What will be highest grossing film released in 2025? Record-breaking Chinese animation "Ne Zha 2" is currently in pole position, hundreds of millions of dollars ahead of "Lilo & Stitch" and the still-in-theaters "Zootopia 2" ("Zootropolis 2" in the UK). But you'd be unwise to bet against a movie that arrives on the big screen this week, the third instalment in a franchise with a proven track record of blowing box office expectations out of the water.
2009's "Avatar" and 2022 sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water" are currently the highest and third-highest grossing movies of all time, sandwiching "Avengers: Endgame" at the top of the all-time list. Although they're not built on decades-old IP, James Cameron's sci-fi actioners have both made more money than every single "Star Wars" movie, and all-but-one of the MCU's 37 big-screen outings to date. And with accepted Hollywood wisdom suggesting that films don't gain access to the $2 billion club unless a sizeable number of viewers are heading back for repeat viewings, the "Avatar"s have clearly found the secret sauce — the, if you will, box office unobtanium — that everybody else in Hollywood would happily travel to Alpha Centauri to find.
