In mainland China, “Avatar: The Way of Water” debuted with less excitement than may have been anticipated only a few weeks prior. But given the rapidly shifting conditions in the nation, that was about the best that could have been expected.
Data from consulting firm Artisan Gateway shows that the movie made $51.3 million from Friday through Sunday. That accounted for a staggering 97% market share of the $53.5 million weekend total that Artisan Gateway reported. “Avatar 2” finished the weekend with a total of $57 million, taking into account Wednesday sneak previews and Thursday midnight showings.
These figures reflect the biggest opening for any Hollywood film released in China in 2022 However, it only had the fourth-best opening performance of any movie in China this year and the 12th-highest nationwide weekend box office total of 2022.
According to the provider of giant screens, the movie made $15.8 million (including pre-release screenings) from the 735 screens run under the Imax brand throughout the nation. Imax had its finest weekend ever in China, according to the report.
But as China’s COVID crisis worsens, expectations are being swiftly revised.
China had implemented a stringent zero-COVID policy for more than two and a half years, under which it would make an effort to locate, track down, and isolate every infection in the nation. Municipal and provincial governments were forced under the strategy to impose travel and access restrictions, lock down entire cities at short notice, and conduct demanding mass testing operations.
That policy has been drastically altered over the last two weeks. However, in addition to loosening restrictions, the new policy enables COVID to spread quickly throughout the populace. Chinese officials no longer disclose the number of asymptomatic cases, making it more difficult to acquire and understand data on the scope of the recent infection surge.
However, many individuals have opted to remain home out of concern for contracting the illness.
Others who have contracted it are staying home by themselves. Additionally, some Beijing-based businesses have reported that half of their employees no longer travel outside the city.
The spreading outbreak has caused audience reluctance, and personnel shortages have made it difficult for theatre chains to run their operations.
According to data from local Chinese sources, there were 20,000 fewer screenings on Sunday than there were on Saturday.
Maoyan, a ticketing company, has more than halved its prediction of “Avatar 2’s” potential final score. He predicted that the movie might make RMB2.5 billion on Friday, just hours after its world premiere (approximately $357 million at the time). Maoyan increased its prediction to RMB1 billion ($143 million) by Monday.