It was the reign of holdover hits over the extended MLK weekend box office, with several titles either passing important milestones or posting numbers that deserve a round of applause. Generating more money in its fifth weekend than most pandemic-era movies have been able to in their debuts, directorJames Cameron’sAvatar: The Way of Watergrossed $31.1 million over the traditional three-day weekend, and is projected to finish the four-day holiday period with $38.5 million.
This takes the science-fiction sequel’s running domestic total to $570 million, which means that it is still pacing ahead of its predecessor at the same point. But the firstAvatar, which was released in 2009, virtually refused to drop for weeks, ultimately finishing as the highest-grossing movie in history with $2.9 billion worldwide.The Way of Waterwon’t hit that figure, but its current global haul of $1.89 billion means that it will definitely become the first movie of the pandemic era to gross more than $2 billion worldwide, and will overtakeSpider-Man: No Way Home’s $1.91 billion lifetime haul very soon.
The film is also well-placed to eventually overtake Cameron’sTitanic($659 million) at the domestic box office, although the firstAvatar’s $750 million lifetime domestic haul (including re-release figures, of course) might be out of reach. Next up,The Way of Waterwill aim to overtakeIncredibles 2’s $608 million haul, to claim the 12th spot on the all-time list.
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Coming in at number two with a measly 40% drop from its first weekend is Universal’s horror hitM3GAN. The film added $17.9 million over the traditional three-day weekend, and is projected to make $21.2 million by Monday, pushing its running domestic total to just under $60 million. That’s a strong result for the well-reviewed and enthusiastically received film, which reportedly just cost $12 million to produce.
Universal also claimed the number three spot withPuss in Boots: The Last Wish. Released over a decade after the original, which concluded its global run with over $550 million,The Last Wishadded $13.4 million over the regular weekend, and is estimated to make $17.3 million by tomorrow, which will take its running domestic total to over $110 million. The number four and five spots were taken by two newcomers — Sony’s dramaA Man Called Otto, starringTom Hanksas a curmudgeonly old man, and the latestGerard Butleraction vehicle,Plane. Based on the bestselling Swedish novel,A Man Called Ottosuccessfully attracted the older crowds as it expanded into wide release with a $12.6 million weekend ($15 million over the holiday period), taking its running domestic total to $21 million.Planetook off with $10 million ($11.6 million over the extended weekend), which is a solid result for the relatively cheap franchise-starter.
The Way of Waterwill face its first real challenge at the box office in a couple of weeks, when directorM. Night Shyamalan’sKnock at the Cabinwill likely unseat it from the top spot for the first time in over two months. you’re able to watch our interview withM3GANdirectorGerard Johnstonehere, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
