Los Angeles, Dec 26, 2022, IANS

Los Angeles, Dec 26 (IANS) The James Cameron-directorial 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is the fifth-highest grossing movie of the year.

The Disney and 20th Century's big-budget epic has collected $855 million in global ticket sales after 10 days on the big screen, reports 'Variety'.

So far, James Cameron's long-delayed sequel has generated $253.7 million at the US domestic box office and $600 million internationally.

Even with harsh winter weather in North America and rising cases of Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and flu across the world, the 'Avatar' sequel is expected to bring in strong grosses in the coming days.

As per 'Variety', by the end of the year, the $350 million-budgeted tentpole is aiming to hit the $1 billion-mark. It's a benchmark that only two other movies, 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'Jurassic World Dominion', have managed to hit in 2022.

Outside of North America, 'Avatar 2' has enjoyed the strongest turnout in China with $100.5 million, followed by Korea with $53 million, France with $52.3 million, India with $37 million and Germany with $35.7 million.

However, the follow-up film will struggle to reach the heights of its predecessor, which is the highest-grossing release in history with $2.97 billion worldwide.

The worldwide box office hasn't fully rebounded from the pandemic and important markets like China are experiencing a resurgence of the virus. Moreover, the sequel won't be playing in Russia, where the original grossed $116 million.