The Avatar movies are mid — so how did they conquer the box office twice?

The first movie in the Avatar franchise was released in 2009 and currently stands as the highest-grossing film in history, with nearly $3 billion earned at the global box office. The sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, was released in 2022 and is now the third-highest-grossing movie in history, with $2.3 billion in earnings. (Avengers: Endgame comes in second place, if you’re wondering.)