‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Gets Best Pic Nomination, 3 Others; James Cameron Snub Continues Franchise’s Complicated Oscar Journey

Some cinematic questions remain eternal. What’s in the briefcase in “Pulp Fiction“? What did Bob whisper in Charlotte’s ear at the end of “Lost In Translation“? And was there enough room on that floating door for Rose and Jack to survive in “Titanic“? As the film approaches its February 10 theatrical rerelease, James Cameron looks to put that mystery to bed in a new National Geographic special, “Titantic: 25 Years Later With James Cameron.” READ MORE: ‘Titanic’ 25th Anniversary Re-Release Trailer: James Cameron’s Oscar-Winning Epic Returns To Cinema In February EW has a breakdown of four different scenarios Cameron uses to recreate his film’s tragic scene and speculate if Jack indeed had a chance to avoid his chilly fate.

Titanic director James Cameron has an answer for fans that insist the film’s hero would have survived had he only gotten on the floating door : You don’t know Jack.

EXCLUSIVE: When a tentpole works at the global box office, there’s a ripple effect with exhibition partners, not just the studio, bathing in riches. Such is the case for CJ 4DPlex’s Screen X and 4DX auditoriums which can brag that Avatar: The Way of Water, as it clocks $2.1 billion worldwide, is the exhibitor’s highest grossing movie of all-time with $85M.

Earlier this week, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water became the No. 5 highest-grossing movie ever worldwide, and, as expected, has now surfed to the No. 4 position on the all-time chart. In so doing, it leaves Star Wars: The Force Awakens in its wake with nearly $2.075B globally. 

Well, James Cameron naysayers, it’s time to admit defeat. Variety reports that “Avatar: The Way Of Water” now sits at #5 in the all-time box office gross rankings with $2.054 billion globally.

A Scots man who is cancer-free after taking part in a clinical trial has welcomed £3.9 million in funding to help further developments in treating the 'insidious' disease. Jim McCallum, 76, from Paisley, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017 after going to the doctor and hoping he would be told it was a "harmless lump".

For the first time in a long time, the highest grossing film of the year globally, Avatar: The Way of Water, is nominated for Best Picture at the 95th annual Academy Awards. What’s more, the year’s No. 2 film, Top Gun: Maverick, is also in contention for the top prize at this year’s ceremony.

Top Gun: Maverick scored six Oscar nominations this morning including best picture, along with adapted screenplay by Ehren Kruger & Eric Warren Singer, sound, film editing, visual effects and original song for the Lady Gaga tune Hold My Hand. The film’s emergence as a best picture threat might have seemed an impossible mission, in that a summer movie that grosses nearly $1.5 billion worldwide moves popcorn, not Oscar voters. This Paramount Pictures film has proven to be the exception and one big reason is this: if Tom Cruise didn’t rescue the theatrical box office business following the Covid pandemic, he certainly pulled it out of a nosedive. While Cruise did not get nominated for best actor, he is squarely in the mix as producer, alongside first time Oscar nominee and hitmaking stalwart Jerry Bruckheimer, Christopher McQuarrie (a double nominee counting the adapted screenplay category) and Skydance principal David Ellison.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe finally broke through in the above the line categories at the Oscars this morning as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s Angela Bassett earned a supporting actress nomination for her turn as Queen Ramonda.

The Oscar Best Original Song nominees list is packed with a powerhouse roster of talent, including Rihanna, Lady Gaga, David Byrne. That sets up a collision of current musical giants come Oscar night. Of course, there’s Diane Warren, the recipient of an Honorary Oscar last month and a musical giant in her own right. She’s garnered a 14th nomination in the category with “Applause,” from the little-seen doc Tell It Like a Woman.

Over the past month, the conversation around “Avatar: The Way of Water” has shifted from, “Will it make money?” to “How much money will it make?” James Cameron‘s much-anticipated — or much-derided, depending on where you sit in the contemporary culture wars — was always expected to make money, but everyone has been shocked at its impact at the global box office. Once it became clear that the movie was going to outperform even its most ambitious expectations, the only question became whether this movie could possibly topple the original “Avatar.” And while that remains an open question, in at least one regard, Cameron’s sequel has already proven itself ahead of the pace.

Refresh for latest…: It’s now official, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has become the sixth movie ever to cross the $2B mark worldwide. It is also the filmmaker’s third to hit the milestone, alongside Titanic and the original Avatar.

Over the past month, the conversation around “Avatar: The Way of Water” has shifted from, “Will it make money?” to “How much money will it make?” James Cameron‘s much-anticipated — or much-derided, depending on where you sit in the contemporary culture wars — was always expected to make money, but everyone has been shocked at its impact at the global box office. Once it became clear that the movie was going to outperform even its most ambitious expectations, the only question became whether this movie could possibly topple the original “Avatar.” And while that remains an open question, in at least one regard, Cameron’s sequel has already proven itself ahead of the pace.

The Walt Disney World attraction Flight of Passage features some creatures in this movie and the beach setting. Was that ride priming the pump for “Avatar: The Way of Water?”We knew what we were doing on the movie and at Lightstorm, my company, a lot of the creative people that were about to move onto “The Way of Water” worked on the ride Disney’s group, Imagineering. We actually merged the two groups together, the Imagineering team with the robotics and the show ride staff, and our team for the film software and the design.People that go to this movie who have been on the ride are going to say, “Oh yeah.”“Oh yeah, I’ve seen some of this stuff.” Yeah.

Suffice it to say that Avatar: The Way of Water commanded the Visual Effects Society’s attention. James Cameron box office-smash sequel scored a record 14 nominations for the 2023 VES Awards, which were announced today.

Avatar: The Way of Water is still smashing it at the box office nearing $2B worldwide and director James Cameron is already teasing the next installment in the film series.

Refresh for latest…: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water continues to outdo itself having crossed $1.8B globally and reaching nearly $1.9B at the worldwide box office through this weekend.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” has only been out in theaters less than a full month, and the film has already earned well over $1.73 billion worldwide. It’s an astonishing number and a total that will likely well exceed $2 billion in just a matter of a couple of weeks.

James Cameron ended 2022 with one hell of a bang. Despite people thinking his “Avatar” sequel, ‘The Way of Water,’ would be a bomb, the film was released and has been doing incredible business on its way to $2 billion+ at the global box office.

EXCLUSIVE: James Wan has been labeled by fans for being responsible for killer doll movies, specifically his Conjuring franchise spinoff, Annabelle.