Avatar 2 Already Driving Other Movies Out of Theaters (And It's Not Even Released Yet)
The only movie that's scaring away the competition before it even hits theaters.
The weekend box office in the US was a disappointment, with many theaters reporting low numbers. This was largely due to a lack of new releases, as many studios were hesitant to compete with the highly anticipated Avatar 2.
However, there was some good news in the mix – The Whale with Brendan Fraser set a new record for average earnings per theater in 2022. The movie was able to draw in a solid audience and earn a respectable amount at the limited-release box office. Yay for Brendan!
The weekend box office in the US from December 9th to 11th only brought in 35 million dollars, making it the second-worst performance of 2022. The only time theaters saw worse numbers was from January 28th to 30th, with a measly 34.88 million dollars.
The disappointing weekend can be attributed to Hollywood studios not releasing any major films in early December to avoid competing with the blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water. Furthermore, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter, a general lack of releases due to production delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic also played a role. Talk about a tough break! Things will surely pick up next weekend, when Cameron's long-awaited sequel finally premieres.
Once again, the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever came out on top at the box office. It raked in 11.1 million dollars over the weekend, bringing its total US earnings to over 400 million dollars. Overall, the superhero action flick has earned a whopping 767 million dollars. Looks like the panther's still got some serious claws.
The Whale starring Brendan Fraser premiered in a limited release in six US theaters and made 360 thousand dollars. This means that the average box office of the film per theater was 60 thousand dollars, a record-breaking performance for the year 2022. The previous best result was held by the film "Everything Everywhere All At Once" with 50.1 thousand dollars. Talk about a splash! Looks like Brendan Fraser is back bringing in some serious bucks – or, at the very least, some serious buzz, given his Oscars prospects.