'Avatar: The Way of Water' LIGHTS UP and breathes life into global box office with $434.5M opening weekend
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It took James Cameron more than 13 years to come out with a sequel to ‘Avatar’ and it has already been named one of the best movies of the year. Titled ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, the movie takes place ten years after the events of the original movies and sees Jake and Neytiri having a family. However, their lives are once again in danger as the 'Sky people' have returned to destroy their sweet home. The movie was expected to have a massive opening at the box office and it didn’t disappoint.
The official numbers have arrived and according to Box Office Mojo, the movie has opened to a bumper response at the box office, earning more than $434 million globally. The movie went on to earn more than $300 million internationally and topped the charts in several countries. On the other hand, the film garnered over $134 million domestically in its opening weekend. Although the figures are slightly below expectations, analysts believe that the film would earn more as soon as the holiday season begins.
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‘The Way of Water’ had the 6th best opening weekend of the year, only behind ‘Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness’, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’, ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, and ‘The Batman’. Meanwhile, the global figures of $434.5 million are the 2nd highest global opening weekend posted by any Hollywood movie during the Covid-19 pandemic era. The only movie ahead of the sequel is ‘Multiverse of Madness’ ($442 million). It is also the 2nd highest global opening of 2022 to date.
The numbers could have been bigger, but the rising cases of Covid-19 in China impacted the movie’s business. It was expected that the movie was going to make more than $100 million in China on its opening weekend, but could only earn $57 million. However, the numbers are expected to go up higher as the holiday season begins. Other international markets where the movie is making more money than the expected figures include South Korea ($24.7 million), Germany ($20 million), France ($19.3 million), and India ($18.2 million).
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is set a decade after the events of the first film and tells the story of the Sully family and the troubles that follow them. The family will do anything to keep each other safe and they fight the battle to keep the entire tribe safe from the wrath of humans. The movie sees Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana returning as Jake Sully and Neytiri. Meanwhile, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang also return as Kiri and Colonel Miles Quaritch. On the other hand, actors such as Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Jamie Flatters, and Britain Dalton join the movie as the new cast members.
The movie currently holds a 78% rating on the review site Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience score is much higher with 94% on the website.
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is currently playing in theatres everywhere.