Showing no sign of ceding its dominance at the box office, Avatar: The Way of Water grossed an estimated $19.7 million (around Rs. 160 million rupees) in its sixth weekend in North America, industry watchdog Exhibitor Relations said on Sunday . James Cameron’s sci-fi epic thus sailed above the $2 billion mark worldwide (approx. and $1.42 billion (approx. Rs. 11,522 billion) elsewhere in the world.
This makes the Disney/20th Century Studios film only the sixth film ever to surpass $2 billion (not adjusted for inflation), although it still falls short of the all-time leader, the original avatar, by US$1.5 billion (about Rs.12,171 billion). The original 2009 film ranks first as the highest-grossing film of all time, having grossed US$2.9 billion (approx. Rs. 23,530 billion).
Showing considerable buoyancy after five weeks outdoors, Universal Pictures’ familyfriendly Puss in Boots: The Last Wish up one spot from last weekend to second at US$11.5 million (about Rs.93 billion) for the Friday-Sunday period.
One place down was a creepy thriller M3GAN by Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions for US$9.8 million (approx. Rs.80 billion). The film’s title doll, created to be the companion of a young orphan, gradually takes on a spooky life of her own.
In fourth place was Sony Pictures’ new version Absence, at $9.3 million (approx. Rs. 75 crore). Storm Reid plays a teenager desperate to find her mother (Nia Long) after she disappears while vacationing in Colombia.
David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research called this opening “impressive” for a crime thriller, adding, “The reviews are excellent.”
And in fifth place, down one place from last weekend, was Sony’s Feel-Good A man named Ottoat $9 million (approx. Rs. 73 crore). tom hanks stars as the curmudgeon, a character based on the popular Swedish novel A Man Called Ove.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
level ($5.3 million)
house party ($1.8 million)
This Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ($1.5M)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($1.4 million)
The whale ($1.3 million)
Avatar: The Way of Water is in theaters worldwide. In India, Avatar 2 is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.
