Avatar: The Way Of Water Could Cross $2 Billion This Week

"Avatar: The Way of Water" is, by all accounts, a smashing success for director James Cameron and the theater industry. The highly-anticipated aquatic sequel to 2009's "Avatar," which still remains the highest-grossing film of all time (via The Numbers), debuted to $134 million domestically and just over $300 million internationally, per Fortune. Pundits considered the sequel's opening, particularly in international markets, such as China, to be disappointing.

Since its mid-December debut, however, the narrative surrounding Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldaña) second Pandora outing has largely pivoted. Like its predecessor, "The Way of Water" continues to boast impressive legs at the box office. The film, which explores the oceans of Pandora, managed to gross over $1 billion in 14 days. It also managed to usurp "Top Gun: Maverick" as the highest-grossing film of 2022, swimming past the Tom Cruise starrer's $1.4 billion gross, per Box Office Mojo. 

As it stands, the 20th Century sequel is on track to pass a major milestone and dethrone another box office behemoth in the coming days.

Deadline reports that "Avatar: The Way of Water," which made its debut on December 16, is on track to cross $2 billion worldwide at the box office. In its fifth weekend, the film's total gross stands just shy of $1.9 billion. It managed to rake in $31 million domestically and $88 million internationally this weekend, making it the number one film at the box office. "M3GAN," meanwhile, brought in $17 million domestically, and "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" managed to cross the $100 million mark stateside (via The Numbers), signalling a healthy weekend at the box office. 

As it continues to stand tall as the Number 1 film in the world, "The Way of Water" should gross the $2 billion mark in the coming days. Per Box Office Mojo, only five films, including James Cameron's original "Avatar" and "Titanic," have grossed over $2 billion. This would make Cameron the first director in the world to boast 3 $2 billion dollar-grossing films. The outlet says that "The Way of Water" should outgross "Spider-Man: No Way Home," the poster child of pandemic box office successes, in the coming days. When it outgrosses the "Spidey" threequel, Cameron's latest will stand tall as sixth highest-grossing film of all time.

With estimates and expectations riding on a $2 billion gross, it's possible that the Sully clan could overtake the Top 5 placements of "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," both of which boast worldwide grosses of over $2.048 billion. How far can "Avatar: The Way of Water" go? Only time will tell if the way of water has an end.