---
title: Movie theaters need Avatar to be a tortoise
description: Theater owners are banking on Avatar to keep making bank.
---

[Hustle News ](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news)

# [Movie theaters need Avatar to be a tortoise](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12202022-avatar)

 Written by [Mark Dent](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/mark-dent) | Apr 11, 2023 5:29:44 AM

To understand all the creatures in Pandora, the fictional world of *Avatar: The Way of Water*, you need [a glossary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandoran_biosphere). There are titanotheres, hexapedes, direhorses, and more.

But as far as the movie industry is concerned, [according to the *Los Angeles Times*](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-12-18/did-the-box-office-opening-for-avatar-the-way-of-water-live-up-to-expectations), the only question regarding animals and *Avatar* that matters is simple: Will *The Way of Water* be a tortoise or a hare?

**Most blockbusters are hares**

They open with huge box offices and fade.

Marvel’s blockbusters average a box office drop of [~57% ](https://screenrant.com/black-panther-wakanda-forever-box-office-breakdown-after-weekend-2/)between the first and second weekends. *Spider-Man: No Way Home*, which had the highest-grossing debut weekend in history, plummeted [68%](https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/12/27/what-spider-man-no-way-home-68-percent-second-weekend-drop-says-about-marvel-star-wars-and-christmas-box-office/?sh=1b0a64804452) its second weekend.

Director James Cameron has typically been an exception to this rule:

- [*Titanic*](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3698624001/weekly/) opened with ~$53m and followed with $71m.
- [*Avatar*](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl876971521/weekend/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs) opened with $77m and followed with $75.6m.

***The Way of Water***** brought in $434.5m globally last weekend**

[According to EntTelligence,](https://news.yahoo.com/avatar-sequel-2-way-of-water-box-office-opening-weekend-150625562.html) an analytics platform, the timing of the film’s gross potentially sets it up for tortoise status:

- 53% of* The Way of Water*’s box office haul came from its preview night and opening day. EntTelligence claims that any share lower than 70% — the average for superhero flicks — portends a greater chance for sustained success.

The stakes are high. Americans [didn’t flock](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/11/worst-thanksgiving-weekend-box-office-history-1234785622/) to theaters over Thanksgiving, typically a major box office weekend, and theater owners badly need a hit. Plus, Cameron [has said](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/avatar-2-budget-expensive-2-billion-turn-profit-1235438907/) *The Way of Water* must make $2B+ to turn a profit.

**BTW: **If you see *Avatar* and feel sad afterwards, don’t freak out. You might just have [post-*Avatar *depression](https://variety.com/2022/film/features/avatar-depression-fans-the-way-of-water-1235460636/).

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12202022-avatar)

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