Considering how massive Avatar: The Way of Water is expected to be, there hasn’t been much promotion. Disney did re-release the first movie in theaters, including on IMAX and 3D screens so that fans could get caught up with the 12-year-old smash. While there are naysayers who don’t believe the first Avatar has aged well and doesn’t have the fan base that James Cameron and the powers that be think it does, a shorter teaser was released back in May and racked up 148.6 million views in 24 hours. If even a fraction of that number turns out to cinemas to watch the movie, it’s going to be an undisputed smash!
The Way of Water stays in real-time, as 12 years have also passed on Pandora and Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have raised a family. But the troubles of their past haven’t gone away and war once more finds them. However, it seems that Jake and Neytiri will have trouble finding allies among the peaceful Na’vi.
Cameron has spent literal DECADES perfecting the art of shooting movies underwater, something that kicked off with 1989’s The Abyss and continued to Titanic in 1997, and beyond.
Though the China market was key for Hollywood productions for ages, as it made up the second-largest audience outside of North America, things have really changed during the pandemic. China has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Over the past couple of years, most American movies haven’t even opened there. Yet, many have performed extremely well without the China market. However, Avatar: The Way of Water WILL open in China, which accounted for 23 million views of the teaser trailer in May. They LOVE these CGI spectacles! In all honesty, regardless of how The Way of Water performs in the U.S. and other territories, China could make this sequel a contender for one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. (Unfortunately, China is grappling with a resurgence of COVID-19), which may suppress that.)
The Way of Water is the first of four planned sequels. Avatar 3 was shot simultaneously, so that one is definitely coming out, regardless of how well The Way of Water performs. But Disney and Cameron are waiting to see how these first sequels perform before moving forward with the next two.
Avatar: The Way of Water will flood theaters on December 16. Are you excited to return to Pandora?
