“Avatar: The Way of Water” by Disney and James Cameron. It made an estimated $56 million during its second weekend in theatres, 58% down from its opening.
Blockbuster movies frequently witness a drop in ticket sales, with the majority experiencing a 50% to 70% drop. This statistic, known as the second-week decline. It is frequently used to predict how long a movie will last at the box office instead of how soon it may lose steam.
Films under 50% are anticipated to have solid, prolonged runs. While those that reach 70% are predicted to experience dramatic declines in ticket sales as the film loses its audience.
“The second-weekend drop for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ puts it right in the zone of where it needs to be. This performance will set the tone for the ongoing box office journey for the film,” said Paul Dergarabedian. He is the senior media analyst at Comscore.
Box office analysts highlighted storms over the Christmas holiday and the chilly winter weather. They are the reason that probably contributed to reduced domestic ticket sales. Additionally, sales of tickets abroad are still quite strong. For markets outside of the Canada and United States, the second-week decline was by 43.9%.
It was always anticipated that “The Way of Water” would receive at least 70% of its box office revenue from purchases of foreign tickets. However, as of Sunday, the split is precisely that.
Since its Dec. 16 release, “The Way of Water” has produced $855 million in worldwide ticket sales. It is including $254 million from domestic and $601 million from overseas markets. It is currently the fifth-highest-grossing movie that was released in 2022.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is currently less than half of what directors claimed
In second place with $1.48 billion globally is Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion,” followed by Disney and Marvel Studios. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” Universal and Illumination’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” and Paramount and Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick.”
The box office total for “The Way of Water” is currently less than half of what director James Cameron claimed the movie needed to bring in to be deemed profitable. However, the “Avatar” sequel has room to grow at the movie office despite decreasing word of mouth, which has been centered on amazing graphics betrayed by a weak plot.
Disney and Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” the following big release, won’t be in cinemas until Feb. 17, giving “The Way of Water” is a long run at the box office without any opposition.
According to Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, “January is absent much direct competition against the film.” However, if it’s going to, the Avatar sequel might catch up on any perceived lost ground in terms of exceeding long-term expectations.
“We live in a world where the craving for instant gratification leads to early results being used as the final barometer of a film’s success,” he said. “Realistically, sometimes that makes sense, but sometimes it doesn’t. This is one of the latter situations.”