'Avatar: The Way of Water' crosses $2B mark in global box office
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment
Walt Disney's (NYSE:DIS) Avatar: The Way of Water has become the sixth film in history to cross $2B in global box office receipts, joining the club that includes the original Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avengers: Infinity War.
It also makes James Cameron the man behind three of the six-highest grossing movies of all time. The long U.S. holiday weekend offered a chance to push box office collection.
The first part of Avatar, which was released in theaters 13 years ago, remains the biggest grossing film of all time with $2.9B in box office take. The sequel, The Way of Water, debuted in late December, and crossed $1B in global grosses just 14 days after its release.
The House of Mouse acquired the franchise following its $71B purchase of 21st Century Fox assets in 2019, though some were not enthusiastic about the expensive purchase, like activist investor Nelson Peltz. The latter is now seeking a seat on the Disney board to make operational improvements and reduce costs as DIS's stock trades near pandemic lows. SA Marketplace author Long Player writes that the coming battle will be better than Fight Night, and will boil down to how much impatience the short-term performance crowd will have.
Three more Avatar movies are also in the pipeline, scheduled to debut in December 2024, December 2026 and December 2028.