‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’ Surpasses $1 Billion Worldwide

Avatar: The Way of the Waterthe three hour and ten minute film by James Cameronreached $1.17 billion worldwide, according to a report from Variety Friday.

The Way of Water is now the third film to break the billion dollar mark during the pandemic, with Spider-Man: No Coming Home to $1.9 billion and Top Gun: Maverick at $1.5 billion. It is also the highest-grossing international release of 2022. With Acquisition by Disney of 21st Century Fox in 2019the Avatar franchise is now part of the House of Mouse.

The Way of Water is a sequel to 2009’s Avatar, a Dances with Wolves-style story that dazzled audiences with jaw-dropping 3D visuals, and became the highest-grossing movie of all time. The box office success of The Way of Water comes as several films have bombed throughout the pandemic, including Morbius, black adam and The Man of the North. With increased competition in the streaming space and technological improvements in home theaters, viewing habits are changing.

James Cameron said The Way of Water had to be the fourth of the fifth highest-grossing film to break even. That figure could be somewhat high as the break-even point is closer to $1.4 billion, sources close to the production told Variety.