Film Avatar: The Way of Water Earns Rp16 Trillion in 2 Weeks, Top Gun: Maverick Prepares to be Overtaken

Dream - The most anticipated visual effects film, 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' is currently dominating cinemas in the country. This film has been eagerly awaited since it first appeared 13 years ago.

The beauty of the Pandora sea portrayed in the film is able to captivate the audience even though they have to watch it for over 3 hours.

The long wait seems to have brought a breath of fresh air for the film produced by Disney. Ticket sales for James Cameron's creation have surpassed billions of dollars at the global box office.

According to CNBC, ticket sales in 14 days reached US$1.03 billion or equivalent to Rp16.09 trillion (exchange rate: Rp16,095). The sales figure is a combination of US$317 million from domestic sales and US$712 million from international markets.

This film is also among the top 5 fastest films to reach US$1 billion in ticket sales at the box office. The achievement of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' was also 5 days faster than the achievement of the first Avatar film in 2009. 

James Cameron previously stated that his film needed to achieve box office sales of US$2 billion to be considered profitable.

According to senior media analyst at Comscore, Paul Dergarabedian, he believes that Avatar 2 can achieve its goal. The reason is that 'The Way of Water' currently does not have any direct or significant competitors in cinemas until mid-February, when 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' is released.

However, he is also concerned about the Covid-19 situation in China, which has reduced sales figures. China was initially expected to be one of the main sources of revenue.

China is a dominant market in the global theater space and is considered important for blockbusters seeking top box office numbers. The film Avatar: The Way of Water has also been allowed to be screened in Chinese theaters.

Currently, China has only contributed US$108 million or equivalent to Rp1.69 trillion in ticket sales until Tuesday. However, China was expected to generate US$100 million or equivalent to Rp1.57 trillion during the film's opening weekend.

"There are high expectations placed on the country to provide the additional revenue needed to help put the film above the high global revenue expectations set by director James Cameron," said Dergarabedian.

Meanwhile, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the film Avatar: The Way of Water became the second fastest film to reach the US$1 billion milestone during the Covid-19 pandemic (in 14 days).

Previously, there was the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (in 12 days) in December 2021.

The film starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana is also catching up to the film Top Gun: Maverick, which holds the title of the highest-grossing film of 2022. The film starring top actor Tom Cruise has reached nearly US$1.5 billion in revenue.