[Newsmaker] “Avatar: The Way of Water” tops 2.4M admissions in five days

Long-awaited Hollywood sci-fi film “Avatar: The Way of Water” has topped 2.4 million admissions in five days after its release, box-office data showed Sunday, breaking the record set by the original “Avatar” in 2009.

Despite the film’s agonizingly long three-hour runtime, “Avatar: The Way of Water” drew 359,225 people on the first day, bringing its combined total to 1 million people in just three days. On Saturday alone, the first weekend day since the movie opened, the film attracted 828,557 admissions.

Released on Dec. 14, Avatar 2 runs three hours and 12 minutes, nearly 30 minutes longer than the original.

South Korea was one of the first countries to screen it.

“Avatar” which opened Dec. 17 in 2009 reached the 2 million level mark in six days since its release. It attracted an accumulated 13.6 million admissions, becoming the first foreign film in South Korea to break the 10 million level mark. It is the third most watched movie after “Avengers: End Game” (2019) and “Frozen” (2019).

In the sequel, protagonists Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) returned with their three children for “a new kind of” family story, according to the Walt Disney Company.

As the title suggests, the majority of scenes in Avatar 2 is set in the ocean, also introducing a new oceanic tribe of Na’vi called Metkayina.

Director Cameron reportedly suffered multiple setbacks and delays as he wanted the “right” technology to capture the underwater scenes when producing the sequel in hopes of becoming the highest-grossing movie in history. Currently, the original “Avatar” remains the highest-grossing movie at $2.85 billion.

Avatar 3, which was filmed simultaneously, is set to premiere in 2024 December.