It’s official -James Cameronhas done it again. Even in the strange new world we find ourselves in after a global pandemic, the legendary filmmaker has continued to defy the odds and expectations of him, outdoing himself once again, as his blockbuster sequel toAvatarhas smashed another box office record.Avatar: The Way of Water, the long-awaited follow-up to the highest grossing film of all time (at $2.9 billion), today crossed the $1.916 billion mark set by 2021’sSpider-Man: No Way Hometo become both the sixth-highest grossing film of all time, and the highest-grossing movie of the post-pandemic era.
The movie’s next major hurdle is breaching that coveted $2 billion dollar mark, a feat which has only been achieved by five other movies in history -Avatar,Avengers: Endgame(with $2.79 million),Titanic($2.2 billion),Star Wars: The Force Awakens($2.069 billion) andAvengers: Infinity War($2.04 billion). ShouldThe Way of Waterhit that milestone, it would mean half of the films in that Big Six were directed by Cameron, a man who truly knows the meaning of the word “blockbuster”.
To date,The Way of Waterhas grossed $574 million in North America and $1.35 billion internationally after less than six weeks in theaters, following its release on December 16th last year. The international tally is all the more impressive when external factors like a lack of performance in Japan, where the original grossed $176 million, and the total absence of screenings in Russia - more than $100 million grossed originally.
RELATED:‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Passes $1.9 Billion at Global Box Office
At the domestic box office, it currently stands at 13th in the all-time table, having just passedThe Lion King, The Dark Knight,andRogue One: A Star Wars Story.Overseas, the film is $20 million away from becoming the fourth-highest grossing film of all time, closing in onInfinity Warwhich grossed $1.370 billion internationally.
The film cost $460 million to produce and promote, and as a result, is one of the most expensive films ever made. A figure of $1.4 billion to break even was banded around, but that was easily passed, with Cameron himself confirming that he now expected to be extremely busy finishingthe next three filmsin his space fantasy franchise. Having developed his own technology to shootThe Way of Waterand its subsequent sequels, the budgets and break-even points for the follow-ups is expected to be significantly lower.
Avatar 3is scheduled to open in theaters in December 2024.The Way of Wateris currently playing in theaters. Catch our interview with Cameron down below.
