Avatar: The Way of Water, directed by James Cameron, earned USD 17 million from its opening night performances in the US and Canada, according to the film’s distributor Walt Disney Co DIS.N.
With foreign sales, the sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time has collected USD 50.4 million at theaters around the globe since the movie started rolling out on Wednesday.
The domestic box office for Thursday fell short of the recent Disney blockbuster “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” a Marvel superhero movie that made USD 28 million on its first night in November.
Whether “The Way of Water” will recover its enormous production and marketing costs is the major concern in Hollywood.
The Way of Water will need to earn USD 2 billion merely to break even, according to Cameron, who told GQ magazine that studios divide ticket sales with cinemas.
First-night box office receipts are not necessarily indicative of final sales, especially during the Christmas season.
In order to recoup its costs, box office analysts expect that “The Way of Water” will remain in theaters for a number of weeks, just like the first film did.
The sequel should end the opening weekend with at least USD 140 million from domestic theaters, forecasts said.
