MOVIE NEWS – Although James Cameron has committed to delivering four Avatar sequels, it all depends on the performance of Avatar: The Way of Water.

James Cameron revealed that he has an escape route in case the first part of his master plan for the Avatar sequels fails this December. Avatar: The Way of Water arrives in cinemas more than 13 years after the original film became one of the biggest box office hits, breaking records. A sequel after such a long time is always a risk. People may not be as enthusiastic about the franchise as they once were. With three more sequels in various stages of development, this would be a huge problem.

However, Cameron is already prepared for the eventuality that Avatar: The Way of Water fails to bring in an audience. He is ready to wrap up the story in Avatar 3 if necessary.

The director revealed his thoughts in an interview with Total Film, saying:

“The market could be telling us we’re done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning: ‘Okay, let’s complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly,’ if it’s just not profitable … 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 theater is all about. This film definitely does that. The question is: how many people give a s*** now?”

Does anyone really care about Avatar 2?

This question was asked by many when James Cameron finally announced that a sequel to the Avatar story was coming. Initial predictions suggest that Avatar: The Way of Water will gross $650 million in US cinemas. So it seems that the answer is a resounding yes. People are ready for a sequel to Avatar. If the prediction proves true, the sequel would automatically be the 7th highest-grossing film of the year in terms of the worldwide box office. Taking international results into account, Avatar 2 is almost guaranteed to finish the year as the second highest-grossing film of 2022 and could even knock Top Gun: Maverick off the top spot.

Cameron, of course, got a boost before the release, as the remake of the original Avatar landed in the top 40 films of the year with $76 million worldwide after its September release.

What’s particularly interesting here is that only 32% came from the US market. If the same is true for Avatar: The Way of Water, Cameron could again be in contention for the highest-grossing film of all time.

Even if that doesn’t happen, there is little evidence that Cameron cannot deliver on his five-film plan for the Avatar story. Perhaps, after the past two years, Avatar: The Way of Water is not only a film that fans are waiting for but also one that the cinema needs.

Avatar: The Way of Water will arrive in cinemas on December 16 2022, and Avatar 3 in 2024.

Source: Total Film