‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ still leads box office with $45M weekend

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is the highest-grossing film in North America for the fourth consecutive week, taking in another $45 million at the box office this weekend, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

Director James Cameron’s follow-up to his 2009 special effects blockbuster beat out a strong box office challenge from “M3GAN,” a horror comedy that opened with $30.2 million, Comscore reported.

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” was third with $13.1 million Friday through Sunday in its third week of release, Comscore reported.

“A Man Called Otto,” starring Tom Hanks, was fourth with $4.2 million in its second week in theaters in the United States and Canada, followed by “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which grossed $3.4 million in its ninth week.

Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases, as estimated by Comscore, were “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” ($2.4 million), “The Whale” ($1.5 million), “Babylon” ($1.4 million), “Violent Night” ($740,000) and “The Menu” ($713,000).

This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $104.7 million. The year-to-date total is $215.1 million — an increase of 39% over the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore.

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