The Way Of Water’ To Cross $400M U.S. At New Year’s Weekend Box Office – Deadline

SATURDAY AM: Refresh for extra evaluation and chart Avatar: The Way of Water is trying implausible in its third weekend after Friday beat its personal night estimates with $24.4M. That places the James Cameron film on a run for a $67.8M 3-day weekend, +7% from final weekend’s Christmas interval, and a possible 4-day between $87M-$92M per business estimates. In that vary, by Monday, Avatar 2 will outstrip the 18-day operating whole of its comp, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which had $440.9M by that cut-off date with a complete between $450M-$446M.

The movie is ringing in a wholesome New Year for exhibition main a complete home market of $104.2M over Friday-Sunday, which is 5% greater than New Year’s Weekend 2022 when Spider-Man: No Way Home led all titles to $98.9M.

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FRIDAY PM UPDATE: Avatar The Way of Water‘s 3rd Friday is on its way to $22M+, which is up 15% from its second Friday of $19.2M a week ago and will put the sequel’s 15-day whole at round $380M. Today’s gross can be greater than Rogue One‘s third Friday of $18.2M. This appears to be shaping up for a 3rd 3-day weekend of $57M, -10%, and 4-day of $75M, perhaps even a bit extra at 4,202 theaters. By EOD Monday, Jan. 2, the twentieth Century Studios/Disney/Lightstorm film hopes to face at $433.1M stateside.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is eyeing a second Friday of $5.3M, +39% from per week in the past, for a 3-day of $13.3M (+7%), 4-day of $17.7M at 4,121 theaters, and a operating whole via 13 days of $62.1M, -33% behind Sing 2 versus the identical cut-off date.

Disney/Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in its eighth Friday is seeing round $1.6M, a 3-day of $4.7M (+33%), 4-day of $6.4M and operating whole in its eighth weekend of $439.3M. The sequel is in play at 2,310 theaters.

Sony/Compelling Pictures/Black Label Media’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody is seeing a second Friday of $1.3M, -35%, and a second weekend of $3.7M, -22% and 4-day of $4.9M for an 11-day whole of $15.4M. The Whitney Houston biopic is booked at 3,625 theaters.

Paramount/C2’s Babylon at 3,351 theaters is seeing $850K at this time, $2.9M for its second weekend, -19%, and a 4-day of $3.3M elevating its 11-day whole $10.7M. The film will quickly surpass the lifetime home whole of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, a darkish, R-rated excessive forehead grownup title from final Christmas which finaled at $11.3M. Nightmare Alley was nominated for 4 Oscars together with Best Picture.

PREVIOUS FRIDAY AM: It was one other $20M day for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, so massive that it was the most important common field workplace Thursday of the yr after the sequel’s Dec. 22 take of $14.6M and Top Gun: Maverick‘s June 2 gross. The movie’s operating whole is $358M stateside with a 3-day anticipated to be round $50M and can cross the $400M threshold on New Year’s Day per field workplace sources. New Year’s Eve Saturday isn’t anticipated to be as depressed as Christmas Eve was per week in the past.

To date, the Disney/twentieth Century Studios/Lightstorm film has the next every day 2022 data: prime and second grossing Thursday, the 2nd and third highest Mondays of the yr, the first and 2nd highest Tuesdays, and 1st and third highest Wednesday.

Total Thursday international was $67.9M. Overseas B.O. whole cume is $810.6M –surpassing Top Gun: Maverick‘s $770M to turn out to be the No. 1 worldwide launch of 2022 and No. 2 MPA title overseas within the pandemic period. Ongoing worldwide whole for Avatar 2 is $1.168 billion.

We hear Comscore is down this AM, stopping others from reporting numbers. Disney didn’t have any issues, clearly.

We’ll have extra updates for you as they arrive.