Avatar: The Way Of Water slightly underperformed at the domestic box office for an opening day of $53M, as well as a three-day of $130M-$150M. Projections were between $150M-$175M, according to Deadline.
The film's budget is reported to have been between $250M-$350M.
Director James Cameron previously admitted that the film would have to be historically successful to break even. He told GQ that he told studio executives “you have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.”
While he didn't admit the exact budget for Avatar: The Way Of Water, he described it as "very fucking" expensive.
Imax and PLF tickets are responsible for 32% of the Avatar sequel‘s ticket sales thus far with an additional 31% coming from 3D theaters.
While the sales are lower than projections, they are significantly higher than 2009’s Avatar, which debuted with $27 million on the first day. The film went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.
Critically, the new Avatar film has a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of 94%.
Avatar: The Way Of Water takes place years after the first film, following Jake Sully and Ney'tiri after they have formed a family. It stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. Cameron wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.
Cameron is planning on releasing three more sequels on December 20, 2024, December 18, 2026, and also December 22, 2028.
Check out a trailer for Avatar: The Way Of Water below.
[Via]