The Way of Water Dominates Box Office on Opening Day with $53M for $130M-$150M U.S. Opening

Avatar 2 dominates the box office with a $53M opening day, with expectations for a strong performance through the holidays.

20th Century Studios

Avatar: The Way of Water, directed by James Cameron, soared to the top with its debut showing on Friday. It earned an impressive $53 million across the U.S., making it Cameron’s greatest opening day yet. Before the weekend, tracking indicated that Avatar: The Way of Water would have a strong opening with domestic earnings of between $150 million and $175 million and global earnings of between $450 million and $550 million. Box office analysts have noted that predicting movie numbers in this unprecedented pandemic era has been difficult to estimate. However, Avatar: The Way of Water has surpassed expectations for a domestic debut. Similarly, Avatar 2 has dominated overseas, too, grossing an incredible $127.1 million in the first three days for an early global haul of $180.1 million.

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Avatar: The Way of Water is poised to make a milestone debut, opening notably ahead of Avatar’s $77 million domestic debut in December 2009. This groundbreaking film became a worldwide phenomenon, eventually surpassing all expectations at the box office with an astonishing $2.92 billion-plus in ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing film to date.

Avatar: The Way of Water is a project fans have eagerly awaited for over a decade. But with its release comes another major challenge. The film runs three hours and twelve minutes, much longer than the standard movie time, resulting in fewer show times. Another challenge is that many consumers don’t wish to pay an upcharge for the 3D or premium experience.

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Avatar: The Way of Water Delivers Great Reviews

20th Century Studios

The latest installment of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise reportedly cost $350-$400 million to produce and has once again pushed the boundaries of special effects with some breathtaking scenes that have delighted eager audiences worldwide. Relying more on long-term playability than on zooming past the box office records set by Avatar in 2009, it boasts glowing exit scores and an A CinemaScore. Per THR, advance ticket sales for the film are spread out over the weekend and into Christmas week versus being front-loaded.

Avatar: The Way of Water is set more than a decade after the first film’s events and follows the struggles and experiences of the Sully family, including Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), as they fight to protect their loved ones and stay alive. The film introduces several new characters, including native Na’vi children and a human child named Miles Socorro, also known as Spider (Jack Champion), who Jake takes in after the child is born on Pandora. The story explores the challenges and tragedies the family faces as they navigate the dangers and conflicts on the planet.

It looks like Avatar: The Way of Water is off to a great start at the box office. With an A CinemaScore and strong audience exit scores, this big-budget spectacle will have no problem bringing in audiences throughout the holiday season and into 2023.

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