Avatar: The Way of Water is now the third highest grossing movie of all time, grossing over $2.243 billion

Avatar: The Way of Water is now the third highest-grossing film of all time. Just over two months after its theatrical debut, James Cameron’s much-delayed sequel has now surpassed its own 1997 disaster romance film. Titanic. At the time of writing, Avatar 2 has generated $2.243 billion (approx. Rs. 18,550 crore) at the global box office – compared to the $2.242 billion (approx. Rs. 18,540 crore) made by Titanic, which recently got a 4K HDR re-release. Of this amount, about $1.58 billion (about Rs. 13,065 crore) was taken from markets other than the United States and Canada, which significantly contributed to its move into the top five. The film has grossed $658.4 million (about Rs. 5,440 crore) in North American regions as of Sunday.

According to Deadline, China retains the top spot as a revenue contributor to Avatar: The Way of Water with estimated ticket sales of $243.8 million (approximately Rs. 2,017 crore). In Europe, the film has grossed $759 million (approx. Rs. 6,277 crore) to date, while the Asia-Pacific region has grossed $646 million (approx. Rs. 5,343 crore), with 75% thanks to projections in 3D or in premium format. Lastly, Avatar 2 raked in $181 million (about Rs. 1,497 crore), from the Latin America region. Titanic, re-released February 10 to mark its 25th anniversary, has only succeeded in delaying the inevitable, as Avatar: The Way of Water continues its steady climb to the top of the charts. With its theatrical run ending in the coming weeks, we could expect to see back and forth between Cameron’s two films for the third position.

Avatar: The Way of Water has had a fairly clear trail since its December release – only to be shattered by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, released last week, serving as Hollywood’s only major competition. The Marvel Cinematic Universe movie has collected $357.3 million (about Rs. 2,956 crore). Cameron is now the only filmmaker to have directed three of the four highest-grossing films of all time – the 2009 original Avatar, Avatar: The Way of the Water, and Titanic. The second place is occupied by Avengers: Endgame with $2.79 billion (roughly Rs. 23,081 crore) in ticket sales worldwide.

Cameron’s sci-fi sequel also earned four 2023 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. Early Monday, the film also won a BAFTA Film Award for Best Special Visual Effects. The filmmaker has previously hinted at minor plot details of Avatar 3, suggesting that it will feature the “People of Ash”, representing the culture of fire. “I want to show the Na’vi from another angle because so far I’ve only shown their good sides,” he said in an interview last month. “In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples. In Avatar 3, we will do the opposite. We will also explore new worlds, while continuing the story of the main characters.

Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters worldwide. In India, Avatar 2 is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.