‘Avatar’ sequel leads in North America, passes $1 billion globally

Avatar: The Way of Water took in an estimated $82.4 million this holiday weekend in North America, pushing it past a global total of $1 billion in near record time, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

The four-day domestic take for the sci-fi flick brought its domestic total to $440.5 million, on top of $957 million earned overseas; only a half-dozen films have passed the $1 billion mark in their first two weeks. 

But director James Cameron has estimated that the high-budget 20th Century movie needs to make twice that much just to break even.

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive,  and the tragedies they endure.  

Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the Lightstorm Entertainment Production stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet. 

Screenplay by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Story by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film’s executive producers.

The original Avatar took in a record $2.9 billion.

Second place in North American theatres went to Universal’s family-oriented Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a computer-animated spin-off of the popular Shrek franchise. It took in $22 million for the Friday-through-Monday period.

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Another blockbuster sequel, Disney’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, earned $6.5 million to place third; its domestic total rose to $439.6 million in its eighth week out. 

In fourth place was Sony biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, at $5.4 million. English actress Naomi Ackie portrays the late superstar. And in fifth was Paramount’s comedy-drama Babylon, at $3.6 million.

Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie star in director Damien Chazelle’s over-the-top tribute to an early Hollywood struggling with the transition from silent films to “talkies.”

Rounding out the top 10 were: “Violent Night” ($2.8 million)”The Whale” ($1.8 million)”The Fabelmans” ($1.6 million)”The Menu” ($1.4 million)”Strange World” ($747,000).

*Additional reporting by Kaunda Selisho