Avatar: The Way of Water (After $2 Billion Box Office Now Stands as Number 4 on the All Time List)

joey con carne wrote:I will wait until it is on streaming. I can’t go to the theater for a while but I definitely want to watch this. Three hours? Easy! Four hours is good, too! I concur with your pause button comment.

Toruk Makto, I will fly with you.

How expensive is “Avatar: The Way of Water”? Early reports have claimed the production budget alone was in the $250 million range, but director James Cameron isn’t willing to give a hard number just yet. The only answer Cameron would give about the sequel’s budget when asked by GQ magazine was the following: “Very fucking [expensive].”

Cameron apparently told Disney and 20th Century Studios executives that his sequel budget was so high it represented “the worst business case in movie history.” According to the director’s estimates, “you have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.”

On the current chart of highest-grossing movies worldwide (unadjusted for inflation), Cameron’s original 2009 “Avatar” ranks at the top with $2.9 billion. Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” is in second position with $2.7 million, while Cameron’s “Titanic” remains in the third slot with $2.1 billion. That means, according to Cameron, that if “Avatar: The Way of Water” wants to break even, it’ll need to overtake either “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($2.07 billion) or “Avengers: Infinity War” ($2.05 billion) in the fourth or fifth slots, respectively.

Only five movies have ever crossed the $2 billion mark worldwide, unadjusted for inflation. While the pandemic has affected moviegoing, films like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.9 billion) and “Top Gun: Maverick” ($1.4 billion) have managed to turn huge profits, so there’s hope for “The Way of Water.”

The original “Avatar” grossed $785 million domestically and sits at number four on the all-time U.S. box office chart, unadjusted for inflation. In the fifth slot is “Top Gun: Maverick” with $716 million domestic.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” opens in theaters Dec. 16.

Source: Variety

WyldeMan wrote:Holy fucking shit! $2 BILLION TO BREAK EVEN?!?!?!?!  

Rusty wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Holy fucking shit! $2 BILLION TO BREAK EVEN?!?!?!?!  

"$2 billion to break even" is Hollywood accountant talk for "we will all make a shit load of money at $1 billion, but if we can hit $2 billion we can also write off a bunch of other shit we spent money on and not pay any tax".

Audiences rang in 2023 with a trip to Pandora, as James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” continued to dominate the holiday box office.

The ambitious — and staggeringly expensive — science-fiction epic has been in the works for years, blowing past several release dates as Cameron figured out a way to expand his story of a race of alien creatures struggling against hostile invaders. He also labored to create new technology that would allow him to do performance capture work underwater. The wait appears to have been worth it. “Avatar: The Way of Water” brought in a projected $63.4 million domestically over New Year’s weekend and is expected to generate $82.4 million over the four-day holiday (most people have Monday off and many of them will apparently be spending that day with the Na’vi).

But all that innovation didn’t come cheap and Cameron has suggested that in order to turn a profit for Disney, the company that bought the rights to “Avatar” when it purchased much of 21st Century Fox in 2019, the movie will need to be one of the highest-grossing films in history. Sources put “Avatar: The Way of Water’s” break-even point at roughly $1.4 billion, a figure it is on the precipice of passing.

Here’s where things stand. So far, the film has earned $421.6 million domestically and $956.9 million internationally. Its global gross stands at $1.38 billion. The “Avatar” sequel is now the fifteenth highest global release of all-time, just behind “Black Panther” and ahead of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.” So it’s in some pretty rarefied commercial company.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” was basically the only game in town when it came to New Year’s Eve viewing. Coming in a distant second was Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” which earned $16.3 million over the weekend and is expected to make $21.7 million over the four-day holiday. That would put the animated adventure’s domestic total at just over $66 million.

Disney and Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” took third place, earning $4.8 million over the weekend and a projected $6.5 million over the four-day holiday. Its domestic total stands at $438 million, while its global gross is $818.5 million.

In fourth place, Sony and Tri-Star’s “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody” earned $4.2 million for the weekend and $5.4 million for the four-day holiday. That leaves the biopic about the troubled pop icon with a $16 million domestic gross, a discordant result for a film with a $45 million budget.

Paramount’s “Babylon,” a look at all the drugs and debauchery that made Hollywood’s silent era a real blur, rounded out the top five even as it struggled to entice audiences. The $80 million drama earned $2.7 million over the weekend and is expected to gross just $3.6 million over the four-day holiday. That would bring its domestic gross to a disastrous $11 million and change. It’s a big money loser and the only blight in what has been an incredible run for Paramount — the studio scored with “The Lost City,” “Scream,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Among prestige fare, A24’s “The Whale,” a drama about an obese college professor that’s received rave reviews for Brendan Fraser, earned $372,950 on New Year’s Eve. It is expected to gross $1.7 million over the four-day holiday, bringing its total to $6.2 million.

Sony’s “A Man Called Otto,” a late entry into the Oscar hunt that stars Tom Hanks as a depressed widower, earned $75,000 from four locations for the long weekend. That translates to a solid $18,750 per location average.

Source: Variety

UltimateMarvel wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:I don't know who he is but he's expressing what I'm feeling perfectly to this B.O. news.

The milestones keep coming for Avatar: The Way of Water.

James Cameron’s blockbuster is now the fourth top-grossing film of all time at the global box office after passing up the $2.071 billion grossed globally by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, not adjusted for inflation. The Way of Water finished Friday with a worldwide cume of $2.074 billion, meaning that Cameron has directed three of the four top-grossing films of all time. Disney, which inherited the Avatar franchise when taking over 20th Century Fox, likewise dominates the upper reaches of the list.

The all-time roster is topped by Cameron’s original Avatar ($2.92 billion), followed by Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion) and Cameron’s Titanic ($2.194 billion).

Box office analysts believe The Way of Water will ultimately overtake Titanic even though a remastered 3D version of Titanic is being rereleased next week in time for Valentine’s Day (Paramount is handling the rerelease domestically, while Disney and 20th Century have international duties).

Since launching in theaters around the world in mid-December, Avatar 2 has bested all expectations after what some deemed a mediocre opening.

The movie, for example, will easily stay No. 1 in North America this weekend with a domestic tally in the $15 million range from 3,600 theaters. A crop of sturdy holdovers will also stay high up on the chart, including Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, A Man Called Otto and M3GAN.

None of the weekend’s new movies will crack the top five.

Brandon Cronenberg’s hard-R horror film Infinity Pool is looking at an eighth-place finish with an opening in the $3 million range from 1,830 theaters. The Neon film made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last week, although the audience was treated to a cut rated NC-17. The version playing in theaters in North America was retooled in certain parts in order to receive an R rating.

Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist, a special event screening playing in 1,835 theaters, should follow in ninth place with $2.2 million-$2.4 million for Fathom. Billie Eilish: Live at the O2, likewise a special event, is expected to pony up $1.2 million to $1.3 million from only 600 runs (the concert pic played on Friday only).

At the specialty box office, Sarah Polley’s Women Talking upped its theater count to 707 locations after scoring several top Oscar nominations, including best picture. The acclaimed film, from MGM, is expected to earn $1.1 million this weekend for a domestic total of $4.5 million.

The other films landing in the best picture category, including Avatar, have already been playing extensively in theaters, with many already available in the home. Nevertheless, some are expanding their location count in hopes of seeing a bump from a best picture or other top noms.

One such film is To Leslie, an indie film starring Andrea Riseborough that did almost no business last October when released in 28 or so theaters. But after a celebrity-fueled grassroots campaign led to Riseborough earning a surprise Oscar nomination for best actress, the movie is going back into six cinemas this weekend. According to unofficial estimates, few are going to see To Leslie.

Estimates will be updated Sunday.

Rusty wrote:Still haven't seen the first one. I'll stick with Dances With Wolves.

UltimateMarvel wrote: What is the consensus about the movie anyway? Are people loving it? We know B.O. doesn't anything.