Topline
Avatar: The Way Of Water topped the domestic box office charts for the seventh consecutive weekend, earning an estimated $15.7 million in the U.S. from Friday to Sunday, according to Disney, after the James Cameron-directed feature overtook Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the fourth highest grossing movie of all-time over the weekend.
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Jake Sully, portrayed by Sam Worthington, in … [+]
Key Facts
The Disney-produced feature has earned an estimated total of $620.6 million in the U.S. along with $1.496 billion internationally.
With a worldwide total of $2.116 billion, The Way Of Water is now only behind the original Avatar ($2.92 billion), Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion) and Titanic ($2.19 billion) in the list of the all-time highest-grossing films, after surpassing The Force Awakens ($2.06 billion) on Saturday.
The Avatar sequel is now also the 11th highest-grossing movie at the U.S. box office, overtaking both Incredibles 2 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
What To Watch For
Can the Avatar sequel overtake Titanic’s $2.19 billion worldwide box office haul to become the third-highest-grossing film of all time? According to Deadline, the Disney film’s continued strong performance at the international box office means this is likely to happen sometime later this week. Titanic, however, will have a strong chance to retake the crown in February as Paramount is set to re-release a remastered 3D version of the film for Valentine’s Day. The Titanic re-release’s international debut, however, will be handled by Disney and 20th Century Films. Since Titanic was also directed by Cameron, regardless of what happens, three of his films will remain on the list of the top four all-time highest-grossing films.
Key Background
The Way of Water is one of the most expensive films ever made and was considered a risky bet for Disney—coming out more than a decade after the original Avatar. Cameron previously stated that the film needed to be “the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” for it to break even. The film had a disappointing opening weekend at the domestic box office in mid-December, but it has managed to maintain strong momentum ever since, buoyed by strong box office numbers in China—which recently rolled back many of its harsh Covid restrictions. The film managed to breach the $2 billion mark last week, becoming the second-fastest film after Avengers: Endgame to breach the landmark—achieving the feat in just 39 days.
Further Reading
‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Passes ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ As 4th Highest Grossing Of All Time (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/01/29/weekend-box-office-avatar-sequel-continues-to-top-us-charts-after-7-weeks-and-sets-sights-on-titanic/