Avatar: The Way Of Water has joined the one billion dollar club, with the James Cameron directed film earning $1.1 billion worldwide just 15 days after its release, making it the second-highest grossing film of 2022, trailing only Top Gun: Maverick, which earned $1.4 billion. What’s more, the Way Of Water, continues to perform well at the box office, earning $24.4 million on Friday, bringing its domestic total to $382.6 million, a 27% increase from its second weekend gross.
Further, industry sources predict that it will earn between $87 million and $92 million over the four-day weekend.At the global box office, The Way Of Water is expected to gross between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion, making it the highest grossing film of 2022, surpassing Top Gun: Maverick ($1.48 billion) and breaking Spider-Man: No Way Home’s post-pandemic record of $1.9 billion.If it achieves this, The Way Of Water will be the sixth film in history and James Cameron’s third to gross $2 billion at the box office.
At the domestic box office, however, “Avatar: The Way of Water” is currently the fourth highest-grossing domestic release of 2022, trailing only “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($411.3 million). However, it is rapidly ascending the chart.
The future of James Cameron other planned future installments for the Avatar franchise relies heavily on the success of The Way Of Water, which requires a $2 billion gross to break even. If everything goes as planned, future installments will hit theaters in 2024 (Avatar: The Seed Bearer), 2026 (Avatar: The Tulkun Rider), and 2028 (Avatar: The Quest for Eywa).
In other news, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is on track to finish second at the box office. The animated sequel, which took in $6.5 million on Friday, is expected to take in $15.9 million over the weekend and $21.2 million over the four-day holiday period. That means it will most likely earn $66.6 million at the start of the new year.