'Avatar 2' nears $1.5 billion, to surpass 'Top Gun Maverick' soon

Edited By: Kshitij Mohan Rawat
New Delhi Updated: Jan 04, 2023, 05:19 PM(IST)

'Avatar: The Way of Water' will soon beat 'Top Gun: Maverick'. Photograph:( Others )

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James Cameron's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' has grossed $1.44 billion, which is just shy of $1.48 billion of 'Top Gun: Maverick', the highest-grossing movie of 2022.

James Cameron's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is ruling the box office worldwide thanks to strong word-of-mouth, mostly positive reviews, and the lack of any big releases. At the time of writing, it has grossed $1.44 billion, which is just shy of $1.48 billion of 'Top Gun: Maverick', the highest-grossing movie of 2022. Cameron's science-fiction epic should surpass it in a day or two. It is hard to predict a movie's lifetime box office haul with any certainty, but thus far 'The Way of Water' is performing better than its prequel, the highest-grossing movie of all time, and should end up at the second or third. Cameron has said earlier that the film will have to be the fourth or fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time to break even.

Also Read: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' interview | Jack Campion, Trinity Bliss heap praise on 'outstanding' James Cameron

We believe 'Avatar: The Way of Water' should not have any issue with turning a profit. 

The film continues the story of the Sully family and introduces new adventures for Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic marine who sided with the Na’vi in the conflict against humans in the original and became one of the tall, lithe, and blue-hued natives himself. He and his Na’vi wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have children now: three of theirs and two adopted. The stakes are higher than ever before. Oh, and an old foe is back in a different, er, avatar.

Also Read: Will 'Avatar 2' beat 'Avengers Endgame' at the box office? It's complicated

Fleeing the threat, the Sullys find themselves among the Metkayina, a water-loving Na’vi clan with a paler blue skin colour to mirror the sea. They live around a reef and have amphibious qualities, allowing them to inhabit both worlds. Initially unwilling and hostile, the leaders of the clan, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet) eventually take the fugitives in and teach them their aquatic ways. Unbeknown to them, the Sullys have brought the war right to their shores.

'Avatar: The Way of Water' has received positive reviews. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored 77 percent. Wion's review of the film read, "Basically, I have the same complaints with ‘The Way of Water’ that I had with the original ‘Avatar’. No one in their right mind would take exception to his vision, but beneath all that eye candy, the film has a painfully conventional story involving conventional characters told in a traditional Cameron way. The director has never been an impressive deviser of complex, gripping plots and characters beyond the surface level. He does have the uncanny ability to build exciting narratives around action set pieces, and 'The Way of Water' is no exception. 'The Way of Water' is, in effect, a typical Cameron movie with all its glories and downfalls.'
 

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