Why So Blu?

I had to switch my showtime from 10am 12/18 to an afternoon showtime in IMAX 3D because the World Cup Final is that same Sunday at 7am and it would be cutting it way too close.

GoldenJCJ

Scott Mendelson is home in his jammies now.

movieguru

I feel like they waited too long to make the sequel. At this point, a lot less people remember the original or care about seeing a sequel anymore. The first one did well because it was one of the earliest movies that brought back 3d in theaters.

Noonan

I have a hard time believing that a film of this length will have the repeat viewings of of something like Top Gun. As others have said, the first was unique with both the amazing visuals and 3D work. 3D became common then slowly faded; amazing visuals are much easier to fund and can be found all over the place. The movie itself will have to be amazing to make people want to sit for 3+ hours more than once.

Why So Blu?

Mendelson liked it.

Noonan

Sounds like they mostly just liked the eye/ear candy and not so much the movie itself.

Mike86

That’s what I’ve been noticing with a lot of reactions I’ve seen. More talk about the visuals, which I’m sure are impressive. It seems like the story is just okay or secondary and I’ve seen a few comments that the length is felt.

Draven

I guess my problem is that I don't think Pandora is a particularly interesting world. I did the Flight of Passage ride at Disneyworld and it was awesome but it had nothing to do with Pandora. Any jungle setting would have given the same result. I think the multi-wing/multi-leg designs of the Pandoran creatures, not to mention the Na'vi themselves are extremely boring. So even if the visuals are impressive, it's impressive visuals of a setting I don't personally care for.

I'll see if my son wants to see it when he's home for break (though that means I'll have to sit through the first one again since he's never seen it). Maybe it's worth a matinee. Certainly not paying for 3D

Noonan

Just like the first movie!

Shannon Nutt

I mean, we're all going to see this at least ONCE, right? Even those of us (like me) who were wishy-washy on the first film? For that reason alone, I think the movie is going to have a huge December. The question is: Will it still be in theaters come February?

Why So Blu?

Probably but in less screens. Ant Man 3 comes out in February, so it will scale back by then.

Dr. DVD

And even then, it will be topped by something owned by Disney...

johnnysd

I think it comes at the right time, sort of at the Super Hero burnout phase, and the lingering effect of Covid on movie theaters and I think people are looking for the next Blockbuster. It is likely to be the best looking movie ever made, and from the reviews seems like a better movie overall than the first so I suspect it will become an even film and get insane amounts of box office. Cameron knows what audiences want and it seems every time a movie comes out from him we forget that a bit. It also is in China which is huge. There was not a Top 4 overall BO option so I chose #1 and would not be surprised if it got there. The re-release of Avatar itself was pretty big. Would be shocking if it is anything other than a mega hit. Now Avatar 3, 4 and 5 get trickier but Avatar 2 will be gigantic I think

jjcool

Definitely seeing a ramp up on the advertising for this. Couple that with the inflated price that the 3d unjustifiably draws, this may do OK. I still have not spoken to anyone that actually wants to see it in theaters, though.

dex14

The Antipodean

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Opens To $134M; Why Pic’s Box Office Fate Will Be Determined Through The Holidays

https://deadline.com/2022/12/avatar-...235200714/amp/

Paul_SD

Entertainment press doing Olympic level gymnastics to avoid calling it's opening performance a big disappointment, landing below even it's lower estimates.

I have no axe to grind with Cameron or the film- but the double standard employed here seems glaring to me.

GoldenJCJ

I’m not so sure Disney is going to give Cameron‘s 9-hour cut of Avatar 3 the full CGI treatment he wants. Heck, by the time all is said and done, Avatar 3 may end up with the quality of your average episode of Squidbillies.

Deftones

His movies never open big. They just have staying power. Next weekend is the true indicator of if this is going to be a dud.

Draven

My son wants to see the first one before we go to this so we'll need to slog through that this week. We'll go next week when we are on break. No rush. I don’t think people were really champing at the bit to get there opening night.

Coral

That's true for Titanic and the first Avatar... they relied on good word of mouth for people to take notice.
This is a sequel - so people are already aware of it. It would need to offer something different and next-level for it to get people excited about it.

Because this is basically more of the same, there's a big chunk of people who will just wait for it to hit streaming services.

Josh-da-man

There's going to be an "arctic blast" hitting much of the country next weekend. Wonder if that will have any impact on box office. People might not want to go out and see a movie when the temperatures are in the single digits or below zero.

TheBang

I think it'll have legs. It has a good audience Cinemascore. There are no major tentpoles being opened against it until February. 3D and Premium screens are making up the majority of grosses. I think it should surpass the $2B global mark we discussed earlier. I don't think it will be able to hit the $2.7B of the first movie.

TomOpus

If it's usually very cold where you live, won't affect a thing.

What may affect the WW BO is Covid has a resurgence in China.

DJariya

People are going back to the movies in China to see Avatar: The Way of Water. This piece covers it. The young kids who were stuck at home for many months are less concerned about COVID.