- ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’s’ opening day total is a little lower than expected.
- The movie was initially projected to earn between $150 million & $175 million.
- It has already grossed $127 million abroad, bringing its global total to $180 million.
‘Avatar: The Way of Water‘s’ opening day total of $53 million, which includes $17 million from Thursday previews, is a little lower than expected.
The movie was initially projected to earn between $150 million and $175 million over its opening weekend in the domestic box office, but after Friday’s results, those estimates have been reduced to $130 million to $150 million.
Following Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($84.2 million), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($90.7 million), Thor: Love and Thunder ($69.5 million), Jurassic World Dominion ($59.5 million), and The Batman ($56.6 million), the movie’s $53 million opening day total places it sixth overall for the year.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that superhero movies are frequently released first, and filmmaker James Cameron has a track record of bringing in repeat customers.
As a result, his films frequently perform well throughout the holiday season and well into the following year.
His first Avatar movie, which debuted underwhelmingly in 2009, went on to rule the box office for months. The Way of Water’s three-day debut will be much bigger than its predecessor’s, regardless of how things look after a few days.
It generated $77 million in its opening weekend following a $26 million opening day. The movie has already grossed $127 million abroad, bringing its early global total to $180 million.
According to Cameron’s own assessments, the bar for success is high. With $760 million domestically and $2.9 billion globally, the original Avatar movie is still the one with the highest box office earnings in history.
The Way of Water would likely need to finish as “the third or fourth biggest” movie in history to break even, which equates to almost $2 billion in worldwide box office receipts, according to a recent statement by director James Cameron.
It had a strong A Cinema Score from opening day viewers, which is encouraging for the future, and there is almost no competition. Speaking of which, Disney’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever came in in a distant second place at the Friday box office, surpassing the $411 domestic total of another Marvel sequel, Doctor Strange 2.
The film is expected to close this weekend with approximately $5 million after earning $1.4 million on Friday. The movie’s current domestic gross should reach $418 million as a result.
After a third Friday with 1.4 million viewers, Universal’s Violent Night is also competing for the number two place. The domestic cumulative gross of the movie has already surpassed $30 million.
Strange World, the infamous Disney animated flop that made roughly $500,000 on its fourth Friday and had a running domestic total of nearly $30 million, will come in at number four.
The film was produced for $180 million, but it is anticipated to lose the Mouse House $100 million. Within a few days, it should be available on Disney+.
The Menu, a subduedly popular satire comedy from Searchlight, completed the top five. It is hoping to earn $1.5 million this weekend to bring its its domestic gross to $30 million.
Expect The Way of Water to remain a mainstay on the box office charts for the ensuing weeks, at least until Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania debuts in a few months, if events proceed as they did in 1997 with Titanic and in 2009 with the original Avatar.
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