'Avatar: The Way of Water' Breaks Records During Opening Week

Considering the first installment was the highest-grossing movie of all time, it comes as no surprise that the second Avatar movie is already breaking records. The highly-anticipated sequel to the 2009 blockbuster dropped on December 16 and immediately began making waves. Like the first film, The Way of Water was directed by James Cameron, whose name alone guarantees quality and success. Fourteen days after the release, the film is again taking over headlines, this time because of its staggering numbers...

Before the movie was even released, all bets were on for Avatar 2 to storm the box office on its opening weekend. When the success and cult following of the first movie were taken into account, it was almost a sure thing. However, when the numbers came in lower than expected, eyebrows were raised, and many questioned what had been behind these figures. One week later, however, the movie proved to be more than a one-weekend wonder, as it continued to stay steady and strong on the front line.

As reported by Deadline, Avatar: The Way of Water surpassed the $1 billion global box office threshold this past Tuesday - under two weeks since it was released. Up to and including Tuesday's numbers, the domestic total stood at $317.1M and the worldwide total at $1,029.8M. Putting this in contrast to other blockbuster successes, it is the fastest film to reach 1 million since Spider-Man: No Way Home, which hit the mark in December 2021. Most importantly, it stands as the quickest movie to reach the milestone for the entirety of 2022. It should also be noted that Avatar 2 is the 6th movie in history to produce these figures within two weeks of its release.

A factor that contributed significantly to this result is the film's release in China. As one of the only American-produced movies with permission to play in the country since the start of the Covid pandemic, they had access to a larger audience. With the next three Avatar movies already in the pipeline, the success is only set to continue. If you've yet to catch the film in theatres, we recommend jumping on board and joining the masses. The numbers do really speak for themselves...