The director’s long-awaited “Avatar” sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is currently dominating the box office and has grossed over $1.7 billion globally after less than a month in theaters, including $521 million in the US.
It’s the No. 7 biggest movie of all time, and showing few signs of slowing down. Cameron has directed three of the top 10 biggest movies ever, including the first “Avatar” (No. 1) and “Titanic” (No. 3).
When asked by Variety during the Golden Globes pre-show on Tuesday how that feels, Cameron took it as a chance to praise the theatrical experience and slam streaming.
“I’m not thinking of it in those terms, I’m thinking of it more in the terms of, we’re back to theaters around the world,” Cameron said. “People are going back to theaters. They’re even going back to theaters in China where they’re having this huge COVID surge.”
“The Way of Water” has grossed $188 million in China so far, even amid pandemic-related lockdowns. It’s shown strong legs after a slower-than-expected start.
“We’re seeing as a society we need this, we need to go to movie theaters and have that experience,” he added. “Enough with the streaming already! I’m tired of sitting on my ass.”
“The Way of Water” is approaching the $2 billion mark that Cameron had once suggested the movie needed to hit just to break even. But that threshold seems to have been lowered, as Cameron said last week that the movie would soon break even.
The movie has performed well enough that Cameron will make the planned third, fourth, and fifth “Avatar” movies, he said on HBO Max’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?”
“I know what I’m going to be doing the next six or seven years,” he said. “The point is we’re going to be okay.”
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