鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water鈥� claimed the No. 1 spot on the domestic box office charts for the seventh weekend in a row with an additional $15.7 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
It was a quiet weekend overall, notable mostly for the Hindi language blockbuster 鈥淧athaan鈥� that broke into the top five and the rereleases of films like 鈥淓verything Everywhere All At Once鈥� and 鈥淭he Fabelmans.鈥�
鈥淎vatar 2鈥檚鈥� has only been matched by the first 鈥淎vatar,鈥� and, in the past 25 years, bested by 鈥淭itanic鈥� (which stayed in first place for 15 weeks). All three were directed by James Cameron.
Globally, 鈥淭he Way of Water鈥� has now grossed an estimated $2.1 billion, passing 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens," to become the fourth-highest grossing film of all time (of which Cameron has directed three).
鈥淛ames Cameron just keeps ticking off all the records and milestones,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淎nd it's still got a wide-open marketplace.鈥�
Second place went to Universal and DreamWorks鈥� family-oriented offering 鈥淧uss In Boots: The Last Wish,鈥� which made $10.6 million in its sixth weekend. The animated spinoff has earned over $140.8 million in North America and was recently made available to stream at home, too.
Third place went to Sony's 鈥淎 Man Called Otto" with $6.8 million from 3,957 locations. The meme-able horror 鈥淢3GAN,鈥� a Universal release, snuck into fourth place with $6.4 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $82.3 million.
The Indian film 鈥淧athaan,鈥� starring Shah Rukh Kha in his first role in five years, settled in fifth place with $5.9 million from only 695 screens.
鈥淎 top five appearance is really impressive,鈥� Dergarabedian said, noting that the marketplace over the past several years has presented opportunities for Indian films to break into the domestic top 10.
Neon also launched the horror movie 鈥淚nfinity Pool,鈥� written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg and starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsg氓rd, in 1,853 locations following its Sundance debut. It made an estimated $2.7 million. The romantic comedy 鈥淢aybe I Do,鈥� with Diane Keaton, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandan, made $562,000 from 465 screens. And Lukas Dhont鈥檚 Cannes-winning boyhood drama 鈥淐lose鈥� opened on four screens in New York and Los Angeles, earning $68,143.
Many studios boasting best picture nominees also chose to capitalize on the buzz of Tuesday鈥檚 Oscar nominations with sizable re-releases. 鈥淓verything Everywhere All At Once,鈥� which got , came back to theaters in force playing on 1,400 screens where it earned another $1 million. The A24 release has made $71 million domestically to date. Steven Spielberg鈥檚 鈥淭he Fabelmans,鈥� nominated for seven Oscars, also expanded to 1,962 screens in North America and took in an additional $760,000, bringing its domestic total to $16 million. And Sarah Polley鈥檚 鈥淲omen Talking鈥� also added a few hundred screens, earning $1 million over the weekend. It鈥檚 made $2.4 million to date. The Oscar boosts could continue over the coming weeks, too 鈥� the show isn't until March 12.
鈥淲e are seeing in real time the halo effect of the Oscar nominations on these best picture nominees,鈥� Dergarbedian said. 鈥淭he Oscar bounce is back, something we haven鈥檛 seen over the past couple of years.鈥�
Several of the highest profile releases of the weekend were both star-driven comedies that went straight to streaming: Netflix had 鈥淵ou People,鈥� with Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jonah Hill and Lauren London and Amazon Prime Video offered 鈥淪hotgun Wedding,鈥� with Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Coolidge.
Seven weekends into 鈥淎vatar 2,鈥� theater owners are also likely looking for the next big blockbuster, which is still a ways off. 鈥淎nt-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania鈥� doesn鈥檛 arrive in theaters until Feb. 17.
But, as Dergarabedian said, 鈥�2023 is already looking more like 2019 rather than the last three years."
鈥淭his is great news for theaters,鈥� he said. "You have the Oscar bounce in play, an Indian film in the top 5 and 鈥楢vatar鈥� breaking records left and right.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, with Wednesday through Sunday in parentheses. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water,鈥� $15.7 million.
2. 鈥淧uss in Boots: The Last Wish,鈥� $10.6 million.
3. 鈥淎 Man Called Otto,鈥� $6.8 million,
4. 鈥淢3GAN,鈥� $6.4 million.
5. 鈥淧athaan,鈥� $5.9 million.
6. 鈥淢issing,鈥� $3.8 million.
7. 鈥淧lane,鈥� $3.8 million.
8. 鈥淚nfinity Pool,鈥� $2.7 million.
9. 鈥淟eft Behind: Rise of the Antichrist,鈥� $2.4 million.
10. 鈥淭he Wandering Earth 2,鈥� $1.4 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
