staying power and is now set to hit the $1 billion milestone in only 12 days after its release. Avatar still stands as the highest-grossing film of all time and Avatar: The Way of Water looks to be no slouch either.
Recent reports from Deadline indicate that the Avatar sequel has crossed the $955 million mark on its second Monday in theaters, and with Tuesday’s turnout it should easily cross the $1 billion threshold. To put Avatar 2’s massive success into perspective, this billion-dollar benchmark will be achieved in just 12 days after its theatrical release. This makes it a front-runner for one of the highest-grossing movies of the year and solidifies its place as a blockbuster hit.
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Avatar: The Way of Water Shapes Up as a Major Box Office Success
20th Century Studios
The estimated production budget of Avatar: The Way of Water is between $350–460 million, hence it must perform exceedingly well to make its costs back. According to James Cameron, a whopping $2 billion take will be required to break even. However, experts believe that this figure may be significantly lower (about $1.5 billion). Given the film’s impressive box office performance so far, achieving or possibly surpassing these milestones is looking increasingly achievable.
The film is quickly proving itself to be a financial powerhouse, having pulled in over $56 million during its second weekend. Although it currently sits behind Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World: Dominion for being the highest-grossing film of the year, it has a good chance to move up that list soon. It was initially projected to make a staggering $180 million for its opening weekend domestically, yet the actual number ended up being quite lower at $134 million. Despite this large deficit in the domestic box office, the international box office responded strongly with a $301 million haul.
Avatar shattered records when it earned $2.97 billion dollars following its numerous re-releases. While sure to be an uphill battle, Avatar: The Way of Water stands a chance against these lofty goals with some successes under its belt. The sequel is facing several challenges that may affect its success at the box office. One issue is that it will not be released in Russia, where the original film was a major hit and earned over $100 million. Additionally, the worldwide box office has not yet fully recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could also impact its performance.
Avatar: The Way of Water is out now in cinemas worldwide.
