Zoe Saldaña on Avatar 2 filming as it passes $1 bn at global box office

"Avatar: The Way of Water" sailed to the top of the box office in its second weekend in North America.

On Wednesday (Dec. 28), Disney and 20th Century Studios’ announced the film had officially surpassed $1 billion at the global box office faster than any other film released this year. 

That’s most beautifully rendered in the film’s waters, where teeming science-fiction species of flora and fauna enrich an imagined ocean paradise. 

American-Dominican actress Zoe Saldana spoke of her relationship to water in light of the training she underwent to prepare for the filming.

"We always grew up going to the beach and sailing and everything," she recalled. 

"People think that when you're from an island, that means that you're an avid swimmer. In reality, a lot of the island people sometimes don't know how to swim and or they're just afraid and have a very respectful relationship with the water. And so that was me. But what I went through all this training, it gave me a sense of confidence that I never felt before."

Human threat

The lead actress plays Neytiri who shares with Jake, three teenage children. When human soldiers come hunting for him, Jake moves his family to a reef clan of Na’vi who live harmoniously with the ocean as they must all work to protect their home.

"Neytiri definitely in the first installment was a very fearless creature, a very fearless woman that felt that she was independent and wanted to do anything that she wanted to do that she believed in. I feel like all of those traits are still very firm in who she is, but now that she's a mother, there's a new set of challenges, you know?"  

"I think that it's just the fear of losing a loved one is always in the back of her mind. And and I think that, you know, maybe her relationship with humans is still rocky. And and she's lost complete trust in the fact that these foreigners, this species, will ever come with good intentions. So when they come back and their intentions are not genuine, she her and Jake are willing to do anything they can to save their family."

James Cameron's 3-hour-12-minute movie for 20th Century Studios is thought to be the most expensive movie in Hollywood history.

Citing the director's estimates, Variety reported that, the movie had to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history to break even.

It comes 13 years after the original "Avatar", the highest grossing film of all-time.