Walt Disney jumps 4% as Avatar sequel grosses $1.48B, on track to pass Top Gun
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment


Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) shares jumped nearly 4% on Wednesday as the media and entertainment giant said its Avatar sequel had grossed $1.48B at the worldwide box office.
The Burbank, California-based Disney (DIS) also noted that Avatar: The Way of Water, was on track to surpass the 2022 box office smash, Top Gun: Maverick, distributed by Paramount (NASDAQ:PARA), on Wednesday.

Over the weekend, Avatar continued to top the box office, outflanking the likes of Universal/Dreamworks Animation's (CMCSA) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Paramount Pictures (PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA) Babylon and Sony's (SONY) I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
On December 28, Avatar: The Way of Water, directed by James Cameron, surpassed $1B at the box office in two weeks.

Avatar: The Way of Water and its predecessor were both directed by Cameron, known for his box office smash hits such as Titanic, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Aliens and others.
Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment (AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).
Investment firm Wells Fargo recently posited that Disney (DIS) may spin-off ESPN and ABC in the latter part of 2023.