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The much-awaited Avatar: The Way of Water is finally out and has successfully managed to become the third-biggest global opening weekend in post-pandemic times behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The film has collected $134 million in its North American box office debut and a whopping $301 million from the rest of the world. In total, the movie has generated $435 million so far and is predicted to break the $1 billion mark easily.
The first Avatar movie is proclaimed to be the "highest-grossing" film in cinema history with a worldwide box-office gross of over $2.9 billion, and if things keep going this well, its sequel could shatter this record in a couple of weeks.
How has Avatar: The Way of Water performed at the box office?
After the Covid-19 pandemic, it was obvious that reaching box office success like the 2009 release would be hard to pull off.
Furthermore, due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, the film was not released in Russia, which resulted in a heavy blow to its earnings. Even though Avatar 2 did release in China, its performance is far from how well the previous movie did.
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, said:
"Expectations aside, this is outstanding. The movie is set up for a very strong run through the holidays."
The $1 billion mark worldwide has only been broken by three films since the pandemic, with Spider-Man: No Way Home falling just shy of the $2 billion mark.
Fortunately, Avatar: The Way of Water flourished on IMAX and 3D screens, with 62% of ticket sales coming from premium formats. On a global scale, the film made $48.8 million from IMAX alone and cemented itself as the company's second highest-grossing global weekend and the biggest December global opening ever.
In an interview, Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX said:
"As excited as we are about these early results, we anticipate a long and successful run for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ as more people around the world book their ticket to Pandora for the epic storytelling and unmissable visual splendor of what James Cameron and his team have created."
Despite earning $77 million domestically in its opening, Avatar (2009) didn't make a prominent dent in the record books. Gradually, the movie was watched several times in theaters, which led to a revenue of 760 million in North America and $2.92 billion globally. 3D tickets and recurring viewership aided the 2009 film in holding the No.1 spot for seven weeks in a row.
As a sequel to the highest-grossing movie in history, the expectations for Avatar: The Way of Water are immense.
Plot and cast of Avatar: The Way Of Water
Directed by legendary filmmaker James Cameron, Avatar: The Way Of Water is set a decade after the events of Avatar and explores the life and struggles of the Sully family.
The film's official description reads:
"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."
The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, with supporting roles from Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, and several more.
