Avatar: The Way of Water's box-office success continues as the sequel sails past a major Top Gun: Maverick milestone. The long-awaited sequel to James Cameron's Avatar, which was released in 2009 and still stands as the highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar: The Way of Water finally released in theaters on December 16, and in just 14 days, hit the $1 billion mark worldwide. However, the water-based blockbuster is still second to the action-packed aviation sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which is the biggest movie of the year with $1.5 billion grossed worldwide.
Now, per Variety, Avatar: The Way of Water has sailed past a major Top Gun: Maverick box office milestone. After Avatar: The Way of Water's highest-grossing Wednesday of 2022, which saw $70 million added to its global total, the blockbuster is now sitting at $337 million domestically and $762 million internationally. Top Gun: Maverick finished with $770 million internationally, meaning that once Thursday's grosses are officially tallied, Avatar: The Way of Water will sail past Top Gun: Maverick as the highest-grossing international release of the year.
Why Avatar: The Way of Water Is So Popular Internationally
James Cameron's blockbuster passing this major Top Gun: Maverick milestone in such a short time really underscores how popular Avatar: The Way of Water is internationally. The Avatar movies are set on the fictional alien planet of Pandora and carry a broad appeal to audiences all over the world. Compare this to Top Gun: Maverick, which was still massively popular internationally but is mostly set in Fightertown USA, focuses heavily on US Navy culture and prominently features themes of US patriotism, which doesn't carry as much broad appeal to audiences outside the United States.
Another major reason for Avatar: The Way of Water's international success is that it received a highly coveted release in China, one of the largest movie-going markets in the world. Top Gun: Maverick, along with many Hollywood tentpoles of the past few years, was not released in China. Avatar: The Way of Water has made well over $100 million in China, this advantage being one of many reasons why box office analysts are confident it will eventually overtake Top Gun: Maverick as the highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide.
Will Avatar: The Way of Water Pass Top Gun: Maverick Domestically?
Whether Avatar: The Way of Water will pass Top Gun: Maverick domestically is a different story entirely. As previously mentioned, Tom Cruise's high-flying sequel performed tremendously well stateside, where it grossed $718 million, a lofty milestone even James Cameron's blockbuster might not be able to reach. However, Avatar: The Way of Water is now the undisputed king internationally, and it appears to be just getting started.
Source: Variety
