Avatar: The Way Of Water's continued box office success has pushed it into the top 15 grossing films of all-time worldwide list, bouncing Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 from the exclusive club. James Cameron's long-awaited sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all-time finally dropped on December 16th after a 13-year wait. While Avatar: The Way Of Water continues to pass financial milestones, it has also been praised not only for the groundbreaking use of motion capture technology to bring Pandora to life both above and below the surf, but also for its strong messages of family unity and environmental responsibility.
Variety has reported that with its $86.3 million haul over the four-day New Year's weekend, Avatar: The Way Of Water has brought its worldwide total to a tidy sum just under $1.4 billion. That means that it has now passed iconic blockbusters such as Black Panther ($1.382 billion) and Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi ($1.332 billion) while also pushing Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ($1.342 billion) out of the vaunted top 15 all-time worldwide list. Like most major tent poles, the lion's share of Avatar: The Way Of Water's revenue has come from international markets, where the movie has grossed just shy of $957 million, while domestic markets have contributed just over $440 million to the movie's worldwide box office.
Can Avatar 2 Reach James Cameron's Lofty Box Office Goal?
Cameron himself has estimated that with its $350 million budget plus the $100 million spent on marketing, Way Of Water needs to gross over $2 billion to be deemed a success. Avatar: The Way Of Water held extremely well in its third weekend of release, as the $66.8 million three-day haul actually represented a four percent increase over its previous weekend. It was the fourth-highest third weekend gross in history, and considering that the movies in third (Black Panther) and fifth place (Avengers: Endgame) both topped $700 million domestically, Avatar: The Way Of Water can expect to put up similar numbers. With a dearth of competition hitting the big screens over the next month, and the big business it's certain to continue doing overseas, Avatar: The Way Of Water may be poised to surpass Cameron's aggressive goal.
What We Know About Avatar 3
The third of Cameron's five planned Avatar films was shot back to back with Avatar: The Way Of Water, in part to avoid what is now known as the Stranger Things problem. Unlike the previous hiatus, Avatar 3 will come only two years after Way Of Water. Cameron has revealed that the next installment will take the story to an all-new setting on Pandora where Jake Sully, Neytiri, and their brood will come into contact with the Fire Na'Vi, or the "ash people."
Cameron also mentioned that while the Na'Vi have been the unquestioned moral center through the first two films, Avatar 3 will be turning that idea on its head, indicating that the "ash people" may be the antagonists. Cameron added that he intends to explore "new worlds" in the upcoming sequels, and that these upcoming installments will be best parts of his Avatar saga. Most of the cast of Avatar: The Way Of Water will be returning for Avatar 3, with Oona Chaplin and David Thewlis joining the cast as new Na'Vi characters and Michelle Yeoh coming on board in a live-action role.
Source: Variety