Avatar 2 Needs To Make $2 Billion At The Box Office Just To Break Even

Avatar 2 Needs To Make $2 Billion At The Box Office Just To Break Even 20th Century Studios

The first “Avatar” movie came out all the way back in 2009, and fans have been waiting for a sequel ever since. The good news is that “Avatar” 2, officially titled “The Way of Water,” is on the way — but it went so over budget that it’ll need to make $2 billion at the box office just to break even. Let that sink in for a minute.

  1. James Cameron says the movie was “very f**king [expensive]” to make. Talking to GQ, Cameron admitted that the sequel is basically “the worst business case in movie history” since it would have to do so well that it broke pretty much every record. “You have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even,” he explained. So, what was the actual budget for “Avatar” 2? Cameron’s not telling. Clearly, it’s more than $2 billion!
  2. The first “Avatar” movie did pretty well at the box office. Variety reports that it holds the top spot for ticket sales, having made $2.9 billion. “Avengers: Endgame” is just behind it with $2.7 billion, with “Titanic” in third with $2.1 billion. For the “Avatar” sequel to become the third or fourth highest-grossing movie, it would need to make more than “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which is in fourth place with $2.07 billion. That’s the kind of money we’re talking.
  3. The “Avatar: The Way of Water” has been in the works since 2012 but didn’t actually begin production until five years later. Given that much of the movie is actually set underwater, it’s been a challenging process as well as an expensive one. A 900,000-gallon tank was built specifically for the project, which can’t have been cheap. Luckily, it’ll get its use in the third and fourth “Avatar” movies.
  4. So, when can fans see the highly over budget “Avatar” 2? It’s not long now! “Avatar: The Way of Water” opens in theaters on December 18, but you can watch the trailer below. Hopefully, it’ll be well worth the long wait.

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience. The managing editor of Bolde, she has bylines in Vanity Fair, Business Insider, The New York Times, Glamour, Bon Appetit, and many more. You can follow her on Twitter @jenniferlstill
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