Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday 20 December: James Cameron’s much-anticipated Avatar sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, has outperformed three of the top five movies of 2022* in bringing infrequent moviegoers** out to the cinema, according to Movio’s opening weekend data.

The film is currently reported to have grossed USD$134 million domestically and USD$441.6 million globally in its opening weekend.

Movio Research shows that 42.2% of those who attended a session of Avatar: The Way of Water were infrequent moviegoers and 36.9% were occasional moviegoers***. Both figures beat the average opening weekend proportions for infrequent and occasional moviegoers, which sit at 35% each in 2022.

Of the top five movies of 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water has outperformed Jurassic World: Dominion; Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in seeing infrequent moviegoers come out to cinemas.

The list below shows the percentages of infrequent moviegoers who attended an opening weekend session for each of the top five movies of 2022, and how they compare with Avatar: The Way of Water, according to Movio Research.

• Top Gun: Maverick — 49.2%
• Minions: The Rise of Gru — 47.8%
• Avatar: The Way of Water — 42.2%
• Jurassic World: Dominion — 40.5%
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — 38.2%
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — 34.9%

Sarah Lewthwaite, Movio CEO, commented: “It’s great to see infrequent moviegoers returning to cinemas to see Avatar: The Way of Water, a film that’s clearly meant to be experienced on the big screen. The success of this title should not just be measured by its box office grosses, but also by its ability to reignite the passion for cinema amongst the public, and to turn their visit to Avatar: The Way of Water into a renewed habit of moviegoing.”

The domestic success of Avatar: The Way of Water’s opening weekend has carried over to international markets, too. Numero, the aggregated Box Office reporting platform and the official reporting authority in Australia, reported that the film opened in Australia to AUD$16.6million. “Avatar: The Way of Water has been such a highly anticipated movie this year and the big numbers show how a blockbuster like this can really power the moviegoer experience. It’s a very strong way to end the year and we wait with anticipation to see if Avatar: The Way of Water can hold as strongly at the box office as the first instalment did,” said Simon Burton, Numero CEO.

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*Top five movies according to the domestic box office for 2022
**Infrequent moviegoer refers to moviegoers who attended less than two sessions in the past six months
***Occasional moviegoers refers to moviegoers who attended two to five sessions in the past six months