This past Friday saw the long-awaited release of the "Avatar" sequel, "The Way of Water." While the movie saw much anticipation and speculation, its opening weekend fell short of expectations, domestically earning $134 million and internationally earning $300.5 million for a total of $434.5 million. This was lower than the estimates of $150 million or higher for the domestic opening.
Despite its lower-than-expected debut, "The Way of Water" still managed to be the fourth-highest domestic opening of the year, tying with "The Batman" behind "Thor: Love and Thunder," "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," and the highest grossing "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" which made $187.4 million in May.
The movie was released in 4,202 theaters and over 12,000 screens, with 66% of the revenue coming from 3D ticket sales. Pre-sales for the movie were higher than usual, at 20% compared to the usual 5% for movies with spoilers.
The sequel is only the second of four planned films in the "Avatar" series. The third film is slated for 2024 and the fourth for 2026; the scripts for both have already been written. The director of the movie, James Cameron, is well-known for his work in directing films such as "The Terminator," "Aliens," and "Titanic," and has won three Oscars.
It remains to be seen whether "The Way of Water" will be able to make up for its lower-than-expected debut as the "Avatar" franchise continues in the future.