Receipts: ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Debuts At Number 1, But Will It Profit? Netflix's ‘Glass Onion’ Starring Janelle Monáe Ranked Most Streamed Film Of The Week

Domestic: Disney and 20th Century’s highly anticipated sequel Avatar: The Way of Water was released domestically on December 16, 2022, and debuted first at the box-office with a $134.1 million opening weekend, coming in slightly below expectations compared to Black Panther’s Wakanda Forever’s opening weekend, which grossed over $181.3 million.

On its second weekend in theatres, despite conditions caused by Winter Storm Elliott experienced throughout the United States, the sequel to the record-breaking 2009 box-office success cashed in $95.5 million during the four-day holiday weekend between December 23-26. The sci-fi fantasy film starring Zoe Saldaña has grossed $293.2 million domestically and $955 million worldwide by December 27, the second week of its theatrical release. The budget for the film has also been kept ambiguous by the film’s director James Cameron, but some reports state it’s between the range of $350-$400 million. Cameron has also alluded that the film must earn over $2 billion to “break even.”

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish by Dreamwork Animations and Universal Pictures is the latest film to join the expanding Shrek Cinematic Universe, released theatrically in the United States on December 21, 2022. The computer-animated family-friendly adventure film starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek debuted at $19.2 million on its opening extended weekend between December 23-26, placing second at the box office to Avatar: The Way of Water. As of December 27, the animated film has grossed a worldwide total of $58.6 million, working with an $80-$90 million budget.

Premiering third at the box office is the musical biographical drama Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Sony Pictures, released December 23, 2022. The film starring Naomi Ackie was filmed with a $45 million budget and grossed $6.75 million domestically between December 23-26. The film has grossed $9.35 million worldwide as of December 27.

After only seven weeks in theatres, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2022. The latest installment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe grossed $5.5 million on its seventh weekend in theatres over December 23-26. As of December 27, the film grossed $428.1 million domestically and $801.9 million worldwide.

International: For the weekend of December 23-25, Battle on Buka Street earned the number one spot at the Nigerian Box Office, beating Avatar, a rare achievement for local films. Over the weekend, the film grossed over $111,949 in its domestic territory. The Nigerian comedy-drama was released on December 16, 2022, and was directed by Funke Akindele and Tobi Makinde. The film is jointly produced between Funke Ayotunde Akindele Network (FAAN) and FilmOne Entertainment as a collaboration.

The Indian Hindi-language comedy film, Cirkus was released theatrically on December 23, 2022, and has grossed over $4 million worldwide. The film is based on William Shakespeare’s play The Comedy of Errors, starring Ranveer Singh and Varuna Sharma, and is produced by Rohit Shetty Productionz and T-Series Films.

Streaming: Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was released for streaming on December 23, 2022, after an American theatrical release on November 23. The film is a sequel to 2019’s Knives Out, produced by T-Street production company. It stars an ensemble cast, including Janelle Monáe and Leslie Odom Jr. Netflix is well-known for not releasing official box office numbers for theatrically released films. However, some reports claim the film is believed to have grossed around $13 million at the box office after the premiere date’s five-day Thanksgiving weekend. Following its December streaming premiere on Netflix, the comedy-mystery film ranked number one on Netflix’s Global Top 10 List, being watched 82.14 million hours during the week of December 19-25.

Another Netflix film topping the streaming service’s Global Top 10 list for non-English films is The Big 4— An Indonesian comedy-action film released on December 15, 2022, produced by Frontier Pictures and Netflix Studios. The film was directed by Timo Tjahjanto, with Abimana Aryasatya and Putri Marino as leads. According to Netflix, The Big 4 was watched for 16.4 million hours during the week of December 12-18 and 19.74 million hours the following week of December 19-25, ranking on Netflix’s top ten lists in multiple countries.

Released in India via Disney+ Hotstar and on Hulu in the United States, Govinda Naam Mera is an Indian Hindi-language comedy thriller that premiered on December 16, 2022. The film was directed by Shashank Khaitan and included Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, and Kiara Advani as the lead cast. The film currently holds a 6.4 out of 10 rating on IMDB, while The Times of India rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5.