It was on December 16, 2022, that Avatar: The Way of Water (Avatar 2) hit theaters all across the globe. And now, within 11 days of its release, the James Cameroon directorial has emerged as the third-highest grosser of all time at the Indian box office, just behind KGF: Chapter 2 and RRR.
The film which collected Rs.192 crores in its opening week continued its dream run in the second weekend as well, as it grossed Rs.59 crores, thus taking the overall collection figures at the Indian box office to Rs.251 crores.
It should be noted that KGF: Chapter 2 collected Rs.434 crores from the Indian market, while SS Rajamouli's RRR collected Rs. 274 crores from the domestic market.
The current market figures indicate that India has become Avatar 2's fifth largest market after the United States, China, South Korea, and France.
Interestingly, the film is exceptionally performing well in the South Indian states, and the movie is expected to collect Rs.100 crores alone from Telugu-speaking states. Avatar 2 is also enjoying a decent run in Kerala theaters too.
According to industry experts, one of the main reasons behind Avatar 2's success in India is due to the lack of competition posed by Bollywood movies. Rohit Shetty's comedy-drama Cirkus was expected to attract the audiences, but the film failed to make it big at the box office.
Globally, Avatar 2 has already emerged as the fifth highest grosser in 2022, with its collection exceeding $889 million, leaving behind Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Batman.
Made with a budget of $360 million, Avatar 2: The Way of Water stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, and Matt Gerald in lead roles.
The third installment in the Avatar franchise is expected to hit theaters in 2024.