Avatar 2 Nearing $500 Million Globally As Disney Movies Surpass $4 Billion In 2022

Avatar: The Way of Water continues to make a splash at the box office, surpassing $497.1 million worldwide through Monday, December 19. It was expected to cross $500 million globally through Tuesday, including more than $150 million in the US and more than $350 million internationally.

The Way of Water opened to $134 million in North America, which was below some estimates, but clearly the film continues to put up big numbers. It's expected to hold strong through the holidays as people get out of work and school, though pandemic concerns might still affect box office figures.

In any event, The Way of Water helped Disney to pass $4 billion in total box office receipts worldwide for 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That's the most for any Hollywood studio in 2022.

Some of Disney's biggest movies in 2022 have included Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Lightyear, Death on the Nile, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Way of Water.

According to THR, The Way of Water cost as much as $400 million to produce. Writer-director James Cameron suggested the film would need to make around $2 billion to become a success. Cameron said The Way of Water is the "worst business case in movie history."

2009's Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time with $2.922 billion globally. Cameron already filmed Avatar 3, and that film is coming in December 2024, followed by Avatar 4 and Avatar 5...maybe.

In other news, Edie Falco recently said she assumed Avatar: The Way of Water came out a while ago and flopped. For more, check out GameSpot's The Way of Water review and what other critics are saying.