Although many thought that Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron wouldn’t get close to his $2 Billion worldwide box office hopes, his sequel is quickly swimming into deep waters with a current global total of $1.7 billion.
The Way of Water continues to splash money on theater operators in North America, generating another $45 million in its fourth weekend for a domestic total of $516.7 million.
The Avatar sequel wasn’t the only winner this weekend with newcomer M3GAN finishing in second place with a surprising $30 million. The PG-13, scary doll story by director Gerard Johnstone beat all expectations and hit with critics with a current 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Ticket buyers liked the robotic doll a bit less with a current 79% positive Audience Score and a lukewarm B grade on Cinemascore.
Although the film will be leaving cinemas soon for disney+ (on February 1), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still making money for Marvel Studios, with an additional $3.4 million for a domestic total of $445.4 million. Even with even less screens dedicated to the Panther next week, the film should see its way to $450 million by the end of its theatrical window.
Be sure to come back next week to see if Avatar can reach that $2 billion benchmark.