MOVIE NEWS – It looks like the makers can rest easy: Avatar: The Voyage of Water is set to be a massive success in its opening weekend.

The long, long-awaited sci-fi sequel Avatar: The Voyage of Water is currently on track to be a big hit at the box office. The film is projected to gross around $150 million in US cinemas when it debuts next month. And further projections (via Variety) suggest the film could go as high as $175 million. Clearly, audiences are more than ready to see Pandora return.

Avatar: The Voyage of Water got a big boost earlier this week when it was announced that it had been cleared for release in China.

By comparison, a $150 million opening would almost double the first Avatar’s 2009 opening of $77 million. It went on to become the biggest movie of all time, with a total gross of $2.7 billion.

The sequel to Avatar only needs to hit the box office to break even

Luckily, the box office projections for Avatar: The Waterway look good. Because the sequel needs to be a big hit to be a success. In fact, it has to be one of the highest-grossing films of all time to break even! Director James Cameron recently described the long-awaited film as “f*cking expensive” and called it the worst business case in cinema history.

Based on the latest figures, it seems Cameron has nothing to worry about.

However, the filmmaker already has a plan in place in case Avatar: The Waterway is not a financial success.

Avatar: The Voyage of Water will be released in cinemas on 16 December 2022. Three more sequels have been given release dates: they will hit cinemas on 20 December 2024, 18 December 2026 and 22 December 2028.

Source: Variety