Avatar: The Way of Water continues to conquer the box office with $1.17B worldwide

Last Updated on January 5, 2023

Avatar, James Cameron, Wednesday, box office

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is still making waves at the box office after shooting the curl to $1.17 billion worldwide. With so many dollars to its name, Avatar: The Way of Water is the third-highest-grossing film of the pandemic era, treading water behind Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.9 billion) and Top Gun: Maverick ($1.5 billion).

Cameron’s splashy sequel experienced another monster Wednesday at the box office with $20 million in domestic dollars. After doing some math, that brings the film’s Stateside total to $358 million. Additionally, the film brought in another $47.9 million in domestic earnings, cranking the international count to $810.6 million.

Still, Avatar: The Way of Water needs to earn more money if it’s going to make its production budget back and then some. Analysts say the movie needs to breach around $1.4 billion to break even. Thankfully, if Avatar 2 keeps raking in dollars like so many leaf piles prime for jumping, it’ll do just fine. I don’t plan to see the film, but I’m confident Cameron will achieve his goal of getting Avatar: The Way of Water beyond the goal line.

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water tells the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

James Cameron directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. The first of several planned sequels stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Brendan Cowell, Joel David Moore, and more.

Have you seen Avatar: The Way of Water yet? What did you think about the film? Will Cameron’s film break even and continue to swim past the competition? Given the film’s success, do you think Cameron will keep making Avatar films beyond the third film in the franchise? Keep in mind that Avatar 3 is already in post-production. Let us know what you think about Avatar‘s performance and future in the comments.

Source: Deadline

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.