The triumph of “Avatar: The Way Of Water” never ends. After more than six weeks, James Cameron’s mega blockbuster is still filling theaters – and slowly climbing up the list of the highest-grossing films of all time. Avatar 2 has already grossed over $2.054 billion at the box office, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of all time. Thus, the sequel to “Avatar” left behind Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” ($ 2.048 billion).
Rank 4 should already be in the next few days: because “Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens” is worth $2.068 billion, which means that the second Pandora adventure is only missing $14 million. That’s peanuts for a hit film that is so popular all over the world, especially when you consider the ticket prices including surcharges for IMAX, 3D and extra length.
James Cameron will soon direct three of the four highest-grossing films in cinema history. However, what is particularly exciting is: At the beginning of next month there will even be a direct (!) duel at the box office for third place, which “Titanic” is currently still holding – as this film will hit the screen again on February 9, 2023.
“Avatar 2” vs. “Titanic”: The ultimate February showdown
So “The Way Of Water” continues to make history: After Neytiri actress Zoe Saldaña recently became the only actress to star in four $2 billion films and James Cameron quickly directed three of the four biggest box-office hits of all time, here comes in for two weeks there will be a direct duel at the box office for third place – of two films by the same director, separated by a whopping 25 years! There hasn’t been anything like this before. (We did some research, but couldn’t find anything similar.)
Titanic has grossed $2.187 billion to date. A box office result made up of both the revenue from the original 1998 release and the 2012 re-release. What was once the most expensive and highest-grossing film of all time was once again shown in cinemas worldwide – in a carefully restored 3D version which has also been available for home theaters for many years (and is just as impressive there as it is in the cinema).
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In a little less than two weeks, the ultimate cinema novel starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (who, by the way, is the only one to appear in both “Titanic” and “Avatar 2”) will be back on screen for the first time. in 4K HDR. And we expect a lot of people to buy a ticket again this time – whether it’s to experience “Titanic” in a movie theater for the first time ever or to convince themselves of the new version. Or, because you always prefer to experience great cinema there. In the cinema.
We reckon “Titanic” could still generate a million or two over the course of its worldwide re-releases. However, we think “The Way Of Water” is more suited for third place on the all-time charts. While “Titanic” as an event around Valentine’s Day will mainly generate sales, “Avatar 2” should continue to pump money into the treasury in the coming weeks. Even though competition in some countries around the world is already fierce after more than six weeks…
“Avatar 2” already has a lot of competition
While there’s still no global record of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and co. can go, the “Avatar 2” competition is already big in the individual countries:
In China, for example, “The Wandering Earth 2” recently got off to a great start, raking in a proud $70 million on its first day alone. The science fiction hit thus follows in the footsteps of its mega-successful predecessor, which managed to convert no less than 700 million dollars in 2019. In India, on the other hand, the sequel to “Avatar” has had a very special counterpart since January 25: superstar Shah Rukh Khan is back with “Pathaan” (also in Germany, by the way) and has since raised $ 26 million – which after all is almost equivalent to the entire production cost of the action hit.
In Germany, the competition for James Cameron is currently still limited. Last Monday, we reported that “Avatar 2” had its most successful fifth weekend of all time with over 507,000 tickets sold – a respectable distance from second place (“Puss in Boots 2” with 145,000 viewers). And current week’s reboots like “Caveman” with Moritz Bleibtreu or the aforementioned “Pathaan” probably shouldn’t dethrone “Avatar 2”.