Streaming stats for Avatar: The Way of Water are off the charts

Through simple analysis, one cannot help but marvel at the extraordinary success of Avatar 2 on streaming platforms. The advent of streaming services took flight in 2020 as a consequence of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on theaters worldwide.

Studios found themselves compelled to postpone film releases or resort to direct-to-streaming options, which affected the films' ability to achieve their full financial potential.

Right when studio executives were convinced that streaming was the future, Marvel Studios pulled a curveball with Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was exclusively released in theaters worldwide. Breaking records left and right, the film raked in a mind-boggling $1.9 billion in global earnings, despite the mounting concerns surrounding the Omicron COVID variant.

On the flip side, a number of films, including acclaimed titles like Damien Chazelle's Babylon, Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, Tar, and Women Talking, failed to make a splash at the box office despite garnering multiple awards during the awards season.

While these were considered prestige films not aimed at massive profits, their lackluster performance clearly indicated that the influence of streaming services had firmly taken hold in the film industry.

The ongoing battle between streaming and theaters shows no signs of slowing down, and savvy studios are starting to realize that the ideal scenario is a film that dominates at the box office and continues to draw audiences when it arrives on streaming platforms.

Nintendo's The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one such film that will be hoping to ride its success from the big screen onto the streaming arena.

Sitting comfortably atop the list of 2023's highest-grossing films, with an astounding global haul of over $1.3 billion, the Universal Pictures film is set to make its debut on NBCU's streaming service, Peacock, on June 28. Universal's eyes are now fixed on its next big release, Oppenheimer, which is expected to dominate theaters before eventually making its way to streaming platforms.

Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated film has secured a theatrical window of no less than 100 days, which is exactly how Nolan prefers it. This ensures a potentially massive return on investment, especially if it succeeds during its opening weekend.