Theater counts: Avatar: Way of Water makes landfall in 4,202 theaters

December 15, 2022

To no-one’s surprise, the widest release this week is the long-awaited Avatar: The Way of Water, as the sequel to the 2009 blockbuster arrives in 4,202 cinemas across North America. Once again directed by James Cameron, the latest film brings back Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, while bringing on some new cast members including Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, and Jemaine Clement among others. Available in RealD 3D, IMAX and IMAX 3D formats, the film is another visual spectacle which immerses the viewer in the Na’vi world from beginning to end. That much we know. How it’ll perform on opening weekend is a venture into the great unknown.

13 years ago, Avatar debuted in 3,452 cinemas and went on to score just over $77 million domestically in its opening weekend, and currently sits with a worldwide total of $2.899 billion (including re-releases), which places it as the highest-grossing film in history. We’ll have a full prediction tomorrow, but the industry consensus has it opening North of $150 million.

As we head towards the Christmas Holiday, there is still plenty to talk about outside of Avatar however. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever does slip into the third slot this week, but there are still plenty of opportunities to see the movie as it is still playing in 3,380 venues. Likewise is the case with Violent Night, as it manages to lose just under 200 locations this week, making it the second-widest release of the week with 3,525 movie houses. Rounding out the top five is Strange World and Devotion, clocking in with 2,870 and 2,211 theaters, respectively.

Available this week in limited release is the 1980s-set Irish drama, The Quiet Girl. Playing in two locations, the film follows nine-year-old Cait as she is sent away from her overcrowded, dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer. Also making its theatrical debut is the latest from Wolfe Releasing in Nelly & Nadine. Playing in one location, the Swedish documentary follows opera singer Nelly Mousset-Vos and writer Nadine Hwang, who met and fell in love while imprisoned in Ravensbrück, a German concentration camp, in 1944.

Looking ahead to next week we see three new wide releases make their entrance into North American theaters. Babylon and Whitney Houston biopic, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody will land on Friday, December 23. First up however is the Wednesday release of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The animated adventure film has collected just under $11 million overseas from rollouts that began last weekend. The film is expected to arrive in about 4,000 venues. Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Babylon are estimated to debut in 3,300 and 3,200 locations, respectively.

Theater Counts for December 16

Theater Counts for December 21 and 23

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Theater Counts