Avatar 2 Proves Skeptics Wrong In Just 14 Days
Avatar 2 has succeeded in crossing the $1 billion box office threshold.
Never bet against a James Cameron movie. Despite doubts about Avatar 2‘s box office potential, the film has proved naysayers wrong in just 14 days. Since hitting theaters on December 16, Avatar: The Way of Water has become the fastest movie this year to cross the $1 billion threshold (via Variety).
In short, Avatar 2 could be well on its way to becoming the box office juggernaut that made the original movie the highest-grossing movie of all time. Cameron’s movies famously play the long game when it comes to making money, with many weeks in theaters with little blockbuster competition, helping his films rake in tons of money before being unseated or taken out of theaters. It appears that Avatar: The Way of Water is going to be no different in this respect.
Avatar 2 is only the third film this year to cross the $1 billion box office mark, with Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion also holding the honor. However, it took Tom Cruise’s sequel 31 days to reach the $1 billion mark and Jurassic World Dominion over four months. Cameron’s Avatar sequel also made history by becoming one of only six films to smash past the $1 billion mark in the first two weeks of release.
It remains to be seen just how far Avatar 2 can go at the box office, but it does face some obstacles that its predecessor didn’t. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is still being felt around the world with major theater market China in particular battling resurging cases. Additionally, Russia will not be airing the film, taking away another major market that could have contributed to the overall global take.
According to James Cameron, Avatar 2 will need to bring in around $2 billion at the box office just to break even, so it’s still only halfway to that lofty goal. Still, the warm critical reception and extra dollars from 3D and IMAX showings could very well help the film get there. Along with needing to bring in a ton of money to break even, future sequels in the Avatar franchise may also be hanging in the balance.
Although Cameron has reportedly already filmed scenes for the third and fourth movies, they’re presumably still fairly early in production and post-production. The CGI-heavy films likely cost a ton of money in post-production, so they could cut their losses if the studios don’t feel like Avatar is worth the continuous investment. Of course, Avatar 2 doing over $1 billion at the box office already certainly bodes well for future entries, whether the film breaks even or not.
Avatar 2 returns audiences to the world of Pandora and follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who are now raising a family of their own. They once again have to defend their world when a dangerous threat reemerges. Along with Worthington and Saldana, the film stars Jack Champion, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, and Jemaine Clement.
