Audiences rang in 2023 with a trip to Pandora, as James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” continued to dominate the holiday box office. The ambitious — and staggeringly e…
The ambitious — and staggeringly expensive — science-fiction epic has been in the works for years, blowing past several release dates as Cameron figured out a way to expand his story of a race of alien creatures struggling against hostile invaders over a planned five-films. He also labored to create new technology that would allow him to do performance capture work underwater. The wait appears to have been worth it. “Avatar: The Way of Water” brought in a projected $63.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” was basically the only game in town when it came to New Year’s Eve viewing. Coming in a distant second was Universal’s “,” which earned $16.3 million over the weekend and is expected to make $21.7 million over the four-day holiday. That would put the animated adventure’s domestic total at just over $66 million.
In fourth place, Sony’s “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody” earned $4.2 million for the weekend and $5.4 million for the four-day holiday. That leaves the biopic about the troubled pop icon with a $16 million domestic gross.