‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ seventh-highest grossing film in history with $1.7B

James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” has grossed $1.708 billion globally, overtaking “Jurassic World” ($1.67 billion) as the seventh-highest grossing movie in box office history, Report informs referring to Variety.

After only four weeks of release, “The Way of Water” has generated $517 million in North America and $1.19 billion overseas. At the international box office, it’s now the fifth-highest movie, behind only “Avatar,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Titanic” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”

Based on its worldwide ticket sales, “Avatar: The Way of Water” also stands as the highest-grossing movie released in 2022, as well as the second-biggest movie of the pandemic era, following 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.91 billion).

At this rate, “Avatar 2” has a real shot at crossing $2 billion worldwide — a nearly impossible benchmark in COVID times. Even “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a runaway box office sensation, fell just shy of that particular milestone. The superhero sequel didn’t play in China, which is a major market for Marvel movies.

It’s a lofty goal with or without the pandemic, to be sure. The only five movies in history to surpass the $2 billion mark are “Avatar” ($2.9 billion), “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.79 billion), “Titanic” ($2.2 billion), “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($2.069 billion) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($2.04 billion). For anyone keeping score, Cameron has directed two of those five movies.