Avatar: The Way of Water scores the second-best Wednesday of the year at the box office

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water continues to dominate the box office in ways that only come with releasing an honest-to-goodness blockbuster. According to analysts, the special-effects-driven spectacle picked up $14.3M at the box office on Wednesday, ranking it as the second-best Wednesday of 2022 after Top Gun: Maverick’s $14.8M on June 1. For comparison’s sake, Avatar: The Way of Water outperformed Minions: The Rise of Gru ($13.5M, July 6) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s first and second Wednesdays ($8.1M on November 16 and $10M on November 23).

Coming in second at the Wednesday box office is DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, with $3.2M at 4,093 theaters. Reviews for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have been glowingly positive. JoBlo’s JimmyO gave the animated sequel an 8 out of 10 score, saying the film “is a solid return for the imaginative and comedic fairy tale world.” While Avatar: The Way of Water will assuredly dominate the box office throughout the holiday window, Puss’ return to the big screen is a crowd-pleaser.

Sitting proudly in third place is Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with $902,000 for Wednesday earnings. Ryan Coogler’s emotional sequel and tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman is arguably one of Marvel’s best Phase 4 efforts. Fans are still lining up to give a proper goodbye to King T’Challa in cinemas, proving the Marvel method of making money still works.

In fourth place is David Harbour’s Christmas action flick Violent Night, with $839K as the film’s estimated Wednesday total. While the movie is less traditional than a feel-good Christmas caper or holiday-inspired hullabaloo, this year caters to all movie fans. Besides, who doesn’t want to see Santa open a can of whoop-ass on criminals looking to ruin Christmas?

What do you think about Avatar: The Way of Water hitting the box office like a tidal wave? Have you seen Cameron’s latest big-screen spectacle? Will the glut of movies hitting streaming services this weekend deter people from going to theaters? Feel free to share your holiday viewing schedule in the comments section. I’ll watch Die Hard, Strange World, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.