If anybody still needs convincing that Avatar: The Way of Water is an unambiguously successful blockbuster, all they need to know is that it is on the verge of passing $1.9 billion at the global box office, mere hours after it sailed past the $1.8 billion mark. The long-in-the-making science-fiction sequel’s current global haul stands at $1.89 billion, which makes it the highest-grossing movie of 2022 by far.
The film added nearly $90 million from overseas territories in its fifth weekend, pushing its international haul to $1.3 billion. Domestically, The Way of Water will hit the $570 million mark by the end of the extended MLK weekend. And most likely by tomorrow, it will overtake Spider-Man: No Way Home’s $1.91 billion lifetime haul to become the biggest hit of the pandemic era. As if that weren’t enough, The Way of Water will almost certainly become the first film since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame to pass $2 billion at the global box office. Additionally, — and this is incredible — it will become director James Cameron’s third feature film (in a row) to pass $2 billion worldwide, after Titanic ($2.2 billion) and the first Avatar, which remains the biggest movie in history with $2.97 billion.
The Way of Water is currently the seventh-biggest movie of all time, behind No Way Home and Avengers: Infinity War ($2.04 billion). The film will most likely surpass Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ $2.06 billion global haul to settle in the fourth spot on the all-time list, which would mean that three out of the top four movies of all time will have been directed by Cameron.
The Way of Water’s biggest overseas territory remains China, with $211 million. The film didn’t just receive a rare release in the notoriously insular Middle Kingdom but also got an even rarer extension. China is followed by France ($120.5 million), Germany ($106.9 million), Korea ($92.7 million), the U.K. ($76.8 million), India ($56.7 million), Australia ($50.9 million), Mexico ($48.8 million), Spain ($43.7 million) and Italy ($43.1 million).
You might remember that the filmmaker had said that, considering its hefty reported budget of over $400 million, The Way of Water would need to finish as the third or fourth-biggest movie in history to break even, and that the future of the franchise depends on how well this film does. Variety recently reported that the break-even point is actually in the $1.4 billion range. Either way, The Way of Water is a bona fide hit, and Cameron has since said that he will forge ahead with the sequels after all.
While Disney is yet to officially green light Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 — Cameron has said he has plans for seven movies — the third film was shot simultaneously with The Way of Water and is already in the can. Cameron had estimated that the studio would need to spend around $100 million more on finishing the effects and meeting its December 2024 release date.
Set a decade after the first Avatar, The Way of Water follows Jake Sully, his partner Neytiri and their children, as they venture into unexplored aquatic areas of the tropical world of Pandora. Cameron shot the film using state-of-the-art underwater motion capture technology that he pioneered and presented it in fluctuating High Frame Rate.
You can watch our interview with the filmmaker here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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