By Zach Johnson
Six weeks after its release, 20th Century Studios’ Avatar: The Way of Water surpassed the $2 billion mark at the global box office—only the sixth film in industry history to reach that milestone. With this feat, James Cameron has directed three of the six highest-grossing films of all-time globally; his 2009 film, Avatar, remains at No. 1.
Avatar: The Way of Water remains the No. 1 non-local movie worldwide for a sixth consecutive weekend. It stands as the sixth highest-grossing global release of all-time and is closing in on No. 5 Avengers: Infinity War’s $2.052 billion. In addition, the film is the highest-grossing global release of 2022 and the highest-grossing global release of the pandemic era.
Domestically, Avatar: The Way of Water has grossed $598.2 million to date. It remains the No. 1 movie domestically and is the 13th highest domestic release of all-time, closing in on Disney and Pixar’s Incredibles 2 ($609 million). Internationally, Avatar: The Way of Water has grossed over $1.428 billion since it was released in December 2022.
Avatar: The Way of Water has been named one of the year’s top films by the AFI and National Board of Review. Cameron and Jon Landau are nominated for Producers Guild of America Awards; the stunt ensemble is nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award; and the film recently won Best Visual Effects at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.
Cameron isn’t the only record-setter. Zoe Saldaña, who reprises her role as Neytiri in Avatar: The Way of Water, has now starred in four of the six films to cross $2 billion, including Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
