“Avatar 2: The Way Of Water” has been running in German cinemas since December 14, 2022, followed by its US launch two days later – and many find it difficult to correctly classify the box office numbers. No wonder: Christmas fell on a weekend this year, so two important cinema days were missing or much weaker than other years. Plus, with Blizzard Elliott keeping the United States in suspense, many Americans have concerns other than getting James Cameron’s cinematic return off the watchlist as soon as possible. After all, we also had to wait no less than 13 years for the sequel “Avatar: Departure for Pandora” – a few days or weeks more can’t hurt either.
However, in Germany, the classification is currently much simpler when certain parameters are taken into account: “Avatar 2” is the most successful movie during a Christmas weekend in Germany (since shooting started!) when Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday.
Of course, the sci-fi fantasy epic and sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time also playfully tops the local cinema charts. “The Way Of Water” attracted 735,000 viewers to German cinemas over the Christmas weekend and, as expected, clearly took first place. “Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish” (147,500 tickets sold), “Der Räuber Hotzenplotz” (45,000 tickets sold), “Oskar’s Dress” (40,000 tickets sold) and “Ein Weihnachtsfest für Teddy” (24,000 tickets sold) follow on a respectful distance).
The blockbuster is about to”Top gun: Maverick“ to replace today/tomorrow as the highest-grossing film of 2022 in Germany. But while it remains to be seen whether “Avatar 2” will become a mega long-running hit like its predecessor, no one can take the Christmas record away from it. And it’s quite significant:
Christmas plate for “Avatar 2” – and how!
Since records began, December 24 fell on a Saturday six times. And even if universally popular masterpieces or new chapters of mega-popular XXL franchises were shown on those days or weekends, none of them even remotely competed with “The Way Of Water” in terms of attendance numbers, as now through Twitter confirmed:
- 1988: “Anna” (181,275 tickets sold)
- 1994: “The Lion King” (548,991 tickets sold)
- 2005: The Chronicles of Narnia (248,469 tickets sold)
- 2011: “Sherlock Holmes 2: Game in the Shadows” (262,263 tickets sold)
- 2016: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (450,671 tickets sold)
Whether it’s “The Chronicles of Narnia”, which ranks at least as high as the “Avatar” films as a family-friendly fantasy bombast, a star vehicle like “Sherlock Holmes 2: Game in the Shadows” (at least with Robert Downey Jr. . . , which was already Iron Man and therefore also a crowd pleaser) or the “Star Wars” prequel “Rogue One”: no film made the German box office sound like the return to Pandora over a Christmas weekend. Even the Disney super classic “The Lion King” has to admit defeat to Jake Sully and Co. – by more than 33 percent!
This record will last for a while
With this, James Cameron brings in another record that he probably didn’t even notice – but that will still hold for a while. Because the next time Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday will not be until 2033.
By then, even the next three “Avatar” movies will be over – provided, of course, they actually come out on the current schedule. After all the shifts The Way Of Water has gone through, you probably shouldn’t expect Avatar 3 (December 18, 2024), Avatar 4 (December 16, 2026), and Avatar 5 (December 20, 2028) to really all make it to theaters in time. Since even “Avatar 6” and “Avatar 7” are already up for debate, it’s certainly conceivable that a Pandora adventure will hit the big screen in 2033 – and then “The Way Of Water” record may shake…