Can Avatar: The Way of Water Take the #1 Spot in the All-Time Top 10?

Avatar: The Way of Water crossed the $2 billion mark before entering its sixth week in theatres this Sunday. The film crossed Spider-Man: No Way Home, securing the sixth spot in the all-time top ten at the global box office. 

By its sixth weekend, Avatar 2 will easily cross Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, making Cameron the first director to hold three titles in the all-time top four. But can Avatar: The Way of Water surpass its predecessor’s record and secure the top spot as the highest-grossing movie of all time?

Let’s analyze the possibilities of Avatar 2 taking the No. 1 rank on the global box office’s top 10. 

Avatar (2009) holds the record of the highest-grossing film of all time at $2.923 billion, and Avatar: The Way of Water will need to earn another billion to cross that mark. It might be impossible to reach a billion more with six weeks already tagged in its theatrical run. But following its predecessor’s initial theatrical run, there may be a chance for Avatar 2 to stay in theaters longer than other releases.

Avatar had gone on to earn $2.7 billion in its initial run – and thanks to multiple re-releases over the globe, it almost hit the $3 billion mark. Avatar: The Way of Water could use the same strategy to overtake the 2009 film, but the chances of it getting multiple releases has dwindled with other Avatar projects in the works.

Not to mention, Avatar’s pace of earning the big bucks first time around far outdoes Avatar 2’s current going at the box office. Even at this point, entering its sixth week, Avatar 2 can catch up to the 2009 film, but already new releases are hampering its sales, and we can expect the rise to stagnate in the coming weeks.

Avatar 2’s best bet is to cross $2.2 billion, which it will easily do in the coming weeks, to overtake Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, and Titanic. This will put it in the top-three tier, but reaching the second spot seems less probable since Avengers: Endgame is still a good 600 million away.

Still, Avatar 2 has secured a good place as one of the six films in history to cross the $2 billion mark and has ranked as 2022’s top box office earner. That’s quite good, irrespective of the fact the highest the film can climb is to #3 on the all-time top 10.

About Avatar: The Way of Water

Avatar: The Way of Water is an upcoming American epic science fiction film directed by James Cameron and produced by 20th Century Studios. It is the second film in Cameron’s Avatar franchise, following Avatar (2009).

Cameron produces with Jon Landau. Cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, and Matt Gerald are all reprising their roles from the original film, with Sigourney Weaver returning in a different role. New cast members include Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones.

Avatar 2 revolves around a universal concept of family and follows Jake Sully and Neytiri 14 years after the first film as they focus on protecting their child. However, they are forced to leave their home and explore the different regions of Pandora when an old threat returns to finish what they started. Jake has never faced a bigger challenge.

Source: Screenrant