0
Posted December 18, 2022 by Mike Tyrkus in News
 
 

Box-Office Weekend: Way of Water Leads the Way


James Cameron and Avatar: The Way of Water, the long-awaited sequel to Avatar (2009), debuted atop the box-office weekend with $134 million over its first three days in theaters.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" posterWhile it is hard to say at this point exactly how much Avatar: The Way of Water will eventually make, it should make for interesting box-office watching over the next few weeks. The film finished $128.4 million ahead of the second-place film, Violent Night, which held onto second place with $5.6 million over the weekend to bring its three-week total to $35.5 million. Meanwhile, last weekend’s top film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever managed $5.4 million over the last three days, dropping it to a third place finish this weekend. The Marvel film now boasts a six-week total of $419 million, so it’s not all bad. Similarly dropping a spot to finish in fourth place was Strange World with $2.2 million. This gives the film a four-week total of $33.8 million. Also dropping one place to fifth was The Menu which added $1.7 million over the weekend to bring its overall total over the last five weeks to $32.1 million.

Devotion similarly fell a spot to finish in sixth place with $825,000 over the weekend. The film now claims a six-week total of $18.7 million. Holding its ground in seventh place was Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans with $750,000. This gives the film a six-week total of $8.6 million. Dropping two spots to finish in eighth place was the latest film from the DC Cinematic Universe, Black Adam which brought in $500,000 in its ninth week of release to bring its overall total to $167.7 million. I Heard the Bells dropped a spot to finish in ninth with $310,000 this weekend. This gives the film a three-week total of $5 million. Finally, in its second week of release, Empire of Light cracked the top ten to with $235,000 over the weekend, raising its total to date to $472,000.

After bringing in $1.2 million over the last three weeks, Spoiler Alert took leave of the top ten this weekend. Also departing, after nine weeks, and a total of $67.9 million, was the George Clooney/Julia Roberts romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise.

Weekend Box Office (December 16th – December 18th)

  1. Avatar: The Way of Water…$134.0 Million
  2. Violent Night…$5.6 Million
  3. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever…$5.4 Million
  4. Strange World…$2.2 Million
  5. The Menu…$1.7 Million
  6. Devotion…$825,000
  7. The Fabelmans…$750,000
  8. Black Adam…$500,000
  9. I Heard the Bells…$310,000
  10. Empire of Light…$235,000
Mike Tyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.