'Avatar and the Way of Water' fails to meet expectations and drops nearly 60% in its second weekend

Ticket sales to see the highly anticipated sequel set in Pandora, Avatar and the Way of Water produced by Walt Disney Co. plummeted 58% in its second week of domestic release, compared to the first Avatar film, which was down only 2% in its second weekend at the box office.

To date, the highly anticipated sequel directed by James Cameron grossed a total of $881.4 million worldwide. The not inconsiderable figure is already enough to double the production budget of some $469 million excluding the marketing budget, but it is not enough for the company to consider it profitable. By their standards, the film should end its box office run of about seven weeks by grossing between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

The result in the country is striking. The United States alone accounted for 31% of total box office receipts, generating a total profit of $279 million. The figure includes the $56 million it made last weekend. This figure also represents a 58.2% drop from the previous weekend, when the film's debut grossed a total of $134 million domestically.

The first production of the Na'vi-based feature film became the highest-grossing movie of all time because it topped the box office rankings for seven weeks. Results for the sequel Avatar and the Way of Water have been complicated by heavy snowfall which prevented much of the country from going to theaters over the weekend.

A weak debut in China

Despite having performed well worldwide, it seems that this second movie hasn’t convinced moviegoers in China, where it grossed $57.1 million, a figure far below the $120 million that the company expected to obtain in that country.

The first production of Avatar was a huge success in China, where it grossed $200 million.