Avatar: The Way of Water makes a splash at the box office with $134 million
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Moviegoers journeyed to Pandora this weekend, and as a result, nabbed James Cameron a top spot at the box office.
Avatar: The Way of Water opened with $134 million at the domestic box office and an additional $301 million overseas, bringing the global total to $435 million, according to Comscore. The sci-fi epic is the third biggest global debut in pandemic times, followed behind Spider-Man: No Way Home ($600 million) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($442 million).
The first Avatar debuted in 2009 and remains the highest-grossing film in history. It debuted with $77 million in the U.S. and Canada but continued to hold the top spot for seven weeks until it climbed to $760 million and $2.92 billion worldwide. It remains to be seen if the sequel could follow in that trajectory, though the film's 3-hour and 12-minute runtime may deter repeat moviegoers.
20th Century Studios Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) lead the Metkayina clan in 'Avatar: The Way of Water'
Cameron told EW there was "a lot of tension" surrounding the runtime, but he felt "morally obligated" to stick to the length. "Because it's a complicated linear narrative, which is the worst scenario for trying to shorten, you've got a complex story servicing a lot of characters, and it's like dominos falling: This has to happen for that to happen," he said. "You're not following a bunch of parallel plot lines in a way that you could take a lot out."
The filmmaker added, "Equally important with length is pace — and the order of information and the engagement factor. As long as people are engaged, you're good to go." Cameron is confident that audiences will remain engaged. "I feel like we managed to jump through all those hoops," he said. "People seem pretty engaged."
Clocking in at less than three hours is another sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which continued its reign for the sixth week in a row at No. 2. Wakanda Forever earned an extra $5.4 million at the domestic box office, bringing the total to $418 million. Violent Night came in third with an additional $5 million and $34 million overall. Strange World and The Menu rounded out the top five, earning an additional $2.2 and $1.7 million, respectively, bringing the grand totals to $33 million and $32 million.
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