Avatar: The Way of Waterattempted to become the highest-grossing movie of 2022, but a late release and the potential impact of severe winter weather prevented it from overtaking the mightyTop Gun: Maverick. Although there is little doubt that James Cameron’s epic will pass the total box office of Tom Cruise’sTop Gunsequel in the coming days, it has not done it quickly enough to snatch the #1 spot away from the surprise hit of the year. According toBox Office Mojo,Top Gun: Maverick’s $1.49 billion has been enough to see off the $1.4 billion challenge ofAvatar: The Way of Water.
That doesn’t mean thatTop Gun: Maverickhas completely dominated the charts, asAvatar: The Way of Waterdid manage to beat its competition in the international market. While theAvatarsequel ended the year around $90 million short of taking the worldwide title, the overseas performance sawAvatar: The Way of Watertake just under $957 million internationally againstTop Gun: Maverick’s $770 million.
When it comes to the domestic box office,Avatar: The Way of Waterhas had a few hurdles in its way. Having only opened on Dec. 16, the film had just over two weeks to make what it tookTop Gun: Maverick30 days to do in the summer. The powerful performance of the movie has been proven in the fact that in roughly half the time, the film came within just a whisker of snatching the top spot at the last minute. While many believe thatTop Gun: Maverickcould have been toppled byAvatar: The Way of Waterif severe winter weather had not set in, in the end, there are other factors, such as the lower-than-expected opening weekend and its performance in China not quite matching expectations that also contributed. The fact is thatTop Gun: Maverickmanaged to outmaneuver every challenge to retain its title as the highest-grossing movie of 2022.
Related:James Cameron Says He Will ‘Mourn’ the Movies He Cannot Make Due to Telling Avatar’s Story
Avatar: The Way of Water is On Track To Hit $2 Billion
Despite the pre-release jitters over whether anyone cared about theAvatarfranchise enough to make the film’s monstrous budget worthwhile, since its release James Cameron’s second of five plannedAvatarmovies has shot up chartsaround the world. With reports suggesting that anything less than a $2 billion box office would be seen as something of a failure, there is now little doubt that the coming weeks will see the film easily break that milestone. How high up the ladder of all-time highest-grossing movies it can climb is something that we can only watch and wait to find out.
After less than three weeks of release,Avatar: The Way of Wateris sitting at 14th on the all-time chart. The real question is whether the film has the momentum to bother the movies at the top of the chart, a list that includes the originalAvatar. While the $2.9 billion haul ofAvatar, and even the $2.8 billion ofAvengers: Endgameare most likely safe in their respective 1st and 2nd position, James Cameron’s other big hitterTitanic, with $2.2 billion, could be the target forAvatar: The Way of Waterto aim for. Whatever happens,James Cameron’s future plans forAvatarsequelsare as good as guaranteed as long as it continues to bring in this kind of revenue.
