“Avatar: The Way of Water” keeps soaring to new heights. James Cameron’s Pandora-set sequel has surpassed his 1997 film “Titanic” as the third highest-grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office.
In the 10th weekend following its release, the Oscar-nominated sci-fi epic — the long-awaited follow-up to 2009’s “Avatar” — has so far grossed an estimated $2.24 billion globally. As of Sunday, “The Way of Water” has edged out “Titanic,” which has grossed about $2.243 billion over the years (including its recent 25th anniversary re-release), to take over the No. 3 spot in the list of highest-grossing films ever behind the original “Avatar” and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).
“The Way of Water” picks up the story over a decade after the first “Avatar” film. It follows former human Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Na’vi leader Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their family. As Times film critic Justin Chang wrote in his review, “In ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ ... Cameron pulls you down so deep, and sets you so gently adrift, that at times you don’t feel like you’re watching a movie so much as floating in one.”
