It’s official: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is the top-grossing film of 2022.
The 20th Century/Disney release has earned more than $1.51 billion at the global box office, surpassing Paramount’s Top Gun 2, which opened in May 2022 and earned a hefty $1.49 billion globally.
What is even more impressive about this feat is that The Way of Water is now the No. 10 highest-grossing film of all time and the second-best of the pandemic era.
When the movie first opened, some were saying it had launched under its expectations for the opening weekend. However, Cameron and his team were able to make up ground and come out on top quickly.
Cameron is no stranger to defying the odds. Over the past 25 years, he has proven cynics wrong when Avatar, and a decade earlier, Titanic, became the top-grossing films of all time at the worldwide box office.
During the press tour for the film, Cameron stated it would need to earn in the $2 billion range to be considered a success.
The Way of Water is one of the most expensive movies ever made. It is said that in order to break even, the movie will need to gross 1.4 billion.
It is an incredible feat for Cameron and his team to have achieved this success, especially considering the movie runs three hours and 12 minutes. The first Avatar ran 30 minutes shorter, and it still managed to become the top-grossing film of all time when it opened in December 2009.
What is even more impressive is that Avatar: The Way of Water is the top-grossing film of 2022, despite the fact that the pandemic has caused many theaters to remain closed.
It is a testament to Cameron’s success as a filmmaker and his ability to create a movie that can captivate audiences around the world. It will be interesting to see if he can continue this success with the next Avatar movie, which is scheduled to be released in 2026.
