Avatar: The Way of Water Passes Avengers: Infinity War at the Box Office

You can bet James Cameron is smiling slyly at all those “Who still cares about Avatar?” types out there, because their months (years?) of taking shots at Cameron’s film franchise are certainly looking more misguided by the minute. The Avatar sequel Avatar: The Way of Water will officially pass Avengers: Infinity War at the worldwide box office before the weekend, having earned over $2.046 billion total (and counting) at the time of writing this. 

Marvel fans can still take solace in the fact that Infinity War is still commanding a considerable lead at the domestic box office; Avengers 4 earned $678.8 million domestically, while Avatar 2 is just crossing over $602 million right now. That seems like a significant enough gap that won’t be closed during The Way of Water’s theatrical run, but it’s clear that overseas, audiences are very much still heavily invested in Cameron’s world of Pandora, and all the groundbreaking visual spectacle he offers, which can only be experienced in the theater. 

None of these current box office races comes anywhere close to Avengers: Endgame. The Infinity War sequel still stands tall with $858.3M domestic and $2.79B worldwide. It is only surpassed by (obviously) the first Avatar, whose re-release events have edged it back onto the throne of the highest-grossing movie ever (over $749M domestic, $2.93B worldwide). 

Disney certainly loves to see the Avatar and Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises competing for box office supremacy – since all of these box office monies filter back into the Mouse House’s pockets. The competition will continue, As Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 will be released in turn with Avengers 5 and 6 in the next five years (or less). 

ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley was out in front of things early, giving Avatar: The Way of Water 5-out-of-5 review: 

In the 13 years between Avatar films, fans have been treated to a rebirth of Star Wars, the meteoric rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and an overall box office boom that has made billion-dollar pictures a regular occurrence. With an abundance of theatrical treats over the past decade, the magic of Avatar (2009) has been somewhat overlooked. If there was any doubt, James Cameron reminds audiences exactly what he’s capable of. Words don’t do Avatar: The Way of Water justice. While this film has all the makings of a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience, audiences should relish in the fact that there is much more to come.”

Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War is streaming on Disney+.