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‘AVATAR: The Way of Water’ gave no sign of relinquishing its box office domination, taking in an estimated US$19.7 million (about RM84.42 million) in its sixth weekend out in North America, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said on Sunday.
The James Cameron sci-fi epic thus sailed past the US$2 billion mark globally, best in the pandemic era, with accumulated ticket sales of US$598 million domestically and US$1.42 billion internationally.
That makes the Disney/20thCentury film only the sixth movie ever to surpass the US$2 billion mark (not adjusted for inflation), though it still trails the all-time leader, the original ‘Avatar’, by US$1.5 billion.
Showing considerable buoyance after five weeks out, Universal's family-friendly ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ rose one spot from last weekend to place second, at US$11.5 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.
Down one spot was scary-doll thriller ‘M3GAN’ from Universal and Blumhouse Productions, at US$9.8 million. The film's title doll, created as a companion to a young orphan, gradually takes on a creepy life of her own.
In fourth spot was Sony's new release ‘Missing’, at US$9.3 million. Storm Reid stars as a teenager desperate to find her mother (Nia Long) after she disappears during a vacation in Colombia.
David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research called that opening "impressive" for a crime thriller, adding, "The reviews are excellent."
And in fifth, down one spot from last weekend, was Sony's feel-good ‘A Man Called Otto’, at US$9 million. Tom Hanks plays the title curmudgeon, a character based on popular Swedish novel ‘A Man Called Ove’.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
‘Plane’ (US$5.3 million)
‘House Party’ (US$1.8 million)
‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime’ (US$1.5 million)
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (US$1.4 million)
‘The Whale’ (US$1.3 million) – AFP, January 23, 2023
