Avatar 2: How Disney spent over one billion dollars on The Way of Water, explained

Avatar 2 may be the third biggest movie of all time, but it might also be among the most expensive films, if not the costliest. Back when 20th Century Fox was an independent studio, reports suggested that a collective sum of $1 billion would be spent on the production of all four Avatar sequels. However, Avatar 2 alone received a colossal production budget of over $400 million.

In fact, the total expenditure on The Way of Water went past $1 billion in total. So, it became crucial for the film to go past $2 billion and make the kind of money that it did. Otherwise, it would have become very tough for James Cameron to convince Disney to spend a similar amount on Avatar 4 and 5.

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How much did Avatar 2 cost?

Spider and Miles Quaritch in Avatar: The Way of Water (Image via 20th Century Studios)

As mentioned above, $400 million was spent on production. But according to Deadline, another $175 million was allocated to Print and Ads (marketing cost). But that’s not it as Disney spent $100 million on Video Costs, $40 million on Residuals, and another $72 million on Interest and Overhead, as Avatar 2 kept on getting delayed from its originally slated release.

To add to this, as much as $300 million was paid as Participations on Avatar 2. So upon adding all these expenses, Disney spent a total of $1.087 billion on Avatar: The Way of Water. But keeping in mind how the original Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time, the Mouse House spared no cost. Ultimately, Avatar 2 proved to be worth every penny spent on it.

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How much profit has Avatar 2 made till now?

Avatar: The Way of Water box office (Image via Sportskeeda)

As per Deadline’s new report, Avatar: The Way of Water was 2022’s most valuable movie. So far, it has grossed over $2.316 billion globally, out of which $683 million came from the domestic box office. But it is not done making money as it is still generating revenue with digital HD rentals and will also return to theaters on Earth Day.

But until now, Avatar: The Way of Water has turned in a profit of $531 million. Considering that it became the third highest-grossing movie of all time, one would have thought that its profits would have been much higher in number. But its revenue breakdown shows how Disney made the aforementioned profit from the film.

Avatar: The Way of Water's Domestic Box Office (Image via Sportskeeda)

Out of the total box office intake of $2.316 billion, the studio took home $1.268 billion as theatrical revenue. To add to that, The Way of Water generated a revenue of $150 million from Home Entertainment rentals and will make another $200 million from TV/streaming. So, its total revenue was $1.618 billion.

Hence, $531 million was made in pure profits if we subtract total expenses from the total revenue generated. That’s how Avatar 2 became the biggest movie of 2022. But it is still running strong on Digital HD and is yet to be released on BluRay and in theaters on Earth Day. So, Avatar: The Way of Water will make more money in the coming days, and its profitability will also increase.