‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Becomes the 3rd Highest Grossing Movie Ever For IMAX

The records just keep toppling as director James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water enters its sixth week of release. With an estimated $214 million at the global IMAX box office by the end of the extended MLK holiday weekend, The Way of Water has now become the third-biggest movie in history on the IMAX format.

This weekend, the science-fiction sequel added $14.2 million from IMAX theaters, and is projected to make $16.7 million by Monday. IMAX accounted for 12% of the overall global business this weekend, while North America contributed $5.5 million to that tally. Domestically, The Way of Water will hit $75 million from IMAX by Monday, making it the third-biggest release of all time in the premium format.

Internationally, the film has made $138 million from IMAX, ranking second on the all-time list behind Avengers: Endgame ($146 million). The Way of Water is also the second-biggest IMAX title in China, where it added $2.8 million this weekend, for a running haul of over $46 million. Additionally, 44 international markets such as South Korea, France, Germany, Mexico, Italy, India, UAE, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, Turkey, Argentina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Singapore, Thailand, and Colombia now count The Way of Water as their biggest IMAX release ever.

It makes sense for the film to be so attractive on the premium format, which presents the highest-resolution images possible. Boasting state-of-the-art underwater motion capture photography pioneered by Cameron himself, The Way of Water also utilizes fluctuating High Frame Rate technology, which creates an even more immersive experience, especially in the film’s underwater sequences.

Set more than a decade after the events of the first Avatar, which remains the highest-grossing film of all time with $2.97 billion at the global box office, The Way of Water moves the action from that film’s tropical setting, and plunges audiences into the never-before-seen aquatic corners of Pandora.

The Way of Water has made over $1.3 billion from overseas territories, where it added nearly $90 million this weekend. Domestically, it made $31.1 million over the traditional three-day weekend, and is projected to make $38 million by Monday, pushing its running total to $570 million. The film’s worldwide haul currently sits at an astounding $1.84 billion, virtually guaranteeing a finish north of $2 billion worldwide. This will make The Way of Water the first film of the pandemic era to make more than $2 billion globally, Cameron’s third feature film (in a row) to pass that milestone, and the sixth-biggest film of all time at the worldwide box office.

You can watch our interview with the filmmaker here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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