Writer-director James Cameron recently said that Avatar: The Way of Water would have to end up among the top-grossing movies of all time just to “break even.” However, between presales and ticket sales in overseas markets where it’s already opened, the movie could be well on its way. 

Prognosticators are saying the long-awaited sequel could have a more than $500 million opening weekend globally, in fact, according to Deadline.

The trade reports the film, which stars Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Edie Falco, Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington, banked $16 million in its first day in theaters overseas. 

Helping matters greatly is that the film, from Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, is screening in movie-hungry China, where the government has refused to show other recent Stateside blockbusters like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. One caveat in the Middle Kingdom remains COVID: the government has reenacted strong restrictions in some places.

Further, online retailer Fandango is reporting The Way of Water has been its #1 ticket seller every day since Monday, December 5. The movie, which was shot with a slew of bleeding edge cinema technology, also ranked as the biggest 3D ticket seller in the States since Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens in 2015. 

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