The Avatar sequel surpasses $700 million over the Christmas weekend… despite a massive winter storm across the US that shut down some theaters
The Avatar sequel, The Way of Water, ranked number one for the second straight week with sales of $19.5 million over the holiday weekend.
Despite a cold winter storm across the United States that knocked out power in some theaters and closed freeways, the highly anticipated sci-fi epic managed to surpass the $700 million mark worldwide, according to The Wrap.
The outlet reported that industry experts had been predicting a “much higher” total for the film over the past four days, after grossing $434.5 million at the box office during its global debut.
Rising Strong: The Avatar sequel, The Way of Water, took the top spot for the second straight week with $19.5 million over the holiday weekend
Avatar director James Cameron said the film, which tied for The Batman’s fourth-highest domestic debut of the year, needs to make $2 billion to break even.
The original Avatar didn’t have a monstrous opening weekend, kicking off with $77 million in mid-December 2009…though it ultimately grossed a then-record $749.7 million domestically and still a record $2.7 billion ( which has since grown to $785.2 million). domestically and $2.9 billion worldwide with new releases).
Some box office analysts predicted that Avatar: The Way of Water could be only the fourth release in December to surpass the $200 million mark in its opening weekend.
Wow: Despite a cold winter storm across the United States that knocked out power in some theaters and closed freeways, the highly-anticipated sci-fi epic managed to surpass the $700 million mark worldwide, according to The Wrap
Two weeks in a row: The outlet reported that industry experts had been predicting a “much higher” total for the film over the past four days, after grossing $434.5 million at the box office on its global debut
The only three films to accomplish this feat were Marvel’s 2021 blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home and two of the three Star Wars sequels – 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million) and 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ($220 million). ).
The original avatar’s path to box office history has been an unusual one, with most of the highest-grossing films achieving this with super-charged, massive opening weekends.
In 2009, the box office record was held by The Dark Knight’s opening weekend, which opened in mid-July 2008 at $158.4 million and peaked at $533.3 million domestically and just over $1 billion worldwide reached.
Avatar’s success was largely due to consistent viewership at levels rarely seen at the box office, allowing it to hold the top spot for eight straight weeks.
Huge budget: James Cameron, director of Avatar, said the film, which ranks alongside The Batman as the fourth-highest domestic debut of the year, needs to make $2 billion to break even
While most films drop 50% or more on their second weekend and beyond, Avatar fell only 1.8% on its second weekend and 9.4% on its third weekend, falling through the 16th weekend of its 34- weekly run never by more than 50%.
Avatar: The Way of Water takes fans back to the magical world of Pandora, where ex-Marine Jake Sully has started a new life and family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
Stephen Lang returns as Miles Quaritch with new cast members including Kate Winslet, Giovani Ribisi, Jemaine Clement and more.
Star-studded cast: Avatar: The Way of Water brings fans back to the magical world of Pandora, where ex-Marine Jake Sully has started a new life and family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).