'Avatar: The Way of Water' Crosses $850 Million Worldwide in 10 Days

After 10 days on the big screen, Disney and the big-budget 20th century epic "Avatar: The Way of Water" is the fifth highest-grossing film of the year with $855 million in worldwide ticket sales.

So far, James Cameron's long-delayed sequel has grossed $253.7 million in domestic box office and $600 million internationally. Even with harsh winter conditions in North America and increasing cases of COVID, RSV, and influenza around the world, the “Avatar” sequel is expected to generate strong revenue in the coming days. By the end of the year, the $350 million budget tentpole aims to hit the $1 billion mark. It's a benchmark that only two other films, 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'Jurassic World Dominion', have managed to achieve in 2022.

Outside of North America, "Avatar 2" had the highest attendance in China with $100.5 million, followed by Korea with $53 million, France with $52.3 million, India with $37 million and Germany with $35.7 million. There are several reasons why the follow-up film will struggle to reach the heights of its predecessor, which is the highest-grossing release in history at $2.97 billion worldwide. For one, the global box office hasn't fully rebounded from the pandemic, and major markets like China are experiencing a resurgence of the virus. Also, the sequel won't air in Russia, where the original made $116 million.

Imax was a notable contributor to global ticket sales, with $97 million coming from screens high end of the business. Like the original, the more expensive Imax and 3D tickets are expected to boost "Avatar 2"'s overall revenue.

"Avatar: The Way of the Water" shows the strong global box office stamina we expected, especially with its phenomenal performance internationally where several key markets increased their earnings over the opening weekend,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax. "Our screens remain the destination of choice to discover this one-of-a-kind film."

Comments