It’s undeniable that Avatar: The Way of Water had some enormous shoes to fill given both the success of the original film and James Cameron’s decision to hold off on the film until the special effects could be done justice with the right technology. There was also the added heat of a sizeable budget being poured into the venture, with reports suggesting the break-even mark sat around $1.4 billion. However, all worries have now been put to bed given The Way Of Water’s swimming success at the box office. Just as Cameron anticipated, the ripple of the film’s triumph has really been felt after the three-week mark. Now, after just a month in theaters, the film has confidently smashed $1.9 billion at the global box office.
After a successful weekend, The Way of Water’s international gross sat at a confident $1.33 billion which includes over $211 million taken in China – the most success any Hollywood film has seen in the country in the wake of COVID-19. If the movie hadn’t already made enough of a splash, it is now on track to become the sixth film of all time to pass the coveted $2 billion mark at the global box office. If the film continues on this path it will cruise past Marvel blockbusters Spider-Man: No Way Home, which took $1.91 billion, and Avengers: Infinity War which grossed $2.048 billion worldwide.
Despite The Way of Water’s glittering success, it is still a way behind its 2009 predecessor which boasts a staggering $2.9 billion at the lifetime box office – the first film in cinema history to do so. Although, this is to be expected given the long-lasting impact Avatar had on cinema forever as the first film to implement such striking CGI and special effects. If Cameron hadn’t already proven himself to be one of the greatest directors around on the back of Titanic then he certainly did after Avatar.
