James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is finally out in theaters, and like the other recent films to come out of the Disney Corporate Umbrella this year, it is falling behind Box Office hopes. Believe it or not.
According to Deadline, it appears that the highly anticipated sequel will end its opening weekend close to $20 million below anticipated numbers, hitting around $134 million instead of the projected $150 – $175 domestically. But unlike previous movies, it seems that distributors are not that concerned about it, as the film earned over $435 million at the global box office.
Deadline states,
Despite Avatar: The Way of Water missing its $150M-$175M projections, rival distribution sources and exhibition aren’t bothered –nor do they believe that the sky is falling for cinema– particularly for a movie that cost according to sources (not Disney) at about around $460M before P&A. When it comes to the ultimate fate of Avatar 2, which was propped greatly by Imax, PLF and premium 3D ticket sales this weekend at 62%, we have to play the long-game.
The biggest factor might also come down to the pre-sale tickets, which are suggested to not be included in these opening numbers. 20% of tickets sold during pre-sale are reportedly for showtimes beyond the opening weekend, whereas these tickets for Marvel Movies have only accounted for 5% of ticket presales. Avatar: The Way of Water also appears to have very little competition at the Box Office and looks to top the Box Office charts this weekend.
“We got word of mouth, we’ve got a great movie, we have the screens and a clear run ahead throughout the holidays,” beamed Disney EVP of Theatrical Distribution Tony Chambers.
The Avatar sequel has already received rave reviews.
Related: Disney Confirms High Expectations for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
Only time will tell if it can break the cycle and restore Disney-backed supremacy in movie theaters.
We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on Disney Parks news and stories as more developments come to light.
