Box Office Preview: ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Eyes Domination With $175 Million Start

With "The Way of Water," director James Cameron is returning to the lush planet of Pandora ten years after "Avatar" solidified its place in box office history.

According to opening weekend predictions, it seems as though Jake Sully and company have, against all odds, managed to stay in people's minds.

With 4,100 North American cinemas, the movie is expected to open between $150 million to $175 million, which would be a record for a tentpole without any involvement from superher

Avatar 2 must meet some rather high expectations, though, as the follow-up to the historically highest-grossing film.

With $77 million in domestic sales, the first "Avatar" had a respectable but hardly world-beating start in 2009.

But the film had unparalleled staying power, holding the No. 1 spot for a record consecutive seven weeks and eventually climbing to $760 million in North America

Already, “Avatar 2” has drummed up $38 million in advance ticket sales, pacing ahead of “Top Gun: Maverick  (which opened to $126 million) 

and “Jurassic World Dominion” (which opened to $145 million), but behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (which opened to $181 million)

The other top openings of 2022 include “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Thor: Love and Thunder” ($144 million) and “The Batman” ($134 million).