Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

[stvn1974]

I am as excited for more Avatar as I am for my upcoming colonoscopy.

[Brightstar]

When Titanic got pushed back to December everyone said it will bomb but it became a blockbuster

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Brightstar

When Titanic got pushed back to December everyone said it will bomb but it became a blockbuster

Titanic was not years behind schedule like Avatar's sequels. It was only pushed a few months due to the scale of the project.



You wait that long between sequels and you are asking for trouble.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

The problem is that Cameron has had two major big budget flops back to back: Alita: Battle Angel and Terminator: Dark Fate. He was the producer and assistant/consultant on both... and at least base story creator for these two bombs as well. Lightstorm was also involved as well, Cameron's production company.

He has shown that he isn't the golden boy of the past, where most everything he touches becomes a pop phenom. The quality of these two films also brings into question his abilities as a storyteller as well, and his judgment in terms of said stories. Remember, he is more interested in scientific pursuits and has gone back to film after Titanic as way to finance explorations.

He also produced the Solaris remake between Titanic and Avatar. By your logic, that means Avatar should've bombed.

[kwisatzhaderach]

All the people moaning in this thread: you don't HAVE to watch the Avatar sequels. Jesus.

[TheBlayman]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Titanic was not years behind schedule like Avatar's sequels. It was only pushed a few months due to the scale of the project.



You wait that long between sequels and you are asking for trouble.

I think they’ll just be fine but I see what you mean. Just check out Fury Road.

[larsknudsen]

Originally Posted by Brightstar

When Titanic got pushed back to December everyone said it will bomb but it became a blockbuster

Really?

You're comparing a one-off story with a sequel that's more than a decade late.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

He also produced the Solaris remake between Titanic and Avatar. By your logic, that means Avatar should've bombed.

Avatar was visually unique at the time and a game changer for real 3D cinematography and computer rendering. The story itself was base filler in between eye orgasms.



That was then, this is now. Avatar is no longer unique and the enthusiasm has died down in the interim.



Then Cameron comes back with Alita and Terminator and we know how that turned out.



If his heart isn't really in a project and he is doing it to make money... it shows. He has admitted he is bankrolling his real passions, which aren't exactly filmmaking anymore.



Cameron as director, of the past, has only done movies that he was passionate about. That passion then translated into some solid, if not always perfect, work with ground breaking effects... and therefore profits and notoriety and movies turned into pop culture staples.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by TheBlayman

I think they’ll just be fine but I see what you mean. Just check out Fury Road.

That was not a sequel with Mel Gibson reprising his old role, it was a reboot.


Avatar 2 through Infinity are sequels... that have taken a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time to come out even though principal photography is almost wrapped... and still haven't been released.

[TheBlayman]

As a director, Cameron hasn’t let me down yet.

Is Fury Road a Remake, Prequel or Sequel? It's not a prequel, and very definitely not a remake. ... Writer/director George Miller calls it a “revisiting.” This is kind of a sequel to the previous Mad Max films, but think of it like a new James Bond film after the actor has just changed over.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Avatar was visually unique at the time and a game changer for real 3D cinematography and computer rendering. The story itself was base filler in between eye orgasms.

That was then, this is now. Avatar is no longer unique and the enthusiasm has died down in the interim.

Then Cameron comes back with Alita and Terminator and we know how that turned out.

If his heart isn't really in a project and he is doing it to make money... it shows. He has admitted he is bankrolling his real passions, which aren't exactly filmmaking anymore.

Cameron as director, of the past, has only done movies that he was passionate about. That passion then translated into some solid, if not always perfect, work with ground breaking effects... and therefore profits and notoriety and movies turned into pop culture staples.

Did you mean to quote me? Nothing you've written here has anything to do with my post.

[Layth]

I look forward to these whenever they come out. This delay seems legit and I think for better or worse once they missed the 10th anniversary, the box office prospects won’t change much by being 11 years or 13 or more after the first. However, I imagine the personal pressure the crew must feel for these movies to deliver after dedicating years of their lives on these projects.

The making of doc on the first movie ends with crew members talking about the number of babies conceived during that production. Should they do a similar one for these, it should be wild haha

[jayman3]

Real question is, will theaters have recovered by 2022?

That’s what people are overlooking.

With growing popularity in VOD and streaming apps, major film studios are finding higher profit in at home viewing.

Even if theaters were to reopen and after several phases returning to 100% capacity, will the everyday moviegoer show up?

[larsknudsen]

Originally Posted by jayman3

With growing popularity in VOD and streaming apps, major film studios are finding higher profit in at home viewing.

No, they're not. Netflix is billions in debt. Everyone else has yet to recoup the money they spent on developing the infrastructure for their OTT services. Apple is the only streaming service that isn't hurting, and that's because streaming is a rounding error on their balance sheet.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by jayman3

Real question is, will theaters have recovered by 2022?

That’s what people are overlooking.

With growing popularity in VOD and streaming apps, major film studios are finding higher profit in at home viewing.

Even if theaters were to reopen and after several phases returning to 100% capacity, will the everyday moviegoer show up?

I told you in another thread, VOD and streaming is not a viable replacement for the cinema. Never will be.

[kwisatzhaderach]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Avatar was visually unique at the time and a game changer for real 3D cinematography and computer rendering. The story itself was base filler in between eye orgasms.

That was then, this is now. Avatar is no longer unique and the enthusiasm has died down in the interim.

Then Cameron comes back with Alita and Terminator and we know how that turned out.

If his heart isn't really in a project and he is doing it to make money... it shows. He has admitted he is bankrolling his real passions, which aren't exactly filmmaking anymore.

I think Avatar 2 will be massive. The original had an enormous effect on people, especially in Asia where a lot of the religious, mythological, anthropological and natural world motifs contained in the story and themes of the film struck a chord. It was a soulful film, if you're interested in looking for a deeper meaning in it - "Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world, and in here is the dream." After the past 4 years and particularly the last 5 months (humans have to wear masks on Pandora to survive the poisonous atmosphere) these themes are more relevant than ever, and will resonate strongly with viewers.

Alita and Dark Fate were not directed by Cameron (CLEARLY, if you watched how badly staged those films were - Rodriguez and Miller are not exactly on the same level as Cameron). I thought the last half hour of Avatar was some of the best sci-fi action i've ever seen, some of the shots and staging were insane. Compare it to the uninspired action sequences in something like The Rise of Skywalker, there is no comparison.

You don't think his heart is in the Avatar sequels? He's been working on them for the past 6 years, writing them, producing them, directing them, overseeing EVERYTHING, all the while pushing forward technology even further than he went with the original - have you any idea the logistical challenge they represent? He could just sit on his ass at home and design submersibles and do an expedition a year, he doesn't need to make movies. He's clearly passionate and enthusiastic about the sequels, and as with everything he makes the passion, awe and spectacle will be up there on the big screen.

Personally I can't wait to see the first sequel Cameron has directed since Terminator 2. Cameron's films don't affect me nowadays the way The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss did when I was a teenager (the perfect age to experience Cameron's movies for the first time), but i'm pretty sure Avatar 2 will be worth the ticket price and will do extremely well at the box office.

[jayman3]

There’s no doubt Avatar 2 will make money. Though I strongly believe it won’t earn near as much like the original ($749mil), Avengers: Endgame ($858mil), or The Force Awakens ($936mil).

My best guess would be 25-30% lower gross than the original. Which would put it between $525-560 million domestic. And $1.953-2.092 billion worldwide.

[kylor]

Originally Posted by kwisatzhaderach

All the people moaning in this thread: you don't HAVE to watch the Avatar sequels. Jesus.

Let 'em moan and watch it. It'll all add to the BO numbers.

[NARMAK]

The delay doesn't bother me. I'm just hopeful when they do release they set a new bar for the medium CGI standards and what we should expect. Disney will NOT let these movies just fizzle by not marketing them. They now have the biggest impetus to make surd they properly get the eyeballs and bums in seats now that Star Wars main franchise entries have ended and they have to try spin offs. Marketing the previous "Biggest Grossing Movie EVER!" by releasing Avatar and regaining the top spot might be the start of that.

[Star Lord]

The movie never could become a pop culture phenomenon, maybe a sequel or series around 2013 could have helped it somewhat. In a post COVID world, $2B grossers will get even more rarer for a while and not to forget poor conversion rates compared to 09.