‘Avatar 2’ makes waves with $134 million domestic debut
Posted December 18, 2022 3:41 pm.
Last Updated December 18, 2022 4:57 pm.
Avatar: The Way of Water didn’t make quite as big of a splash as many assumed it would, but James Cameron’s big-budget spectacle still helped breathe life into the box office this weekend.
According to studio estimates on Sunday, the sequel earned $134 million from North American theatres and $300.5 million internationally for a $434.5 million global debut.
It tied with “The Batman” as the fourth highest domestic debut of the year, behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($187.4 million in May), “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” ($181 million in November ) and “Thor: Love and Thunder” ($144.2 million in July).
Expectations were enormous for “Avatar 2,” which carried a reported price tag of over $350 million, the pressure of following up the highest-grossing film of all time (thanks in part to various re-releases) over a decade later and the daunting task of propping up an exhibition business that’s still far from normal.
Everything “Avatar” is oversized, though: the Na’vi characters, the runtime (a staggering three hours and 12 minutes), the technological advancements and the release strategy from 20th Century Studios and The Walt Disney Co.
Avatar 2 debuted in North America on Thursday
Going into the weekend, many were expecting a domestic debut of at least $150 million. Some even said $175 or higher, but tracking has also not been as reliable a metric during the pandemic.
Disney saw early that “The Way of Water” was going to be a different kind of beast when they looked at pre-sales. For a normal, spoiler-heavy movie like many Marvel offerings, post-opening weekend sales are usually around 5 per cent. For “The Way of Water,” they were at 20 per cent. In other words, the company knew that tracking was overinflated.
“We’ve got a terrific movie that is playing across all demographics and (has) terrific word of mouth,” said Tony Chambers, the Walt Disney Co.’s executive vice president for theatrical distribution. “We’ve got the screens, and we’ve got a clear run. This isn’t about the opening day or the opening weekend. This is about the entire run.”
The film began its international rollout on Wednesday and debuted in North America on Thursday evening. Domestically, “Avatar: The Way of Water” was released in 4,202 theatres on over 12,000 screens, 400 of which were IMAX 3D. The studio and filmmakers bet big on the draw, and higher prices, of the 3D format and premium large screens.
By the end of Friday, “Avatar: The Way of Water” had already earned $53 million in the U.S. and Canada and $180.1 million globally, aided by a China release — the first major Hollywood release in the country since “Minions: The Rise of Gru” in August. It blows “Avatar’s” $26.7 million first day in 2009 out of the water, though that didn’t include Thursday previews.
An estimated 66 per cent of the $435 million opening weekend revenue came from worldwide 3D ticket sales.
Travis Reid, CEO of 3D company RealD, set a “new benchmark for the current 3D marketplace.”
Over $48.8 million of the global total came from IMAX screens alone (1,543 in 80 markets), the company’s second biggest weekend.
