Avatar: The Way of Water Box Office Crosses $200 Million Ahead of Christmas

By Spencer Perry

James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water continues to be the leader of the pack, crossing the $200 million threshold domestically as of yesterday. The Walt Disney Company's estimates for Friday box office on the sequel saw it bring in an additional $19 million, pushing it to just over $217 million in the US alone. It's worth noting naturally that the weather conditions in many parts of the country could be keeping potential audience members at home, but estimates for the four-day weekend put Avatar: The Way of Water at bringing in between $88 million and $90 million from Friday through Monday.

Week over week Avatar: The Way of Water saw a 63% drop from last Friday to yesterday, a significant dip, but again one that was likely hampered by weather conditions. The film also has the advantage of a long holiday weekend that could see audiences surge ahead as the cold air passes, temperatures begin to rise, and roads get cleared. The next week between Christmas and New Years will likely be huge for the film as audiences have free time away from work and school, with little counter programming to compete with it.

As of this writing, Avatar: The Way of Water is now the #8 highest grossing movie of the year in the US, eclipsing past Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to claim its spot. Ahead of the sequel is a lot of competition however with Thor: Love and Thunder sitting at #7 with $343 million, a number that Avatar should be able to match around the time of the new year. The Batman and Minions: The Rise of Gru are the #6 and #5 movies on the list, with $369.34 million and $369.5 million respectively, followed by Jurassic World Dominion as the #4 movie of the year with $376 million. Avatar seems poised to easily beat out all three of these movies in the long run, but catching the top three movies will be tough.

The #3 highest grossing movie in the US is currently Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with $411 million with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sitting at #2 with $423 million. It's certainly possible that Avatar: The Way of Water could catch both of these, but it will take a lot of repeat viewing on premium formats for the sequel to do so. Luckily for Cameron and his cohorts that seems to be the way people are eager to see it. Top Gun: Maverick remains the highest grossing movie of the year (both domestically and worldwide) with a US total of $718 million, something the original Avatar managed to cross after twelve weeks of release back in 2009/2010.

International numbers for Avatar: The Way of Water continue to look good as well. The most recent estimates for its box office totals in other countries haven't been updated in a few days, with fresh numbers arriving on Christmas, but currently the film has an estimated $464 million internationally, giving it a global total of $681 million. Once final numbers come in however the film could very easily clear $800 million, and might be as high as $900 million. Check back here throughout the weekend for the latest details!

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