'Avatar: The Way of Water' dethrones 'The Avengers' in the US

Los Angeles, Feb 2

Filmmaker James Cameron's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' has generated $623.5 million at the domestic box office, taking down 'The Avengers' ($623.4 million) to become the 10th-highest grossing US domestic release of all time.

Since 'The Way of Water' has cracked the top 10, the sci-fi tentpole's competition to move up the list includes 'Jurassic World' (at No. 9 with $653 million), 'Titanic' (at No. 8 with $659 million) and 'Avengers: Infinity War' (at No. 7 with $678 million), reports 'Variety'.

Globally, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' stands as the fourth-biggest movie in history with $2.128 billion. It ranks behind only 'Avatar' ($2.92 billion), 'Avengers: Endgame' ($2.7 billion) and 'Titanic' ($2.19 billion) in terms of worldwide ticket sales.

Thanks to stratospheric interest among international audiences, 'The Way of Water' became the second-fastest movie to surpass $2 billion after 'Avengers: Endgame'.

It's earned a monster $1.5 billion at the international box office, ranking as the fourth-biggest overseas release. Outside of North America, the top earning territories include China ($238 million), France ($137 million), Germany ($125 million) and Korea ($103 million).

The long-delayed sequel to 2009's 'Avatar' opened on the big screen in December. Like the original, ticket sales have been fuelled by Imax and 3D screens, as well as repeat customers across all ages and demographics.

Disney, which holds the rights to 'Avatar' after acquiring 20th Century Fox in 2019, spent roughly $460 million to produce and promote 'The Way of Water', making it one of the most expensive films ever.

A third 'Avatar' installment is set to debut in December 2024 with plans for fourth and fifth entries in the coming years. Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington star in the intergenerational, otherworldly saga about family.