Avatar returned to theaters this weekend, but how did the movie do 13 years after originally arriving on the big screen? Well, the 3D blockbuster went straight to the #1 spot at the global box office, earning a solid $30.5 million ($10 million domestically and $20.5 million internationally).
Re-released around most of the world, Avatar has reminded audiences of the amazing and immersive 3D world of Pandora leading into December’s long-anticipated release of Avatar: The Way of Water. The first film in the blockbuster franchise also added to its worldwide box office record as the highest-grossing film of all time, a record it briefly lost to Avengers: Endgame.
Here are some of the international box office highlights:
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Opened #1 in France, Italy, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Oman, Qatar, Romania, Slovenia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Ecuador.
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Opened as the #1 non-local title in Czech Rep, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea and Vietnam.
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Avatar (re-release) posted higher openings than Titanic (2012 3D re-release) in France, Brazil, Mexico, Qatar, Romania, Czech Rep, Israel, Turkey, Ukraine, Kuwait, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Chile, Colombia, Peru and many smaller European markets.
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Looking at like-for-like territories, the opening weekend of $20.5 million was higher than the entire run of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2022 re-release), +37% ahead of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (2012 3D re-release) and -19% below Titanic (2012 3D re-release), which opened during the Easter holidays.
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Internationally, around 75% of box office came from 3D/4D/IMAX formats, with many markets posting especially high % shares. As a comparison, Avengers: Endgame was around 27%.
And some domestic highlights:
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Avatar (re-release) opened #3 domestically with $10.0 million for the weekend.
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Playing in a select 1,860 theatres, Avatar’s $10.0 million weekend is +85% ahead of the re-release for Spider-Man: No Way Home from Labor Day weekend ($5.4 million from 3,935 theatres).
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The overwhelming 93% 3D share compares to the opening weekend of 2009’s Avatar (74% 3D | 26% 2D). The 3D support is encouraging considering the usual 2D-dominant shares of recent tentpoles released in both formats (Thor: Love and Thunder – 90% 2D | 10% 3D).
So, it was a solid return to theaters for Avatar, and we're sure these numbers were probably helped by the fact the movie was quietly removed from Disney+ earlier this year.
Most importantly, the clear level of interest in the re-release of a movie that came out nearly a decade and a half ago bodes well for Avatar: The Way of Water. We're sure filmmaker James Cameron will be buoyed by that, while Avatar has now increased its lead over Avengers: Endgame to remain the highest-grossing movie of all time by a country mile.
Did you watch Avatar on the big screen again this weekend?