With the success of Avatar: The Way of Water, filmmaker James Cameron previously told talk show Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? that he knew what he was “going to be doing the next six or seven years.”
That commitment to making the rest of the Avatar sequels likely grew stronger this weekend, as the sequel has now officially crossed the $2 billion mark with $2.024 billion worldwide. That number includes $598 million from domestic theaters and $1.426 billion from international markets ($230 million from China alone).
At the North American box office, The Way of Water remained in first place for a sixth straight weekend with another $19.7 million. It brought in $56.3 million overseas over the three-day period as well.
Avatar: The Way of Water stands as the sixth-highest global release of all time and is closing in on Avengers: Infinity War‘s fifth place total of $2.052 billion. Also still ahead are Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.071 billion), Titanic ($2.195 billion), Avengers: Endgame ($2.799 billion), and the first Avatar‘s $2.924 billion.
Shop Avatar: The Way of Water merchandise at Amazon!
The Way of Water is now the 13th-highest domestic release of all time and is closing in on Incredibles 2‘s $609 million for 12th place.
The movie also passed Avengers: Infinity War to become the fourth-highest international release of all time behind only Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Titanic. That means James Cameron now has three of the top four highest-grossing international movies of all time.
The top-grossing overseas markets include China ($229.7 million), France ($129.8 million), Germany ($117 million), Korea ($96.9 million), UK ($81.9 million), and India ($57.9 million).
There’s also Australia ($55.1 million), Mexico ($51.4 million), Spain ($47 million), Italy ($45.3 million), Brazil ($39.9 million), and Japan ($28.1 million).
With yet another solid weekend delivering $8.9 million in global IMAX box office (11.7% of the global weekend total), Avatar: The Way of Water has reached $227 million in worldwide IMAX grosses and has soared past Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the second-highest grossing movie in IMAX history.
The domestic IMAX network added $2.9 million this weekend for a total of $79.4 million. Meanwhile, the sequel added $6 million from international markets for a total of $148 million and counting, the second-highest international IMAX result ever (and only $2 million behind No. 1 Avengers: Endgame at $150 million).
See Pandora – The World of Avatar at Walt Disney World!
With Avatar: The Way of Water, the cinematic experience reaches new heights as Cameron transports audiences back to the magnificent world of Pandora in a spectacular and stirring action-packed adventure.
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the Lightstorm Entertainment Production stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet.
The screenplay is by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. The screenplay is based on a story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film’s executive producers.
Following Avatar: The Way of Water, the third installment, Avatar: The Seed Bearer (Working Title), will be released by 20th Century Studios on December 20, 2024.
Then Avatar: The Tulkun Rider (Working Title) and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa (Working Title) are coming to theaters on December 18, 2026 and December 22, 2028, respectively.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.