The 13-year-long wait for the sequel to James Cameron's 'Avatar', ends on Friday when the movie hits theatres World Wide. The movie, which has won praise from movie critics who were blown away by the 'visual artistry' will attempt to wow the audiences with pioneering 3D technology.
Years after 'Avatar' arrived in movie theatres, conquered and continued to sit at the top of the global box office as the highest-grossing release of all time with $2.9 billion worldwide. According to Deadline, the sequel to the triple-Oscar-winning sci-fi movie is reportedly eyeing a global box office collection of an estimated $525 million in what is said to be Disney’s widest global release of all time. The film will release across 52,000 screens, surpassing Marvel's 'Avengers: Endgame'.
According to the report, the film is expected to earn over $175 million in U.S. and Canada. The remaining $350 million is expected to come in from the overseas markets with $100 million expected to come in just from China.
Cameron is said to be one of the biggest directors ruling over the Chinese markets. The same was proved last year when the original Avatar added $57.7 million to its total following a promotional rerelease on just 80 screens.
The report further states that China, France, the UK, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Germany and Brazil are among the top opening markets for the film that is expected to have a clear run at the ticket windows.
While there are no other major film releases, the FIFA World Cup could take a bite out of action with the Semi-final match between France and Morocco and the following Final on Sunday.
Hollywood's big question is whether 'The Way of Water' can recoup its massive production and marketing costs. Studios split ticket sales with theatres, and Cameron told GQ magazine that 'The Way of Water' will need to make $2 billion just to break even.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 85% of 107 reviews collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website had applauded the new instalment. However, critics were not universally impressed with the film as some objected to the long-running time or said they were not drawn in by the story.
