Avatar: The Way of Water won its seventh straight box office, the first movie to do so since Avatar in 2009, and it’s not over yet.
Avatar: the way of the water has had a pretty easy time at the box office since its December release. Since very few major films have been released since then, the sequel has gained free rein on the domestic chart and is the first film since 2009. avatar to remain at the top of the box office for seven consecutive weekends. While this is certainly an achievement, Avatar: the way of the water is still a far cry from the record holder for consecutive box office weekend wins ET. with a huge box office run of 16 weeks, one week more than James Cameron’s Titanic managed. While his latest blockbuster will not disturb either film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania guaranteed to take its crown on February 17, it could make its way into the top ten before then.
Avatar: the way of the water has continued to defy post-pandemic expectations, and the expectations that lay at the feet of a sequel that took 13 years to arrive. After easily breaking the $2 billion mark and leaving some of the greatest movies of all time in the dust, Cameron will now have his sights set on toppling his own movie. Titanic as the third highest-grossing film ever behind Avengers: Endgame and avatar.
Although there were some concerns at first Avatar: the way of the water might come too late for people to even care about the franchise, and arriving at a time when visually stunning movies aren’t as rare as they were a decade ago, those fears are clearly silly now. With that in mind, the avatar franchise now has a free pass to continue with its five-movie plan for the next several years.
James Cameron can still win an Oscar for Avatar: The Way Of Water, but not as a director
Avatar: the way of the water earned herself a number of nominations in the shortlisted categories for this year’s Academy Awards. While the film managed to claim a spot in the coveted Best Picture category, James Cameron was snubbed in the Best Director category. However, after proving that such accolades are unnecessary, Cameron is unlikely to lose too much sleep over the lack of recognition.
The probability of Avatar: the way of the water actually walking away with the grand prize of the night is pretty slim. The category includes some more “regular” Oscar fare, such as Steven Spielberg’s The Fablesand the extremely popular Everything everywhere at once. Who actually walks away with the figurine is something that is hard to predict, and with popular underdogs like Top gun: Maverick even in the mix, the result can still have the potential to surprise.
For Avatar: the way of the water, its biggest achievement has always been related to its position at the box office, and it hasn’t disappointed in that. Whether it’s Cameron’s next sequels, starting with avatar3 can continue to reach the same impressive heights in 2024, we can only wait and see. By the end of its run, James Cameron could very well have directed six of the top ten highest-grossing films ever, and that’s a legacy that trumps any missed Oscar win.