‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ surpass $550 million in global sales
The original 2009 'Avatar' movie brought in more than $3.5 billion in sales worldwide
'Avatar' $435M global opening a 'big success,' skeptics will be proven wrong: IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond
IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond analyzes the opening weekend numbers for 'Avatar: The Way of Water' after some say the sequel failed to live up to Disney's box office hopes on 'The Claman Countdown.'
"Avatar: The Way of Water" has crossed the half a billion maker in global ticket sales, earning more than $550 million at the box office less than a week after the film's release in theaters.
However, the James Cameron directed movie, with its current budgets of $350 million, still has a long way to go to be considered profitable, a number north of $2 billion. In five days, the film became one of eight films released this year to bring in more than $500 million in revenue, according to Variety.
On Tuesday, "Way of Water" sold $18.3 million tickets in the United States and over $40 million across the world.
A breakdown of its current box office sales shows $168.6 million domestic sales and $378.3 million internationally.
'AVATAR 2' FALLS SHORT OF BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS WITH $134 MILLION DOMESTIC DEBUT
"Avatar: The Way of Water" made $134 domestically during opening weekend. (20th Century Studios via AP / AP Newsroom)
Due to a slowdown in movie attendance following the pandemic, it is unlikely that "Way of Water" will reach the same level of profitability as the original film. Experts estimates that in the next weekend the film will decline by approximately 40% of its original $134 million opening week debut.
The original 2009 "Avatar" became the highest grossing movie in the history of cinema with over $3.5 billion in ticket sales. More than $2.9 billion was made globally, while $760 million was brought in from the North American market.
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Disney acquired the rights to the popular sci-fi franchise after purchasing 20th Century Fox in 2019.
The holiday weekend should prove to be profitable for "Way of the Water" as it currently holds the top spot on the domestic charts. Movies such as "Babylon" are unlikely to surpass Cameron's box office numbers.