'Avatar 2' falls short of box office predictions with $134 million domestic debut
Many predicted 'Avatar: The Way of Water' would bring in at least $150 million, with some saying $175 million
'Avatar: The Way of Water' a movie 'spectacle' made to be seen on big screen: Sean Gamble
Cinemark president CEO Sean Gamble discusses the opening of 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' the long-awaited sequel to the world's highest-grossing film on 'The Claman Countdown.'
"Avatar: The Way of Water" has dived below box office expectations after the film’s opening weekend.
The "Avatar" sequel earned $134 million from North American theaters and $300.5 million internationally for a $434.5 million global debut, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Going into the weekend many were expecting a domestic debut of at least $150 million. Some even said $175 or higher, but tracking has also not been as reliable a metric during the pandemic.
The sequel to "Avatar" tied with "The Batman" as the fourth-highest domestic debut this year.
"Avatar 2" felt short of expectations for its domestic debut. (20th Century Studios via AP / AP Newsroom)
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Coming in third was "Thor: Love and Thunder," which made $144.2 million in July. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" made $181 million in November and the highest domestic debut in 2022 was "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which made $187.4 million in May.
Disney saw early that "The Way of Water" was going to be a different kind of beast when they looked at pre-sales.
For a normal, spoiler-heavy movie like many Marvel offerings, post-opening weekend sales are usually around 5%. For "The Way of Water," they were at 20%. In other words, the company knew that tracking was overinflated.
"Avatar: The Way of Water" made $134 domestically during opening weekend. (20th Century Studios via AP / AP Newsroom)
"We’ve got a terrific movie that is playing across all demographics and (has) terrific word of mouth," said Tony Chambers, the Walt Disney Co.’s executive vice president for theatrical distribution. "We’ve got the screens and we’ve got a clear run. This isn’t about the opening day or the opening weekend. This is about the entire run."
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"Avatar: The Way of Water" was released in 4,202 theaters on over 12,000 screens, 400 of which were IMAX 3D. The studio and filmmakers bet big on the draw, and higher prices, of the 3D format and premium large screens.
An estimated 66% of the $435 million opening weekend revenue came from worldwide 3D ticket sales.
"Avatar: The Way of Water" released on Friday. (20th Century Studios via AP / AP Images)
The James Cameron-directed film came 13 years after the original movie, and the second film is not the end of the franchise.
Cameron has plans to release a third film in 2024 and a fourth in 2026. Scripts have already been written for the upcoming movies, and the director told Collider that the script for "Avatar 4" was the only one that did not receive a single note from studio executives.
James Cameron revealed there will be two more "Avatar" movies. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney / Getty Images)
Besides the "Avatar" movies, Cameron has directed a number of other films such as "The Terminator," "Aliens" and "Titanic." He has won three Oscars between "Titanic" and the first "Avatar" movie.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.