Re-releasing Avatar brings in an additional $3.5 million at the global box office

The re-release of Avatar has had a good opening weekend in theatres both in India and abroad, bringing in solid numbers; adding to the film's existing impressive box office tally.

In addition to becoming the first movie to gross over $2 billion at that time, Avatar also won three Oscars

The highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar by James Cameron, was re-released in theatres on Friday, September 23.

Avatar broke all previous box office records when it was initially released in 2009. The movie is currently on its third run, which was coordinated to coincide with the promotion for its future sequel. The movie has once again been able to garner respectable box office receipts on a global scale, with a target of $15–20 million.

James Cameron's movie did well in India on Friday thanks to National Cinema Day's lower ticket pricing, selling 1 crore worth of tickets just from reservations. Despite competition from Brahmastra and Chup trade analysts estimate it can have a 5-crore weekend in India.

Avatar made $1.04 million in advance ticket sales, according to industry tracker Sacnilk, selling 77,559 seats.

The movie opened on Thursday itself in five markets around the world. A report in The Collider states Avatar earned $877k altogether during Thursday from France, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and the Philippines.

Another report by CNBC predicted the film to make anywhere between $7 and $12 million in the North American market on Friday.

Trade sources say Avatar can make the same amount abroad, especially in India, bringing its global day one total to $15–20 million. This is a big sum for a re-release and will help the movie's already impressive global box office performance.

Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time, with a $2.8 billion global take. It briefly lost this crown to Avengers: Endgame in 2021, but the additional revenue helped it regain it after it was released in China later that year.

Avatar: The Way of Water the long-awaited sequel, is due to arrive in theatres in December, thus the movie is currently having its third successful run at the box office since its initial release in 2009.

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang from the previous movie return in this sequel, which is also directed by James Cameron. Kate Winslet and Michelle Yeoh are featured. The movie, the second in a five-part series, will hit theatres on December 16, 2022.

James Cameron, in an interview, said, “It’s been 12 years since the release, and if you're under 22 or 23 years of age, it’s very unlikely that you’ve seen the film in a movie theatre. We made the film for the big screen. Now, it can finally be watched the way we intended to.”

On the success of Avatar Cameron added, “It had an impact on the way films were presented. To what extent Avatar 2 will have a lasting cultural impact, I guess it depends on how many people watch it in theatres.”

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