Avatar: The Way of Water Box Office Achieves Best Tuesday of the Year

Avatar: The Way of Water hit theatres over the weekend and the movie has already earned $550 million worldwide. The James Cameron-directed sequel was 13 years in the making, and its predecessor is still the top-grossing film of all time, so it’s no surprise to see the new movie thriving this holiday season. In fact, Avatar 2 just hit a milestone by having the best Tuesday at the box office in 2022. According to Deadline, the movie scored $18.3M domestically yesterday beating Minions: The Rise of Gru‘s previous 2022 Tuesday record holder of $17.5 million. The new movie’s global total for Tuesday was $58.5M.

Tuesday’s numbers have helped bring Avatar: The Way of the Water to $168.6 million domestically and $387.3 million overseas, bringing its current total to $555.9 million. In the United States, the movie earned $2.2M on Tuesday in IMAX sales. Deadline explains that the IMAX number was down from Monday due to many theaters having ongoing ticket deals on Tuesdays. 

Deadline also reports that Avatar: The Way of the Water has about $8 million in pre-sales heading into the upcoming Christmas weekend. December 25th is one of the biggest movie days of the year, and it’s almost guaranteed that Avatar 2 will win the box office for the second weekend in a row. 

What Are Critics Saying About Avatar: The Way of the Water?

Avatar: The Way of the Water hit theaters this weekend, but it isn’t actually the highest-rated movie to be released. The James Cameron-directed sequel’s Rotten Tomatoes score has been dropping, and it is currently up on the site with a 78% critics score and a 93% audience score. In fact, it has a lower score than another film that hit theaters over the weekend, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which is currently on the site with 95% and 98%. ComicBook.com‘s Liam Crowley gave Avatar: The Way of the Water a 5 out of 5 and called it a “miraculous cinematic spectacle.”

Which Actors Returned For Avatar: The Way of the Water?

The Avatar sequel features returning stars such as Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver. The cast for the sequels also includes several more newcomers than returning members, though, with the likes of Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones all set to appear as well. 

Avatar: The Way of Water is in theaters now and Avatar 3 is set to debut two years later on December 20, 2024.