'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Global Box Office Hits 500 Billion Won in Opening Week... North America Performance is 'Shockingly Poor'

The latest installment in James Cameron's 〈Avatar〉 series, 〈Avatar: Fire and Ash〉, recorded a global box office revenue of 500 billion won in its opening week. However, it received a disappointing performance in its home market of North America, leading to evaluations of it being a 'half-success'.

According to Box Office Mojo, a site specializing in tracking U.S. box office performance, as of the 21st (local time), 〈Avatar: Fire and Ash〉 earned $88 million (approximately 130.3 billion won) in North America and $257 million overseas, totaling $345 million (approximately 510.9 billion won) in ticket sales during its opening week.

This film premiered in South Korea on the 17th and began full screenings in major global markets, including the U.S. and Canada, starting on the 19th.

However, the North American box office performance is significantly lower compared to the previous installment, 〈Avatar: The Way of Water〉, which recorded $134 million (approximately 198.5 billion won) during the same period in 2022. It also fell short of industry experts' pre-release predictions of $100 million to $125 million.

Film experts analyze that the long runtime of 3 hours and 17 minutes, along with relatively lower audience expectations compared to the previous installment, have impacted its box office performance. Unlike the second film, which was released 13 years after the first in 2009, the third film came out just 3 years later, which is also considered a factor.

Some critics have pointed out that this film failed to present new breakthroughs in visual technology compared to the groundbreaking technological innovations showcased in previous installments of the series.

However, considering that the 〈Avatar〉 series has shown a tendency to expand its box office performance during long runs after initial releases, and that continued screenings in premium theaters, including IMAX, are scheduled, there is a strong possibility that the final revenue will exceed initial expectations.

〈Avatar: Fire and Ash〉 is a blockbuster film invested in and distributed by 20th Century Studios under Disney, and its progress in the global film market is being closely watched.