Avatar: The Way Of Water Tops Box Office Charts, But Slightly Underperforms Expectations

Topline

Avatar: The Way of Water brought in an estimated $134 million in its opening weekend, topping the box office charts but performing slightly below expectations for the film–one of the most expensive in modern movie history that creator James Cameron said needed to gross $2 billion in order to be considered a success.

Key Facts

Key Background

The film, starring Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, brought in nearly double the $26.7 million earned by the first Avatar movie on its opening day. The 2009 film netted nearly $3 billion in total ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing film of all time. Long-term estimates for the success of Avatar: The Way of Water show an optimistic outlook—20% of presales are for shows after this weekend, Deadline reported, multitudes above the 5% future presales for an average Marvel movie. What’s more is that Mondays during the holiday season are as popular of a movie-going day as an average Saturday, according to Deadline. The film is also raking in positive reviews, with a 91% audience exit CinemaScore.

Big Number

62%. That’s the share of movie-goers who saw Avatar: The Way of Water in Imax, premium large format and 3D theaters.

Further Reading

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Rakes In $53 Million Opening Day—Which May Not Be Enough (Forbes)