Topline
Avatar: The Way Of Water surpassed 1997’s Titanic as the No. 3 highest-grossing movie of all time this weekend, according to Disney, marking a massive success for James Cameron, who directed both films.
James Cameron attends the photocall for “Avatar: The Way of Water” at Corinthia Hotel London on … [+]
Key Facts
Avatar: The Way Of Water has grossed $2.243 billion worldwide since being released in December.
It surpassed Titanic’s earnings of $2.242 billion in its 10th weekend in theaters.
Cameron has directed three of the top four highest-grossing releases of all time: the original Avatar in 2009 (No. 1), Avatar: The Way Of Water last year (No. 3) and Titanic about 25 years ago (No. 4)—the No. 2 movie is 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Cameron said that Avatar: The Way Of Water needed to be the third or fourth highest-grossing movie ever to break even, given its nine-figure budget.
Tangent
Meanwhile, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania debuted at No. 1 this weekend, with a $104 million domestic opening over three days. Disney projects it will reach $118 million over the four-day long weekend. The Paul Rudd-led movie has an 84% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to a 48% from critics) and a B grade on Cinemascore.
Key Background
The success of The Way Of Water is a good sign for the franchise’s next installments: Cameron said the third and fourth movies are already in the works. Last weekend’s muted box office was won by Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which had an $8.3 million domestic opening.
Further Reading
Weekend Box Office: ‘Knock At The Cabin’ And Tom Brady Film Kick ‘Avatar’ Sequel Out Of Top Spot (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/02/19/avatar-the-way-of-water-surpasses-titanic-as-third-highest-grossing-movie-ever/