Avatar: The Way of Water Runtime is Even Longer Than the Original

The runtime for James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water has seemingly been revealed with The Hollywood Reporter bringing word that the sequel will clock in at "around three hours and 10 minutes." Cameron's first film in the series, which debuted in 2009, clocked in at around two hours and 41 minutes, making the sequel well over half an hour longer. Avatar 2 isn't Cameron's longest movie as a filmmaker though with his Oscar-winning movie Titanic still the king of the world (the 1997 Best Picture winner comes in at three hours and 14 minutes).

Despite the lengthy runtime, it's worth noting that most of hte highest grossing movies of all-time are on the longer side. The two hours and 42 minute Avatar still remains the highest grossing movie of all-time with the three hour and 1 minute Avengers: Endgame sitting at #2 and the three hour and 14 minute Titanic still #3. The shortest film on the All-Time Top 10 highest grossing movies list is the 2019 remake of The Lion King, sitting at one hour and 58 minutes, it's the only one in the Top 10 under two hours.

Why did Avatar 2 take so long?

The gap in time between the release of the original Avatar and the upcoming sequel, which has been delayed probably ten times in the years since it was first announced, has become something of a punchline. While other film franchises and blockbuster movies were able to churn out sequels and visual effects spectacles with what seemed like ease, James Cameron was playing the long game with Avatar 2, making sure the story was just right but also making sure that its 3D spectacle was one worthy of the big screen. 

"I do think that the new "Avatar" film will rekindle an interest in natively authored 3-D, which is what I personally believe is the right way to do it," Cameron told The New York Times recently. "I say either do 3-D or don't do 3-D, but don't try to slap it on afterward to get the up-charge on the ticket."

Is Avatar still the highest grossing movie ever?

Despite thirteen years since its release, yes, Avatar from 2009 is still the highest grossing movie of all-time. It's worth noting that in the years since it first debuted that its place on the list has shifted back and forth a bit. After being in theaters for just 41 days, Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time in January of 2010, a record it would hold for nine years until teh release of Avengers: Endgame.

The culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would eclipse Avatar's worldwide gross after a few months of release, making it the #2 movie of All-Time. Avatar would be re-released in movie theaters in China in March of 2021, an attempt to revitalize theaters amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and it worked. That re-release of the film would push it back to the #1 All-Time spot, pushing it to $2.847 billion globally. The film was re-released once again this year ahead of the sequel, bringing its total to just over $2.92 billion.