James Cameron’s "Avatar: The Way of Water", the sequel to the worldwide 2009 blockbuster "Avatar", has overtaken Cameron’s other blockbuster “Titanic” as the third-highest-grossing movie in history.
The 20th Century Studios/Disney sci-fi epic has now generated $2.2433 billion globally and surpassed “Titanic” ($2.2428 billion) at the worldwide box office.
Now, “Avatar: The Way of Water” trails only “Avatar” ($2.92 billion) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.7 billion) on the all-time charts.
Cameron, the sole filmmaker with three movies to gross $2 billion or more, has directed the first, third, and fourth biggest releases ever.
Like its predecessor, the follow-up’s success is attributed to its generation-spanning appeal as well as the incentive to watch the film in premium and 3D formats. On Imax screens, the movie has crossed $250 million. That’s more coinage than many films manage to earn in their entire theatrical runs.
Elsewhere, “Avatar 2” recently passed “Titanic” to become the third-highest-grossing international release ever with $1.585 billion. It’s behind only 2009’s “Avatar” ($2.1 billion) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($1.9 billion) in terms of overseas ticket sales.
Standout markets include China ($242 million), France ($144 million), Germany ($135 million), and Korea ($106 million).
It ranks as the highest-grossing film of all time in more than 20 countries, including France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Rep, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, UAE, Cambodia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Colombia, and Puerto Rico.
Avatar fans have been waiting thirteen years for its sequel, which premiered on December 16 and started ten years after the original.
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña returned as Jake and Neytiri. They now live in Pandora with their family.
Sigourney Weaver, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel, Stephen Lang, Matt Gerald, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Dileep Rao, Giovanni Ribisi, and Kate Winslet also star in the movie.
Cameron, who has been working on the sequel since 2013, said previously that for the movie to be profitable, it will “have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.”
The movie is the first of four “Avatar” sequels planned. An untitled third “Avatar” movie is set for release on December 20, 2024.
Filming has been completed on "Avatar 3", while production on a fourth and fifth film is underway.
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