‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ increases the Spanish box office, getting a million spectators at its premiere

It was clear that ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ was going to be No. 1 at the box office, the question was how much money it would be able to raise in its first weekend. And the answer is: a lot. So much so that the long-awaited sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time left almost none of the cake for the rest of the theatrical offerings, achieving the best first of the year and the second best result of the pandemic era (surpassed only by ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’), as well as the fourth best December opening historically in Spain, according to Disney.

The sequel directed by James Cameron grossed €7.52 between Friday 16 and Sunday 18 December at the Spanish box office, according to Comscore data. The film was launched by setting the opening record with the highest number of screens in the history of our country, 1,983 in 416 theatres, obtaining an impressive screen average of €3,795. The ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ collection surpasses the original’s premiere and accounts for 84.6% of the total weekend box office, with nearly one million admissions (999,000 specifically) picking the film from the 20th Century Studios. That is, the vast majority of a total of 1.2 million viewers who came to theaters over the weekend. On the other hand, as expected too ‘The Sense of Water’ skyrocketed the 3D collection, which is worth 53% of the weekend box office. Globally, the Disney blockbuster opened with more than $400 million.

The Na’vi have completely dominated the national bill and few have dared to compete with them. In total, the top 20 films at the box office amounted to €8.87m, almost three times as much as last week, which was slightly less than three million. Between “Avatar 2” and second place, occupied by “A todo tren 2”, there is a difference of over 7 million. After reigning for two consecutive weeks, the Spanish comedy drops to number 2 and adds €427,795 to a total of €3.48m. ‘Strange World’ holds the guy in third place with 290,000 euros more, with which the Disney film already exceeds two and a half million in four weeks.

‘As bestas’, the film with the most Goya nominations this year, repeats itself at number 4 with 148,695 euros, which catapults it above the three million mark in totalUndoubtedly a noteworthy achievement for Spanish cinema. “Il menu” also maintains the same position as the previous week with an increase of 91,000 euros. The black comedy starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy raked in $1.14 million.

What gives a sizable drop is ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, which drops from 3 to 6 with the biggest drop of the week in the Top 10 (74%). The top ten is closed by “Silent Night” (€ 46,457), “The Fourth Passenger” (€ 42,800), “Mrs. Harris’s Trip to Paris” (€ 35,871) and “Histories to Tell” (€ 33,213).

You have to go down to number 11 to find the second premiere of the week, ‘Aftersun’. The independent drama starring Paul Mescal was released in just 29 theaters in Spain and achieved one of the best averages per theater of the week (€1,080), totaling €29,173. ‘EO’, the acclaimed Polish drama by Jerzy Skolimowski, also opened outside the top 10, precisely at number 16. The film, distributed by A Contracorriente, debuted in 32 theaters and grossed €11,720, with an average of €366 per screen.

The Return of ‘Puss in Boots’

In the week leading up to Christmas, ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ will continue without much competition, but be warned, there is a furry brave who dares to face it in theaters: Puss in Boots. The ‘Shrek’ supporting character returns more than a decade later with his second solo film, ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,’ set for release Dec. 21. And we already know that family cinema shouldn’t be underestimated, especially during the holidays. The other big release of the week is “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” the Whitney Houston biopic, from the producers of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Rounding out the list of releases we have Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new ‘Broker’, French ‘Eugénie Grandet’ and Moroccan ‘Say it loud and loud’.