When it comes to making a blockbuster hit with James Cameron, 20th Century Studios are never really concerned about the “how.” Simply the “when.” And in 2022/2023, the powerhouse director continues his three-decade hot streak with Avatar: The Way of Water, marking the third consecutive film he’s helmed to gross over $2 billion after Titanic and, of course, the first Avatar.
Initially, there were seeds of doubt regarding whether the long-awaited sequel to the groundbreaking sci-fi epic could feasibly live up to expectations (in the financial sense) after it failed to meet the opening weekend projections (ludicrous as they were). Especially considering the growing contention that the Avatar universe had “zero cultural impact.”
Slowly but surely, The Way of Water brought in a steady stream of revenue week after week since premiering last December, carrying the franchise to the possibility of a third and fourth instalment.
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“It looks like just with the momentum that the film has now that will easily pass our break even in the next few days, so it looks like I can’t wiggle out of this,” James Cameron said in jest of Avatar 3 & 4 earlier this month.
“I’m gonna have to do these other sequels. I know what I’m going to be doing the next six or seven years. The point is we’re going to be okay.”
Cameron added: “We’re in a different world now than we were when I wrote this stuff, even. It’s the one-two punch — the pandemic and streaming. Or, conversely, maybe we’ll remind people what going to the theatre is all about. This film definitely does that. The question is: how many people give a shit now?”
Avatar 3 – which will introduce the “Ash People”; reportedly to be led by Game of Thrones alum Oona Chaplin – is scheduled to hit theatres on December 20th of 2024. Avatar 4 – which takes the action away from Pandora to the dying Earth, according to producer Jon Landau – arrives on December 18th of 2026.
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Check out BH’s Avatar: The Way of Water review here.
