In just its fourth weekend of release, Avatar: The Way Of Water is set to swim past the $500 million domestic threshold. The Avatar sequel sees Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) return to the big screen with a family of their own as they relocate to a different part of Pandora inhabited by the water-dwelling Metkayina clan. The movie continues to be a smash hit in its first post-holiday weekend and seems as though it has a few more box office records in its sights as well.
According to Deadline, Avatar: The Way Of Water is on track to bank between $38 and $43 million to round out its first month of release, and whether it falls at the low or high end of those projections, it will soar past the half billion mark in Canada and the United States. The film has already set multiple box office records over its short but successful theatrical release, including passing Top Gun: Maverick as the highest-grossing film worldwide for the 2022 movie calendar. Avatar 2 also scored $1.546 billion before this weekend's domestic results rolled in.
Will Avatar 2 Hit $2 Billion?
Before the release of Avatar: The Way Of Water, James Cameron stated that he believed the film would not be considered a financial success unless it crossed the $2 billion mark at the worldwide box office. However, the film recently passed $1.5 billion just under a month into its theatrical run, and in response to that milestone, Cameron conceded that the film did hit its profitability threshold. This update means he is all set to go ahead with the next three Avatar sequels as he originally planned. Still, the latest box office achievements won't stop Avatar: The Way Of Water from increasing its profits since it seems plausible that the movie will pass Cameron's original goal of $2 billion.
Cameron continues to take innovative approaches to his filmmaking style, and Avatar: The Way Of Water is no exception. The second installment is the first to use underwater motion capture technology, attributing to the effects showing an awe-inspiring visual spectacle. The use of groundbreaking technology and the long 13-year wait also added anticipation, especially as Cameron spoke about needing the right technology to effectively make the sequel. Avatar 2 has surpassed The Avengers ($1.521 billion) to become the ninth-biggest movie at the all-time worldwide box office, and in its fourth weekend, it added another 130+ screens to help boost its already impressive numbers.
Despite a disappointing opening weekend, Avatar: The Way Of Water's third weekend gross ($67.4 million) is the third all-time, and its projected fourth weekend ($38-$43 million) would rank between third and fifth. However, the sequel faces new competition at the box office, as comedy-horror M3GAN is projected to have a strong run at the theaters. Nevertheless, the film's foreign box office has already crossed $1 billion, so a worldwide box office of over $2 billion seems a highly possible conclusion for Avatar: The Way Of Water at this point.
Source: Deadline