Disney (via its 20th Century Studios division) spent an estimated $350 million to $460 million to produce Avatar: The Way of Water, making it one of the most expensive films ever made. However, this figure only covers the "production budget." When you include the global marketing, distribution, and promotion costs—which industry analysts estimate at an additional $150 million to $200 million—the total investment by Disney for the film likely exceeded $600 million. Director James Cameron famously noted that the film was so expensive it represented "the worst business case in movie history" and needed to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film of all time just to "break even." Fortunately for Disney, the film was a massive success, grossing over $2.3 billion worldwide, which cleared the high bar for profitability and secured the future of the franchise. It is also important to remember that Disney "paid" for the rights to the Avatar franchise as part of its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, an investment that continues to pay off as they develop "Avatar 3" (titled Fire and Ash) and future sequels scheduled through 2031.