The long, long, long-awaited sci-fi sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, is currently on track to make it big at the box office. Predictions put Avatar: The Way of Water opening at around $150 million domestically when it debuts in theaters next month, with further tracking (via Variety) claiming that the movie could even reach $175 million plus. Clearly, audiences are more than ready to return to Pandora.
Avatar: The Way of Water got a major boost earlier this week when it was announced that the sequel had been approved for release in China. For context, an opening of $150 million would almost double the opening of the first Avatar back in 2009, which managed to rake in $77 million before becoming the biggest movie of all time thanks to its $2.7 billion box office.
“Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water tells the story of the Sully family, the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure,” the official synopsis for Avatar: The Way of Water reads.
The sequel will reunite the likes of Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver, while adding the likes of Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel, Jack Champion, and CJ Jones
The Avatar Sequel Needs to Make it Big at the Box Office Just to Break Even
Thankfully the box office predictions for Avatar: The Way of Water are looking good, because the sequel needs to make it big in order to be a success. In fact, Avatar: The Way of Water needs to make it so big as to become one of the biggest movie’s of all time...just to break even. Director James Cameron recently described the long-awaited Avatar: The Way of Water as “very f---ing” expensive, calling the movie “The worst business case in movie history. You have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.”
Based on these latest figures, it sounds like Cameron has nothing to worry about. Though the filmmaker does have a plan should Avatar: The Way of Water struggle to find financial success. Aside from the money because, despite what movie studios would have you believe, money isn’t everything, returning star Zoe Saldaña has teased the ambition inherent in Avatar: The Way of Water. "And I do believe that this is going to be like a culmination of [James Cameron] finally getting the opportunity to fully share with us all his passion for the water, for the ocean,” she said. “He's always had it. He had it in 'The Abyss' and with 'Titanic.' And I think that through the Metkayina tribe, and their world, we're going to immerse ourselves in something that we have never seen before. And it will be also just as groundbreaking as 'Avatar' one was."
Avatar: The Way of Water is due for release on December 16, 2022. A further three sequels have also been given release dates, with the multiple follow-ups scheduled to be released on December 20, 2024, December 18, 2026, and December 22, 2028, respectively.