Box Office Battle: ‘Avatar 2’ wins long weekend with $40.6M

"M3GAN" placed number 2 with $21.7M debut

"Box Office Battle" is The Fly’s weekly roundup of what movies topped the weekend’s box office.

Disney’s (DIS) “Avatar: The Way of Water” won the long weekend with an estimated $40.6M for a domestic total of $572.4M. Globally, the movie has crossed the $1.9B mark, as the James Cameron’s sequel becomes the 13th highest-grossing film of all time at the U.S. box office.

BOX OFFICE RUNNER-UPS: Comcast (CMCSA) subsidiary Universal’s “M3GAN” placed number 2 with another $21.7M for the four days. Behind it was another Universal title, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” with a projected $19M for the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Sony’s (SONY) “A Man Called Otto” placed fourth with an estimated $15.3M. Rounding out the top five, Lionsgate’s (LGF.B) “Plane” grossed $12M in its debut.

MLK WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:

1. “Avatar: The Way of Water” – $40.6M
2. “M3GAN” – $21.7M
3. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” – $19M
4. “A Man Called Otto” – $15.3M
5. “Plane” – $12M

Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include Paramount’s (PARA) and Warner Bros.’ (WBD).

Keywords: box office, box office battle, movie, moves, film cinema, theater