James Cameron’s much awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water has gained significant momentum since its December 15 release. It established the tone for its box office performance by bringing in an astonishing $435 million over its first weekend worldwide. The movie was expected to dominate the Christmas box office and run unopposed throughout the holiday season. Variety has discovered that The Way of Water has surpassed $855.4 million at the global box office, continuing the streak of successes.
Avatar: The Way of Water earned $56 million locally in its second weekend from 4,202 cinemas. The film’s domestic box office struggled as poor weather during the Christmas holiday reduced moviegoer attendance. Its $56 million profit is a 58% decline from its domestic debut result. While still playing in cinemas, this year’s other much awaited sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, had a 63% dip in domestic ticket sales for its second weekend. Avatar: The Way of Water is expected to earn $82 million through Monday for its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $278 million.
Internationally, The Way of Water has earned $601 million. While crossing the $600 million mark is a significant achievement for any film, the sequel has not performed as spectacularly as expected after securing the widely coveted and oft-unattainable Chinese release. Despite the anticipation for the film in the country, China is currently facing a new wave of COVID cases, leading to theater closures, thereby turnout, significantly affecting the weighty haul Avatar 2 was expected to make in the Chinese market. However, it is not doing too badly for itself as its $855.4 million global tally makes it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2022. It is also expected to cross the $1 billion mark by the end of the year. With that feat, it would join the ranks of Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World: Dominion, the only other two films that have managed to cross $1 billion this year.
