As box-office numbers continue to impress, reports are wondering whether Avatar: The Way Of Water has its head above water already.
One of the most intriguing stories to follow over the holiday break has been the box-office performance of Avatar: The Way Of Water and the tall order of $2bn in box office receipts that director James Cameron claims that the film needs to achieve, simply to see profit.
The film’s budget is complicated somewhat by the fact that it was shot back to back with the third film in the series, not to mention parts of the fourth, with rumours floating round that the filmmaker is already assembling a nine-hour cut which could comprise the next two films.
Whether that magic number of $2bn is on-point, inclusive of the film having to ‘pre-pay’ for sequel productions or simply a case of Cameron grandstanding somewhat, we don’t know.
Using standard Hollywood formulae however, at the very least the film needs to make around $1.4bn to break even and – Cameron wins again – it has now reached that total, breaking a billion in international sales with the rest being made in the US.
What’s more, there’s little in the film’s path to slow it down over the coming weeks, with the next inbound blockbuster not arriving for another 45 days, in the form of Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
There’s a very likely scenario where the Avatar sequel has a long and profitable run, much like Top Gun: Maverick did throughout the latter half of 2022 and if the film continues to earn as it has thus far, then maybe it could even meet the incredibly high bar of profitability set by its director.
‘Never bet against Cameron’ is a mantra that has been oft-repeated in the last few months and if Avatar: The Way Of Water continues on its current course, you’ll be hearing it in the future too.
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