James Cameron's Avatar is set to re-release in September, just ahead of the release of Avatar: The Way of Water. Avatar, released in 2009, went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time, a title it still maintains, having grossed $2.8 billion in worldwide box office. For a brief moment, Avatar was unseated by Avengers: Endgame, which currently stands as the second highest-grossing movie of all time with $2.7 billion. Avatar's re-release in China, which made $44 million in just ten days, ended up pushing it past Endgame, reclaiming the top spot yet again.
The success of Avatar naturally encouraged Cameron to continue with the franchise, announcing four more sequels to be released all the way through 2028. The franchise focuses on the indigenous alien race known as the Na'vi on a distant planet called Pandora. They are forced to defend their homeworld against invaders attempting to mine it for its resources. A new technology that allows humans to transfer their consciousness into a Na'vi body disrupts everything as a former soldier named Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) ends up commandeering a body and joins the Na'vi in their fight. Along the way, he ends up falling in love with the strong-willed Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). The film co-stars Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, and Stephen Lang.
As the sequel nears its debut, Disney announced at CinemaCon that it would be re-releasing Avatar in theaters on September 23rd, 2022, three months prior to the release of Avatar: The Way of Water. The film will have remastered audio and picture and also be swapping out the 20th Century Fox logo for Disney's after the studio's acquisition. No word on whether or not it would debut in 3D, but it's likely that it will, as Cameron continues to film the sequels in that format.
This move will likely bring back fans of the franchise, but also re-introduce the film to those that may have forgotten about it, as it's been 13 years since it initially debuted. Avatar took the world by storm upon release, becoming a massive cultural phenomenon, due largely to Cameron's technical wizardry in creating the movie, including the VFX and immersive use of 3D. The film would spawn all manner of merchandise, as well as video games, comic books, and even a theme park, Pandora – The World of Avatar, located at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando.
It will be interesting to see what kind of box office the re-release of Avatar will do, as the Chinese release was substantial enough for the film to overtake Avengers: Endgame. The re-release will no doubt pump those numbers up and it's entirely possible that it could provide a substantial bump as the hype for Avatar: The Way of Water builds and fans eager to return to the world of Pandora flock to theaters for repeat viewings. If Cameron has proven anything with Avatar, it's that it should not be underestimated and the re-release will likely hammer that point home yet again before the sequel drops in December.
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