Avatar 2 Is Going To Crush Another Record-Breaking Blockbuster

Avatar 2 has made $762.8 million in international box office numbers already, meaning it will crush Top Gun: Maverick's $770 million.

By Britta DeVore | Updated

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In the final home stretch of the calendar year, Avatar 2 is picking up its need for speed and is preparing to zoom past Top Gun: Maverick in the box office. Since premiering just a few weeks ago, Avatar: The Way of Water has been making major waves at the box office and is projected to dethrone the reigning champ. As of Deadline’s report following the close of Wednesday’s box office, James Cameron’s sci-fi flick had raked in an international total of $762.8 million, while Joseph Kosinski’s high-octane action feature landed at $770 million, with Avatar 2 expected to sail past Maverick’s numbers in no time.

Still, Avatar 2 is behind Top Gun: Maverick as far as the global box office is concerned with the former just beyond $1.1 billion and the latter holding strong as the year’s highest-grossing release at $1.5 billion. The Tom Cruise-led sequel to Tony Scott’s 1986 classic refueled and flew back into theaters in early December to give it one more push to the top of the charts. But, with The Way of Water still in its early theatrical days, there’s a chance the film could smash Top Gun’s impressive numbers. 

Both Avatar 2 and Top Gun: Maverick are productions that would be best seen in theaters. From James Cameron’s stunning visual effects in The Way of Water to the larger-than-life stunts performed by the actors themselves in Maverick, both features are definitely best to be viewed on the big screen. Their theatrical releases are also monumental moments in a semi-post-COVID world, proving that people are feeling more comfortable with returning to cinemas to take in blockbusters.

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Another thing Avatar 2 and Top Gun: Maverick have in common is that they’re both sequels, with each coming out more than a decade since their origin movies were released. In The Way of Water, audiences are transported back to the colorful world of Pandora where we meet back up with Jake Sully and Neytiri who have now formed a loving family. Their entire world will once again be threatened as new and old foes begin to rear their heads, terrorizing those who call Pandora home. 

Many familiar voices and faces are back for The Way of Water with a cast that includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, and Jack Champion. Like Avatar 2, Top Gun: Maverick also features some familiar faces in the sequel over three decades in the making. Tom Cruise reprises his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, an adrenaline junkie test pilot who is reluctantly called to train a new set of recruits.

It’s while putting these newbies to the test that he comes face to face with ghosts from his past, forcing him to reconcile with deeply buried grief. Along with Tom Cruise, the film also stars Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Glen Powell, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, and Ed Harris. While Avatar 2 may still be fighting its way to the top of the box office and only available in theaters, Top Gun: Maverick has now landed on Paramount+ for streaming and is on platforms like Prime Video to rent.