'Avatar: The Way of Water' Becomes the Top-Grossing Film Released in 2022

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has surpassed Top Gun: Maverick at the global box office as the top-grossing movie released in 2022, according to Deadline.

As of Wednesday, January 4, the 20th Century film has accumulated $454 million USD domestically and more than $1 billion USD internationally, moving its global tally to $1.51 billion USD. That figure not only overtakes Top Gun: Maverick‘s $1.49 billion USD at the global box office, but it also makes Avatar: The Way of Water the No. 10 top-grossing film of all time and the No. 2 top-grossing title of the pandemic era, behind Spider-Man: No Way Home.

In his press circuit, Cameron claimed that Avatar 2 would need to reach $2 billion USD in order to be deemed a success, though The Hollywood Reporter‘s sources estimated that the breakeven figure was roughly $1.4 billion USD. According to the outlet, the movie required a production budget of more than $400 million USD, and marketing costs added roughly $200 million USD to the final bill, making The Way of Water one of the most expensive films to date.

The sequel takes place more than a decade after the happenings of the 2009 film. At the center of the plot is the Sully family: Jake, Neytiri and their children. According to the official synopsis, the movie chronicles “the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure as they fight for their home on Pandora.” Packed with state-of-the-art visuals, the trailer includes a reference to the original title, with Na-vi’s signature phrase: “I see you.”

Avatar: The Way of Water stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Oona Chaplin, Jermaine Clement and more.

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