Avatar 2 Scores a Chinese Release Date

 If there’s been one thing that’s become rare in the movie industry since the shockwaves of the pandemic, it’s been Chinese release dates. Once a powerhouse of the international Hollywood release scene, a combination of their rising domestic film industry, a political swing away from the West, and disputes over content types have rendered Chinese releases for Hollywood films a modern rarity. Avatar: The Way of Water, it seems, will be bucking that trend. Entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, with Blake & Wang P.A, has more.

Brandon Blake


A Previous Big Grosser

The original Avatar movie did exceptionally well on the Chinese market, earning well over $260M across its release and re-releases. To put that in perspective, it’s also 9% of the film's lifetime cume and contributing to its status as the highest-grossing movie of all time. The original movie also managed to ‘score’ a modern Chinese release date, re-releasing to a selection of screens in March 2021 in order to drive hype for the long-awaited sequel. Surprisingly, while accounting for only 1% of total screens for the re-release, IMAX pulled in 30% of its opening box office at the time, suggesting the big screen experience is particularly engrossing for the splashy high-budget nature of the film. The 2021 re-release in China made about $58M in total. This makes it one of very few Disney releases to score a modern Chinese release date at all.

A Fantastically Large Budget

In addition to servicing the keen Chinese fans of the film, there can be no doubt at this point that Avatar: The Way of Water needs to court releases wherever it can. Estimated to have cost over $400M before P&A, the film is going to have to live up to the heady expectations pinned on it box office-wise if it even has a chance of recouping its costs, let alone making it into profit territory. 

 

The film will release on the Chinese market on Dec 16th, the same day it releases in North America. Will it manage to live up to expectations in performance? We guess we have to wait and see.

 

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