Avatar: The Way of Water swam closer to James Cameron’s two billion dollar hopes with a very solid third weekend at the domestic box office to the tune of $63.4 million. With an estimated $422 million total so far without Monday’s holiday proceeds added, it is almost a certainty that Avatar 2 will cross the $500 million mark in the states.
The question right now is how high it will go after the holiday time frame, both domestically and abroad, where is now sits at $1.397 billion. Right now, the film is tracking higher than Top Gun: Maverick, and should surpass the high-flying film’s total gross of $1.49 billion by next weekend.
Avatar: The Way of Water is even starting to pick up in China after a soft opening with $153 million in ticket sales. The sequel has been a huge hit in Europe as well, with France leading the way so far with $95.1 million
The animated Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is also showing staying power at the box office, with a second place finish of $16.3 million. The Universal release even beat its opening weekend box office ($12.5 million) this weekend and now sits at $60.7 million at the domestic box office (with a worldwide total of $135 million).
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finished in third place with $4.8 million (possibly because ticket buyer were shut out of screenings of Avatar), cementing its claim as the top Marvel movie of the year in the U.S. with $440 million.
Swing back next week for further box office updates on the people of Pandora.