Refresh for latest…: That was fast. Coming out of its fourth weekend of release, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has topped $1.7B globally and become the No. 7 biggest movie of all time worldwide.
27.12.2022 - 01:11 / thewrap.com
This interview with “Avatar: The Way of Water” cinematographer Russell Carpenter first appeared in a special section of the Below-the-Line issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.The best solution to a difficult problem can sometimes come from an unexpectedly practical place. Just ask cinematographer Russell Carpenter, who had worked with James Cameron before.
He served as DP on 1994’s “True Lies” and 1997’s “Titanic” (where he came in as a replacement and wound up winning the Oscar for his work), and this time around his work encompassed live-action photography, motion-capture work and advising the visual effects teams on virtual lighting conditions. And while there really isn’t any other film like “Avatar: The Way of Water,” photographically or otherwise, that doesn’t mean you can’t rely on old tricks of the trade.
Like, for example, mirrors.In the sequence pictured on this page, our main characters, performance-captured by actors and replaced by computer-generated Na’vi, are perilously surrounded by fire. (We hesitate to reveal too much but, this being a James Cameron movie, something definitely explodes.)“That’s a perfectly good example of how live-action can be used to benefit what Weta FX is doing,” Carpenter said.
The production could never use LED screens the way that, say, “The Mandalorian” does, because “Avatar: The Way of Water” was shooting in native 3D. “You can’t use the image that’s on that LED because it just looks like a billboard.
But they work gangbusters when you hung them around a pool as reflections because now all of a sudden, it’s basically hell on the ocean.”The reaction of the fire on the water is something that was notoriously difficult to reproduce in the computer. Carpenter and his team surrounded
.Refresh for latest…: That was fast. Coming out of its fourth weekend of release, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has topped $1.7B globally and become the No. 7 biggest movie of all time worldwide.
Slow and steady wins the race, especially if you’re James Cameron and the world always seems to be skeptical about your chances. It’s been said never to bet against Cameron.
SUNDAY AM, NEW YEAR’S DAY: Refresh for more analysis and chart While New Year’s Eve is typically a better moviegoing day than Christmas Eve, business was still down yesterday at -27% from Friday for all movies. That’s a similar decline to last weekend’s Friday-to-Christmas Eve (-26%), however New Year’s Eve made more than Christmas Eve, $27.9M to $22.2M. Moviegoing is expected to be +19% on New Year’s Day, and there will be an extra cushion in Monday, Jan. 2 as many typically have off in honor of the Sunday holiday. Per our sources, weather wasn’t an issue this weekend.
It was another $20M day for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, so big that it was the biggest regular box office Thursday of the year after the sequel’s Dec. 22 take of $14.6M and Top Gun: Maverick‘s June 2 gross. The movie’s running total is $358M stateside with a 3-day expected to be around $50M and will cross the $400M threshold on New Year’s Day per box office sources. New Year’s Eve Saturday isn’t expected to be as depressed as Christmas Eve was a week ago.
Any cynicism about a broken down Christmas box office, impacted by weather, was wiped away Tuesday as 20th Century Studios/Disney/Lightstorm’s Avatar: The Way of Water racked up $23.8M sending its domestic cume to $317.1M. In addition, the sequel flew past the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. Director James Cameron has told the media that the breakeven point for Avatar: The Way of Water stands at $2 billion global mark.
Never bet against James Cameron, they said. And while “Avatar: The Way Of Water” got off to somewhat of a slow box office start—or at least it fell under some of the early projections which made pundits quickly skeptical of its chances—the Cameron maxim seems to be coming true.
Refresh for latest…: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is close on its way to the $1B global box office mark, having more than handily crossed $900M worldwide through its second Monday. This is the latest benchmark for the highly-anticipated sequel, and comes just 13 days after global rollout began. With $955.1M through Monday, The Way of Water has become the No. 3 highest-grosser of 2022 and the No. 4 biggest film of the pandemic era. What’s more, it is expected to hit the $1B worldwide milestone with today’s turnout.
Coming out of its second weekend, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has banked an estimated $855.4M globally through Sunday. The sophomore session added $168.6M at the international box office in 52 markets for a $601.7M running cume.
With strong and consistent mid-weeks, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has crested the $600M mark worldwide. This comes after it rapidly passed $500M global earlier this week, following its $441.6M opening weekend. The current worldwide total through Wednesday is $609.7M including $426.8M from the international box office.
It’s no secret that James Cameron wants the world of Pandora in his “Avatar” franchise to look as realistic as possible. But it’s not all about digital verisimilitude for the director; it’s a practical feature in casting, too.
“Avatar: The Way Of Water” is now in theaters, and only time will tell if it’s another massive financial success for James Cameron. It’s off to a good start, in any case: $550 million at the global box office so far.
20th Century Studios/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water‘s Tuesday box office is looking at $17M, and could possibly topple Minions: Rise of Gru‘s first Tuesday of $17.5M to become the best Tuesday of 2022.
James Cameron likes his female heroines as strong and capable as possible. For instance, take Sigourney Weaver‘s Ellen Ripley in “Aliens” or Linda Hamilton‘s Sarah Connor in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” But according to Cameron, Kate Winslet‘s Ronal in “Avatar: The Way Of Water” is the director’s most “empowering” female action hero yet.
EXCLUSIVE: We are hearing from our sources that James Cameron’s sequel to his highest grossing movie in the world, Avatar: The Way of Water, is currently on its way to a $17M Thursday night from showtimes that began at 7PM.
James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water began its international box office rollout today in such majors as Korea, France, Germany and Italy — and with early sneaks in China. One of the most anticipated movies of recent years, it’s dominating play.