Avatar Sequel Grosses Over $2 Billion

According to Deadline, Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, considered one of the most prominent figures in the modern film industry, has now directed three of the top four movies in global box office history. “Avatar” is at number one, “Titanic” is at number three and now, the new “Avatar: The Way of Water” has just reached number four on box office charts.

The long-awaited sequel was finally released on Dec. 16, 2022, 13 years after its original. The film is now going its seventh weekend at number one in ticket sales, matching its predecessor, and surpassing 2 billion dollars, according to the Associated Press. 

“I’m not surprised the new “Avatar” is doing so well right now. Fans have been waiting for this for years! I know I have been,” said Junior Reya Ekeh. 

It was quite important that the film reached such heights of success. 

According to Variety, “Avatar: The Way of Water” needed to earn $1.5 billion to break even, while Cameron at one point stated that it would need to ‘be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history’ to start turning a profit.” 

The film has not only met these requirements but has skyrocketed past them. 

According to the “Avatar” website, the sequel is set more than a decade after the original, and it entails the Sully family’s life on the extrasolar moon Pandora when a certain past threat returns to terrorize their land and home. The family endures losses, pain, and battles to protect each other and their home.

Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña returned in the sequel to play their original roles of Jake Sully and Neytiri. Some other stars in the film include Sigourney Weaver as Kiri Sully and Kate Winslet as Ronal. 

According to Variety, Kate Winslet broke records within her role in the film. In preparation for filming in water, she had held her breath for seven minutes and 15 seconds under water to see if she could beat her previous record of six minutes and 14 seconds.  

Beyond the love story and action in the film, the “Avatar” and Disney team is also working to raise awareness of ocean wildlife and conservation, fitting with the films running theme of water and natural landscape of Pandora. They have partnered with “The Nature Conservancy to protect 10 of our oceans,” according to the Avatar website under partnerships. 

“The movie was full of tragedy. There was one point where I literally had to get up and leave the theater,” said Senior Kate Iannazzi. “The lengths the family will go for each other and for their home is really beautiful and shows that the movie is so much more than just cool animations and fantasy.”

Visit Avatar.com to explore the film’s efforts, cast videos, trailers and much more information.

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