Avatar: The Way of Water Made Over $500 MIllion In Profit
As hard as it is to believe, there was a time when people that Disney was taking a huge risk in releasing Avatar: The Way of Water.
Prior to the film’s release, there were real questions about whether or not box-office audiences would return for another trip to Pandora. After all, it was 13 years since James Cameron wowed movie-goers with the original Avatar.
Source: 20th Century Studios
During this time, Disney not only purchased the theme park rights to the franchise, building Avatar: The World of Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but they also staked their $71.3 billion dollar acquisition of 21st Century Fox, in part, on the idea that Avatar would be a generational intellectual property.
Avatar Comes Through
Well, as it turns out, all of the trepidation surrounding Avatar: The Way of Water was for naught.
Photo: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Not only did audiences flock to theaters to see James Cameron’s newest blockbuster, but the film managed to gross $2.3 billion dollars worldwide, making it the third-highest-grossing film of all time.
Despite an estimated budget of $350-460 million, and a massive worldwide marketing campaign, Avatar: The Way of Water still managed to earn Disney over half a billion dollars in profit.
Source: 20th Century Studios
“The Worst Business Case in Movie History”
Prior to the release of the film, James Cameron publically admitted that making an Avatar sequel was “the worst business case in movie history” seeing as the film would “have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” to recoup the cost of its production.
Photo: Disney/Everett Collection
Well luckily for everybody involved, Avatar: The Way of Water did just that.
According to Deadline, the $531 million in profit that Disney took home, does not include ancillary revenue from Avatar’s presence at Disney theme parks.
Not only did the film manage to make money in and of itself, but it also provided a lift for the franchise’s value as a whole.
Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
Just the Beginning
In fact, the film was so successful that Disney and Cameron are now moving forward with their plans for Avatar 3, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5.
Photo: Complex.com
While these films will once again have a high bar to clear for profitability, based on Cameron and Avatar’s track record, I for one would not doubt them.
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