13 years after the first opus, James Cameron invites Earthlings to return to Pandora with Avatar: The Way of the Water. Spectators visibly answered the call since the film collected 435 million dollars for its first weekend of worldwide exploitation. An impressive figure, but well below projections – and studio expectations.
At the same level as Doctor Strange 2
Worldwide, the film was released in 52 international markets this weekend, and Avatar: The Way of the Water therefore did not reach the objective of 450 million greenbacks anticipated by analysts. James Cameron’s feature film thus signs a worldwide start equivalent to that of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (442 million), despite a lucrative release in China, unlike the latest Marvel productions.
In France, the film recorded 1,847,065 admissions in five days. It’s more than the first Avatarwhich had gleaned 1,806,542 admissions in 2009. Avatar: The Waterway is thus the best start of 2022 in France, ahead of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (1,692,183 entries).
If we look at the United States alone, Avatar: The Way of the Water rakes in $134 million for its debut weekend. It’s better than Top Gun: Maverick (126 million), identical to The Batman (134 million), but less than Jurassic World: the world after (145 million) and Black Panther: Wakanka Forever (181 million). With its estimated budget of $400 million, James Cameron’s latest creation will have to become, according to the filmmaker himself, “the third or fourth biggest movie in history” to reimburse. A goal far from being attainable if we believe these first results, but it would be wrong to know the director of titanic.
A marathon, not a sprint
Because if these first recipes are indeed disappointing, they should be put into perspective. For his first weekend in the United States, Avatar: The Way of the Water generated almost double the first opus released in 2009 (77 million against 134). With the Football World Cup, the end-of-year celebrations and the length of the film (3 h 12 min), it is likely that many spectators will wait until January to return to Pandora. Without zero size blockbuster on the front panel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania next February 17, Avatar: The Way of the Water can therefore benefit from a good longevity in theaters in the coming weeks.
Without reaching the heights of Top Gun: Maverickwho ended his American career at 719 million, Avatar: The Way of the Water should therefore catch up, exceed 500 million (and the last Marvel) in the United States and the billion dollars in the world. Will it become one of the biggest hits in history, as James Cameron wishes? The next few weeks will tell, but one thing is certain, Pandora hasn’t finished surprising us.
Box office Avatar: The Waterway (1st weekend)
- United States: $134,000,000 (estimates)
- International: $300,500,000 (estimates)
- World total: $434,500,000 (estimates)
Avatar: The Way of the Water was released in French theaters on December 14th.
- Watch the movie trailer: