Seven straight weeks.
This weekend, “Avatar: The Way of Water” became only the second film of the 21st century to top the charts for that amount of time.
The other film?
“Avatar” in 2009.
“The Way of Water” continued its incredible run this weekend, earning another $15.7 million to move its domestic total north of $620 million. The film sits at no. 11 on the all-time domestic charts and is all but guaranteed to take 2012’s “Avengers”’ no. 10 spot over the next few days. Worldwide, the film has cleared $2.1 billion, making it the 4th highest grossing film of all-time. “The Way of Water” now has its sights set on a fellow James Cameron-juggernaut, as “Titanic” sits less than $80 million ahead of it. With only a 22% drop this weekend and two more weeks without blockbuster competition, “Avatar” may very well clear $700 million domestically by March.
Placing in second again is “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” with a weekend gross of $10.6 million. The famous feline just keeps on rolling, falling only 10% to increase its domestic total to $140 million. This entire time, “Puss in Boots” has sat underneath “The Way of Water,” but is quietly putting together an incredible run. The film now sits at #49 all-time for films that have never had a #1 weekend. By the time its run concludes, there is a chance “Puss in Boots” places in the top 10 on that chart. “The Last Wish” has been available on premium on-demand since early January, making this run all the more impressive.
In third place is “Pathaan,” the new Shah Rukh Khan-led Bollywood action thriller, which grossed $6.8 million domestically this weekend. The film set some historic marks in India, having the largest opening weekend ever for a Hindi-language film. This is a comeback for SRK, starring in his first film since 2018’s “Zero.” With almost $10 million earned domestically, “Pathaan” is on track to become one of the highest grossing Bollywood films in the U.S.and globally.
In fourth and fifth are “A Man Called Otto” and “M3GAN” which earned $6.7 million and $6.4 million respectively. The Tom Hanks-helmed drama fell only 24% this past weekend, pushing its domestic total to $45 million. With a reported $50 million budget, the film will not likely profit, but with a path to $60 million domestically, this is a strong performance for a comedy-drama in the post-pandemic marketplace. “M3GAN” fell 34% in its 4th weekend, moving past $80 million domestically. If it can keep its batteries charged a little longer, the film should clear $100 million in its run.
Next week brings the release of the new M. Night Shymalan horror film, “Knock at the Cabin.” Based on the novel “The Cabin at the End of the World,” the film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Nikki Amuka-Bird. Shymalan’s films typically open well at box office, leading me to predict “Knock at the Cabin” will earn $28 million in its opening weekend
Will “Avatar: The Way of Water” continue to ride the number one wave or will “Knock at the Cabin” burst into first place?
As always, we shall see.
