Disney and 20th Century’s Avatar: The Way of the Water has become the third film this year to gross over $1 billion in just a fortnight. The new James Cameron movie joins Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion to hit the ten-figure mark this year. It is the fastest film to reach the $1B benchmark since Spider-Man: No Way Home (also a Disney-owned production) did so over twelve days in 2021.
So far, the film has a domestic box office result of $317 million after being released in mid-December. It has done so even as brutal winter storms hit the nation, forcing many to remain at home. Foreign markets have presented their own challenges. In China – perhaps the film’s second most important market – a surge in coronavirus cases has hobbled their theater industry, and the film is not even being shown in Russia. Still, the sequel managed to gross an impressive $713 million abroad.
The sequel still has a ways to go until it reaches profitability. It had a whopping budget of $350 million and an additional $100 million marketing budget. Cameron himself has said that the film needs to earn $2B to become profitable.
The original Avatar, which was released 13 years ago, is the highest-earning film of all time, raking in a ludicrous $2.9 billion. It accomplished this feat by having incredible staying power, remaining in theaters for over half a year. After a strong, if not spectacular, opening weekend haul of $134 million domestically, the film remained in first the following weekend, grossing another $63 million. Following its predecessor’s footsteps, the sequel will likely remain showing in theaters for many weeks, as Disney and 20th Century eagerly await more strong returns.
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