Well, he’s just gone and done it. If we’ve learned anything from the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, sequel to 2009’s highest-grossing film of all time Avatar, it’s that we should never bet against James Cameron.
Many doubted whether there’d be enough interest to even recuperate the massive budget of Avatar 2 but it seems there’s still plenty of magic left in the world of Pandora.
As reported by The Independent, Avatar: The Way of Water has just become the tenth highest-grossing film of all time, with a total box office of $1.5bn worldwide.
James Cameron on set of Avatar: The Way of Water. Credit: 20th Century Studios
Cameron has previously said the film would have become the fifth highest-grossing film in history to break even, but Variety later reported that the director was embellishing the truth and that Avatar 2 would need to bring in approximately $1.5bn to be considered a success. Safe to say, the film has been wildly successful so far and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down.
It’s a relatively safe bet that Avatar 2 might make its way to the top five best-earning films of all time. That would mean James Cameron has three films in the top five alone, having already achieved that feat with Avatar and Titanic.
Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, as well as J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, are currently in the top five but Avatar 2 might just push The Force Awakens out, despite still having some way to go.
Avatar 2 was released 16 December and, after only 23 days, has become the highest-grossing film of 2022, taking out Top Gun: Maverick as well as entering the coveted top ten biggest films of all time.
Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuktirey. Credit: 20th Century Studios
Although Hollywood is heading into a difficult year financially, things are looking up with people flocking to their local cinemas to witness the latest adventure of Jake Sully and co.
One of the stars of the film, Jamie Flatters who plays the oldest of the Sully children, Neteyama, told us in an exclusive interview that James Cameron is “one of those directors that manages to just make everything he does, for lack of a better phrase, turn to gold.”
Can’t say we disagree with Flatters after seeing the numbers for Avatar: The Way of Water.
