Avatar: The Way of Water Leads January Box Office Surge

Avatar: The Way of Water remains a box office force to be reckoned with, helping the box office surge to over $500 million overall in the third week of January. The Avatar sequel is expected to take in up to $20 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic box office total to $598 million. Also helping the box office surge this weekend are Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and M3GAN. The former will earn over $12 million while M3GAN earns $9 million. Newcomer Missing will open with $8.5 million for the weekend. Avatar: The Way of Water has gotten a mostly positive reception from critics, even though its Rotten Tomatoes score has fallen since its debut. The consensus on the review aggregator website reads, "Narratively, it might be fairly standard stuff -- but visually speaking, Avatar: The Way of Water is a stunningly immersive experience."

ComicBook.com's Liam Crowley had high praise for the film, awarding it a 5-out-of-5 review: "Film is an ever-evolving medium that, for better or worse, demands a "what have you done for me lately" hunger from its audience. 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 playing in theatres. The full list of the top 10 films at the box office this weekend follows.