The fight for the title of the third highest-grossing film worldwide has gained a new chapter. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) again debunked the relaunch of Titanic (1997) by earning US$ 2.243 billion until last Sunday (20).
Its competitor grossed US$ 2.242 billion so far, returning to the fourth position on the list and confirming – once again – the name of James Cameron as the director who most fills the cinemas globally.
science fiction Avatar: The Way of Wateris the highest-grossing feature in more than 20 countries, such as France, Germany, Norway, Portugal and Colombia
On the domestic scene, the new sequence of avatar also surpassed new marks. Between February 19th and 20th, tickets sold totaled US$ 657 million in the United States, surpassing the numbers of Jurassic World.
If the expectation for Avatar 2 is fulfilled, the feature will also surpass Titanic ($671 million) and Avengers: Infinity War (US$ 678 million), coming out of ninth highest-grossing film in North American cinema to consolidate in seventh position.
- 6 films that could surpass the record of Avatar: The Way of Water.
In recent interviews, Cameron spoke more about the film’s financial goals. For GQ, Cameron revealed that Avatar 2 should be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history to offset production expenses and ensure the release of the next sequels.
Furthermore, the filmmaker stated that Avatar 3 was filmed alongside Avatar: The Way of Wateras well as parts of Avatar 4. But it would all depend on how Avatar 2 performed at the box office.
Despite the great yearnings for the franchise, Cameron responded to Collider that one of the most difficult moments in production happened at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All of our priorities suddenly didn’t mean what we thought they meant (…) we worked for a few subsequent years on a film that might not have theaters to show”. The director still adds: “I think that if we had launched earlier, there would be no hope of profitability”.
