Avatar The Way of Water vs Avatar box office report: Rough waters ahead for the most expensive film ever
Following its opening weekend at the box office, Avatar: The Way of Water is off to a decent start with a long road ahead towards potentially usurping the crown from its 2009 predecessor, Avatar, or turning a profit at the very least.
- James Cameron’s follow-up to 2009’s sci-fi epic and reigning box office champion, Avatar, has opened to a whopping Rs 41 crore in India, with a weekend box office gross totalling to approximately Rs 149 crore according to Box Office Mojo.
Despite its huge opening however, The Way of Water fell just short of topping the all time domestic opening day gross, coming in behind Avengers: Endgame in second place.
Upon its release in 2009, Avatar had made roughly $241 million (Rs 190 crore) at the worldwide box office during the opening weekend - the ninth highest-grossing film of all time and the biggest for a non-sequel.
The Way of Water, on the other hand, has opened to a worldwide box office gross of approximately $435 million (Rs 360 crore) - nearly doubling the earnings of its predecessor. However, pre-rollout predictions for the film had estimated a $500 million (410 crore) opening for the film at the very least, which it hasn’t been able to meet.
Currently, with its $435 million in the bag, The Way of Water sits at 10th place on the highest grossing films of 2022 globally, right behind the following:
The Way of Water has the chance to draw large family audiences over the Christmas and New Year's weekends. Since the film has little major competition until February, it is expected to pursue the same path as its predecessor in the hope that audiences will continue seeking The Way of Water out for weeks and months to come.
- In a recent interview with GQ, director James Cameron revealed that the film’s budget was “very f**king expensive” and it would require the third or fourth spot on the highest-grossing films ever just to break even.
According to Deadline, (though still unconfirmed) the much speculated budget for Avatar: The Way of Water is estimated to be $460 million, making it the most expensive film ever made. Since studios split ticket sales with theatres and Cameron has said the film will need to make a minimum of $2 billion just to break even, The Way of Water faces turbulent waters ahead towards turning a profit.
The future for the Avatar franchise is entirely contingent upon The Way of Water’s box office success according to Cameron.
Though a third film has already been filmed and is set for a 2024 release, the profitability of The Way of Water alone shall determine whether the planned fourth and fifth instalments in the franchise shall ever see the light of day.
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