Avatar 2 Was So Expensive It Must Beat Star Wars Or Avengers At The Box Office To Break Even

Avatar: The Way of Water, the long awaited sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar - the highest grossing film of all time, has some very large shoes to fill with astronomical box-office expectations. Avatar: The Way of Water is an upcoming American epic sci-fi/ action film directed by James Cameron and produced by 20th Century Studios. The second installment comes 13 years after Cameron’s original hit the big screen, and is said to be so expensive that in order to break even it must become the fourth or fifth highest-grossing film in history.

The first Avatar released in 2009, and won the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects, and was nominated for a total of nine, including Best Picture and Best Director. The Blockbuster movie has taken the highest -grossing film of all time spot thanks to its re-release in China. (hitting more than $2.7 billion at the global box office) The sci-fi epic which debuted in 2009 held the the global box-office title for a decade until it was overtaken by Marvel’s Avengers Endgame which raked an impressive $357 million in its first weekend domestic opening.

With it’s groundbreaking use of special effects and 3D/ IMAX technology, Avatar was a worldwide phenomenon for cinema. It was an instant box-office hit which became the fastest film to gross $750 million; within just 39 days it surpassed Titanic's record as highest grossing film with an astonishing $1.86 billion in global ticket sales in less than six weeks.

However, with its re-release, it is now back on top, and crucial to ramping up anticipation for the upcoming sequel after movie-goers waited for over a decade for the next installment. “Avatar” stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are back for the film, set to open Dec. 16. with tickets already on sale.

According to the movie’s director, James Cameron. Avatar: The Way of Water was so expensive to create that it will have to threaten the record books just to break even.

Just how expensive is “Avatar: The Way of Water”? Early reports have claimed the production budget alone was in the $250 million range, but director James Cameron isn’t willing to give a hard number just yet. The only answer Cameron would give about the sequel’s budget when asked by GQ magazine was the following: “Very f@#$*% [expensive].”

Cameron, who has been working on “The Way of the Water” since 2013, apparently told Disney and 20th Century Studios executives that his sequel budget was so high it represented “the worst business case in movie history.” According to the director’s estimates, “you have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.”

Directed by James Cameron, Worthington and Saldaña return as Jake and Neytiri. They now live in Pandora with their family. Sigourney Weaver, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel, Stephen Lang, Matt Gerald, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Dileep Rao, Giovanni Ribisi, and Kate Winslet also star in the film.

Tickets now on sale:
New trailer dropped today

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

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