"Avatar: The Way of Water" is on a path to boxing office greatness, as the sequel to James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster is on track to become the top-grossing film of 2022 in the U.S./Canada.
The film has already overtaken "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as the highest-grossing worldwide film during the COVID era and is now setting its sights on "Top Gun: Maverick," which currently holds the title with $719 million. However, "The Way of Water" has reached $574.4 million in the U.S./Canada and is projected to end at around $750 million domestically.
This would place it ahead of "Maverick" in gross, but "Top Gun Maverick" may be equal or ahead in tickets sold. Worldwide, "The Way of Water" has grossed $215 million on IMAX screens and has a good precedent in "No Way Home," which grossed $805 million.
The film's success can also be attributed to its strongholds in its first three weeks, with smaller weekly drops compared to "No Way Home," which opened on nearly the same calendar. This is a pattern seen in Cameron's previous films, "Avatar" and "Titanic," which also had strongholds.
However, "The Way of Water" will start losing some of its premium screens in February when Paramount releases a reissue of "Titanic" and Disney debuts "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." But even with the competition, the film is projected to reach $2.6 billion worldwide if it continues to represent around 29 percent of the global total. This would place it behind only three films that have grossed over $3 billion: "Titanic," "Avatar," and "The Avengers: Endgame."
Not only is "The Way of Water" a commercial success, but it's also a sign of recovery for theaters, as it's one of three films to open in a 12-month period to $1.5 billion or more worldwide. The film's success also bodes well for its production and marketing costs, which were estimated at a minimum of $2 billion worldwide.
Overall, "The Way of Water" is a major accomplishment for James Cameron and the film industry, and is sure to be remembered as one of the top-grossing films of all time.
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