Dec 27, 2022

Avatar" Global Box Office Tops $850 Million; "Puss in Boots" Domestic Box Office Hit by Severe Weather

James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water," a hybrid film that is likely to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, grossed $855.4 million at the worldwide box office.

During the holidays, The Way of Water grossed $168.6 million at the international box office, down 42% in its second week, but down significantly in China, down 55% due to Covid. The film's performance was also likely affected by the fact that many major markets had major cinema closures over the holidays.

Despite the brutal weather in many parts of North America, the film still managed to gross an additional $56 million (estimated) in ticket sales domestically, bringing its worldwide weekend box office total to $224.6 million. Avatar's total worldwide gross of $855.4 million puts it in third place on the 2022 box office list, and fifth since the pandemic.

"Puss in Boots": The Last Wish opened in limited release for one week on Thanksgiving in select U.S. markets before being fully released over the holiday period, grossing an estimated $11.4 million over the weekend. Not terrible under the circumstances, but compared to the historic flop for Disney of "Strange World" ($12.2 million opening) and the holiday release of DreamWorks' "The Bad Guys," which opened on April 22 of this year to $24 million, the expectations disappointment.

Already released in 24 international territories in the second week of December (some on December 7), "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" opened in 28 more territories over the holidays, grossing $16.5 million overseas. This figure is more favorable than the domestic box office, especially considering the abysmal Chinese box office, which only grossed $358,000 in the face of Covid's complications.

"Puss in Boots" currently has a worldwide total of $50.8 million, with several major markets opening soon after the new year, including South Korea and Brazil.

Disney's latest film, "Strange World," which moved to Disney+ after a brutal theatrical run that stalled at just over $35.6 million, earned only $430,000 in 1,390 markets during the holiday season.

Currently, "Strange World" sits at #40 on the 2022 North American box office list, coincidentally between two animated feature films, Crunchyroll's "Dragon Ball Hero: Super Hero" ($38.1 million) and "Jutsu Kaisen 0" ($34.5 million) ($34.5 million). It falls short of Disney's other big theatrical animated feature, Lightyear ($118.3 million), which will be released in 2022, and just shy of The Bob's Burgers Movie ($31.9 million), also distributed by Disney.

Globally, "Strange World" seems unlikely to move much, grossing only $65.3 million and $1.5 million in international cinemas over the weekend.