Avatar: The Way of Water

Makes More Money in Its First 10 Days than the Original Film

Avatar: The Way of Water Took more at the box office in its first 10 days than the original film.

On its opening weekend, the sequel failed to live up to studio expectations for ticket sales.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" remained at the top of the box office after its second weekend in theaters.

"Avatar" made $212.7 million in its first 10 days in 2009 and went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, taking more than $2.9 billion.

The sequel is estimated to have made $56 million in North America over the weekend, compared with $134 million on the opening weekend – lower than the $150 million to $175 million projections.

"The Way of Water" is already the third highest-grossing film worldwide this year, according to Comscore figures, bringing in $855 million and behind "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Jurassic World Dominion.

The film reportedly cost $350 million and Cameron suggested it would need to make more than $2 billion to break even given marketing costs, according to Variety.

Disney took control of the rights to "Avatar" with its $71 billion acquisition of Fox in 2019.