The new extended-range Avatar: The Way of Water opening weekend projections at the box office show the sequel nearly doubling James Cameron’s first movie. The original 2009 sci-fi film has broken all kinds of box office records along its path to becoming the top-grossing film of all time. Avatar: The Way Of Water Review of Avatar has in turn drawn lots of attention to how much money Avatar 2 will make. Although no one is expecting Avatar 2 to surpass the previous film’s $2.9 billion worldwide haul The film’s huge budget and Disney’s commitment to the future of the franchise mean that there’s some expectations on Avatar: The Way of Water to do well.

According to new long-range tracking provided from Box Office Pro, Avatar: The Way of Water is now projected to make more than $135 million during its first weekend in the United States. The original Avatar’s box office debut included a $77M opening in the US, 13 years ago, in December, so the new projections suggest Avatar 2’s first weekend at the box office to nearly double the initial. These projections even recommend that the sequel make $475M domestically by the end in its theater run, this is lower than earlier reports and about half of the amount Avatar produced domestically.

A strong first weekend opening for Avatar: The Way of Water is a good beginning for the sequel’s success on the screen. A reported $135 million opening could ensure that the sequel can earn in one weekend what it took James Cameron’s first film a full week to earn. However, Avatar 2’s box office will not be able to overcome the way to beat the first. The magic of Avatar’s improbable box office run is the movie’s remarkable word-of-mouth and repeated watchings that kept the movie relevant and in theaters for 234 days. This isn’t commonplace even for the most popular films. For reference, Top Gun: Maverick topped out at 161 days this year.

There’s no doubt there is any doubt that Avatar: The Way of Water will beat the original film, but it does not need to be the top-grossing film ever to be a success. The anticipation for the sequel has mostly quelled the argument that Avatar was not able to make a lasting impression on general audiences. Even it’s case that the sequel’s box-office is only half that of the first film but it still makes $1.3 billion, which would make Avatar 2’s billion-dollar box office an enormous success. It is enough to be the second highest-grossing movie in 2022.

There’s still some pressure on the Avatar 2 box office to be profitable enough that it will keep Cameron’s sequel plans alive. Cameron is slated to create three sequels which will include Avatar 3 already completely filmed. There is also some work being done for Avatar 4. The director has admitted that If the sequel’s box office falls short and the audience is not interested, Avatar 3 could be the final installment in the series. This means that Avatar: The Water’s gross will play an important role in determining what comes the next James Cameron’s films.