After a 13-year wait, the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” has finally hit theaters on Friday, December 16th. With plenty of anticipation and excitement brewing, the question everyone is asking is ‘can it compete with the original?’. This question is not only in terms of the storyline and captivating cinematography, but revenue potential as well.
The original “Avatar” made $760 million in North America and $2.92 billion worldwide since its 2009 release. Those are pretty large shoes to fill, however, “The Way of Water” has already sold $38 million in advance tickets and, with positive reviews and renewed interest in Pandora, it looks to be on its way to similar success.
The film, directed by James Cameron, is expected to bring in between $150 million and $175 million in its opening weekend at over 4,000 theaters, making it one of the biggest debuts of the year. However, it will likely be overshadowed by “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which had opening weekends in excess of $180 million each.
Regardless of the numbers, we are looking forward to continuing the Pandora journey with the Avatar family we all fell in love with over a decade ago.
