“Avatar. Waterway’ is still pulling in audiences at the domestic box office, maintaining a significant lead over the competition as it looks to retain the No. 1 spot in its fifth weekend.
The sci-fi romp from Disney and 20th Century Studios added $7 million from 4,035 locations on Friday, bringing its total to $538.8 million. The film is on pace to add an estimated $36 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. For the three-day frame ending Sunday, Avatar 2 is projecting a roughly 36% drop from last weekend.
Of course, “The Way of Water” does not give such a superpower as its predecessor did; James Cameron’s 2009 the holiday release made waves in January with a series of drops week after week that never took off. past 27%. Still, “Water Road” is currently outpacing its previous release with a total of $538 million, surpassing the roughly $500 million the first “Avatar” took in over MLK weekend in 2010.
Waterway currently ranks as the 14th highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office, behind 2019’s The Lion King ($543 million) and 2018’s Incredibles 2 ($608 million). go into the record books. The sci-fi sequel is the seventh highest-grossing film worldwide, with a worldwide total of $1.7 billion and growing. With continued box office dominance and no high-profile competition on the near horizon, Waterway has a chance to become the first film to cross $2 billion worldwide since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Avatar isn’t the only film showing signs of strength at the domestic box office. Universal’s horror-comedy “M3GAN” looks set to come in second, forecasting $20 million over the four-day holiday. That’s a very strong hold for the Blumhouse and Atomic Monster production, which debuted to an impressive $30 million last weekend. The buzz around the film remains strong as audiences continue to queue up to meet that dancing, deadly doll.
Apart from those holds, the box office saw a bunch of new releases that secured eyeballs. The strongest is Sony and Columbia Pictures’ “A Man Called Otto,” which expands widely this weekend, adding more than 3,000 theaters after a limited holiday release. The Tom Hanks drama could land in third place, forecasting $14.9 million over four days for a domestic total of $21 million. That’s a very solid number for an original adult-oriented drama in the age of COVID. Critics have been positive about the film, but audiences are proving to be much more receptive.
In fifth place, Lionsgate’s thriller Airplane collected a $3.5 million opening day from 3,023 locations. The film, helmed by reliable action star Gerard Butler, projects a $10 million finish over the four-day holiday.
Warner Bros.’ “House Party” will likely open outside the top five. Originally produced for an HBO Max debut, the studio focused on a modest wide release of 1,350 locations. The comedy remake is projecting an opening of up to $5 million over four days, and not a box office flop.
Universal’s Puss in Boots. For the three-day frame, that’s a minimal 8% drop from last weekend. DreamWorks’ “Shrek” spinoff, now available for purchase on digital platforms, has emerged as the rare family film that has scored big at the pandemic-era box office. In its fourth weekend, the film will cross the $100 million mark on Saturday. the worldwide total currently stands at $206 million.
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