How Much Has 'Avatar: Way Of Water' Made At The Box Office? Blockbuster Stays Atop For Second-Straight Weekend

Director James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way Of Water" had a domestic opening weekend of $134.1 million and has surpassed $855 million in global ticket sales, which has made it the third-highest-grossing film of 2022.

The $134.1 million made the film, which is distributed by Disney's 20th Century Studios, the No. 37 opening weekend of all time.

"Avatar: The Way Of The Water" made an estimated $56 million domestically in its second weekend -- a 58% drop from the Dec. 16 opening weekend. The film finished well ahead of the animated film "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," which finished made $11.35 million in its opening weekend.

The box-office drop may have been attributed to extremely cold temperatures in most parts of the U.S.

Yet, after 10 days in theaters, the film has made $253.7 million domestically. The 2009 film made $212.7 million over 10 days.

The sequel had large shoes to fill. Despite fierce competition, its predecessor continues to hold the record as the highest-grossing film of all time.

"Avatar: The Way Of Water" had the fifth-highest premier weekend this year, tied with Warner Bros.' "The Batman" and had doubled the opening weekend of the original.

The film is certified "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a critical score of 78% and an audience score of 93%. Many critics have lauded the film for its impressive visuals.

Box office analysts have noted the soft showing the film had domestically and looked at the holiday weekend to see if the film would gain traction. Historically, the weekends around Christmas and New Year's have been a time for studios to release big blockbusters and Oscar-worthy favorites. The original "Avatar" was released at the end of December 2009.

"The second-weekend drop for 'Avatar: The Way of Water' puts it right in the zone of where it needs to be as this performance will set the tone for the ongoing box office journey for the film," Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told CNBC.

Many films tend to see a drop in box-office sales of over 50% after opening weekend. The end of December typically sees 5% of yearly movie ticket sales, CNBC noted.

Cameron has a deal with Disney to produce three more "Avatar" sequels, and a section of Disney's Animal Kingdom amusement park in Orlando is dedicated to the franchise. Cameron has reportedly been working on "Avatar: The Way Of Water" since 2013.

Cameron told GQ Magazine in November that the film had a massive budget but did not give an exact production cost. There have been estimates that the budget was north of $450 million.

Cameron said that for the film to turn a profit, it would have to be the fifth or fourth highest-grossing film of all time. The films that hold those positions are "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" with $2.07 billion in the fourth slot and "Avengers: Infinity War" with $2.05 billion in the fifth.