‘Avatar’ is ‘Knock’ed off box office top
For the first time in almost two months, the box office doesn’t belong to blue people.
After seven weeks as the top film in theaters, “Avatar: The Way of Water” was knocked out of the No. 1 spot by the M. Night Shyamalan thriller “Knock at the Cabin” and the octogenarian comedy “80 for Brady.”
“Knock at the Cabin,” an apocalyptic home invasion horror film, dethroned James Cameron’s 3-D sci-fi epic with $14.2 million in ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Universal Pictures release stars Dave Bautista as one of four strangers who approach a family vacationing in a rural cabin.
The opening for “Knock at the Cabin” came up shy of some of Shyamalan’s recent releases. His last film, 2021 s “Old,” about a beach that rapidly ages those who visit it, launched with $16.9 million and ultimately collected $90.1 million worldwide. His 2019 film “Glass,” the third installment in the director’s “Unbreakable” trilogy, opened with $40.3 million on its way to grossing $247 million globally. Every other film directed by Shyamalan has opened higher than “Knock at the Cabin.”
But “Knock” still marks Shyamalan’s seventh film as director to open No. 1. With a modest budget of $20 million, “Knock” should easily turn a profit.
Taking second place was “80 for Brady,” a comedy about four friends (Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Sally Field) who take a trip to the 2017 Super Bowl. It opened with an estimated $12.5 million. Shortly after announcing his retirement from football (again), Tom Brady attended the film’s premiere.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” slid to third with $10.8 million domestically in its eighth weekend. The film’s No. 1 streak matched the run of 2009 s “Avatar.” In the past four decades, only those two by Cameron and his “Titanic” (1997) have had such sustained reigns atop the box office.
“The Way of Water” continues to perform especially strongly overseas, where its $27.9 million this weekend pushed its total to $2.17 billion worldwide. That makes it the fourth highest grossing film of all-time; Cameron — with two “Avatar” films and “Titanic” — now accounts for three of the top four.
“BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas” took in $5.1 million to land in fifth place. The BTS concert film is drawn from the band’s October 2022 performance in Busan, South Korea — a send-off show before the group began a two-year hiatus. It opened in 1,111 locations.