Avatar: The Way of Water Box Office Compared to the Original

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has arrived in theaters after more than a decade, and is on its way to surpass expectations in many ways, but how does its box office compare to the original movie? While the sequel film continues to play well overseas, it always had a high bar to clear since the first remains the highest grossing movie of all-time, not to mention the cost associated with the follow-up. Knowing that the zeroes on the box office totals need to be substantial, we’ve taken a look at the hard box office data between the movies, and noticed some interesting patterns.

In a previous interview with GQ, Cameron was asked how expensive Avatar: The Way of Water is the filmmaker’s reply was “Very f***ing (expensive).” He added that the film would “have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” just to break even, at least that’s how he framed the sequel to studio executives. As one might expect, to be in that category, Avatar: The Way of Water will need to make over $2 billion at the global box office. For consideration on if that can happen, and how the sequel is playing compared to the first, take a look below:

New entries on the comparison between the two films have been added below.

Theater Count

A key metric for seeing the difference in the success of Avatar: The Way of Water and the original film is in how many screen it’s playing on. The 2009 film opened in 3,452 theaters and held that number (or more) through its first three weeks of release, and wouldn’t fall below 3,000 screens until it had been in theaters for 57 days. 

Avatar: The Way of Water opened on 4,202, and remains in that many as of this writing. When you couple that with the raised prices for IMAX, Dolby, and 3D screens, you can perhaps start to see why The Way of Water is outperforming the original in some areas.

Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water

First Friday

Including Thursday preview screenings, Avatar opened to $26,752,099 in 2009 with Avatar: The Way of Water starting its run with $53,200,270. Naturally it’s worth noting that back when the first Avatar premiered, Thursday preview screenings were exclusively at midnight, while Avatar: The Way of Water began playing at 3 PM on Thursday, making its preview numbers higher by virtue of having three times the amount of screenings.

Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water

Opening Weekend

Avatar: The Way of Water brought in $134 million compared to Avatar‘s $77 million. Even when adjusting for inflation from 2009 to 2022, the first film doesn’t match the sequel’s tally, sitting at $106.8 million when adjusted. 

Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water

First Monday

In their first Mondays of release, Avatar managed $16,385,820 while Avatar: The Way of Water sunk down to $16,257,078. It seems likely that this can be attribute to some audience members not being on their winter break from work or school just yet. Don’t worry though, Avatar 2 quickly rebounds.

Winner: Avatar (2009)

First 7 Days

In its first seven days of release, the original Avatar had a total of $137 million domestically, a number that it would increase more than five-fold through its original theatrical run. In that same time frame, the first seven days, Avatar: The Way of Water managed $197.5 million. It could be hard for the sequel to maintain the kind of legs the first movie had in US theaters with increased competition arriving in the next few weeks, and potential fizzling interest.

Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water

2nd Weekend

In its second weekend, 2009’s Avatar was beginning its tremendous hold and huge legs that would carry it to box office glory. Falling only 2% from its first weekend to its second weekend, the movie brought in $75.6 million. Avatar: The Way of Water however managed to have a dip from weekend #1 to weekend #2, one that is consistent with blockbusters of the modern era.

The sequel fell 53% and brought in $63.3 million, of note however is that the first part of this weekend, going from Friday, December 23 to Sunday December, 25, occurred during a massive cold front that shut down streets across the country. Weekend #3 will be the big test for Avatar: The Way of Water’s legs and seeing how it plays compared to other modern blockbusters and its predecessor. For the time being, the hit that Avatar: The Way of Water took thanks to the weather shutting things down has so far been its biggest ding when comparing it to the original.

Winner: Avatar (2009)

First 10 Days

In its first 10 days of release, Avatar (2009) managed to bring in over $200 million, sitting at $212.7 million. On the flipside, Avatar: The Way of Water (which has only been in theaters 12 days as of this writing) has brought in over $261 million in its first ten. Adjusted for inflation, the original Avatar is sitting ahead of its sequel, but the record books still give the edge to the new movie.

Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water

Race to $1 Billion

Right now, after fourteen days of release, Avatar: The Way of Water has crossed the $1 billion marker and sits at $1.028 billion (including early release in some international territories). Back in 2009 the original Avatar crossed the same milestone in 19 days. Though The Way of Water is the winner in this comparison, Avengers: Endgame is the record holder for fastest to $1 billion, achieving it in five days.

Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water

Race to $1.5 billion

Updated: 1/52023

The original Avatar managed to cross $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office in 33 days, something that Avatar: The Way of Water was able to do in 22 days. Adjusting for inflation however, The Way of Water’s 22 day total for $1.5 billion comes up short compared to the original, meaning that while they both passed this benchmark in impressive fashion, the rate that the original Avatar managed to do it is still a little more impressive. Neither film can claim the top spot for “Fastest to $1.5 billion,” another record held by Avengers: Endgame, which did so in 8 days.

Winner, technically: Avatar: The Way of Water

Race to $2 billion

Updated 1/5/2023

Only five movies have made over $2 billion at the worldwide box office, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, Avatar, and Avengers: Endgame. It’s still unclear if Avatar: The Way of Water will hit this benchmark, but if it does so quicker than 47 days it will manage to beat out the original film. With only 22 days of release under its belt, The Way of Water seems poised to cross this threshold, probably in the next 10 days.

3rd Weekend

Added 1/5/2023

In their third weekends at the box office, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water had remarkably similar performances. The 2009 original took home $68.49 million while the sequel managed $67.4 million. Of note, The Way of Water increased its box office compared to the previous weekend, due in part to the massive winter storms that were occurring and left some audiences members at home. The original Avatar may be the winner here, but The Way of Water’s domestic total after the third weekend remains higher.

Winner: Avatar (2009)

First 20 Days

Added 1/5/2023

In their first 10 days of release, Avatar: The Way of Water managed to be almost fifty million dollars ahead of the first movie. Adding another 10 days for their first 20 days of release has the sequel at almost $100 million higher than its predecessor. While the original Avatar sat at $374 million after three weeks, the sequel is now at just over $464 million. Adjusted for inflation, the original Avatar is STILL sitting ahead of its sequel, but the record books will continue to give the edge to the new movie.

Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water