The teaser for AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER nabs huge 148.6m views in first day (THR)

[MouldyK]

There's actually a serious chance you're right.

People forget the Chinese government pulled the first film from cinemas because they were worried how much it was pervading social conversation and replaced it with a film about Confucius.

Click to shrink...

They only pulled the 2D Version for some weird reason...the 3D Version got to remain haha.


Plus, they didn't have a problem re-releasing it last year: https://www.slashfilm.com/580081/avatar-china-re-release-mulan/

The Wrap reports that in just 10 days, the Avatar re-release has already grossed more than Mulan did in its entire run in China. The 2009 James Cameron blockbuster has raked in $44 million since it re-opened in Chinese theaters on March 9, surpassing the $41 million haul of Disney's live-action Mulan remake.

In its second week since its re-release, Avatar took in $14 million, falling just 33% from its opening weekend haul of $21 million.

Click to shrink...

It's still a toss-up if it will come to China, but hopefully it does as they clearly enjoy it.

 

[matrix-cat]

Upon the foundation of an entirely invented biosystem, Avatar is a brilliant synthesis of mythic tropes, with debts to Lévi-Strauss and Frazier's The Golden Bough. It soars because, simply, it stones and transports you.

Click to shrink...

- Michael Mann, who put Avatar on his personal top 10 of all time list in 2012

 

[Scullibundo]

- Michael Mann, who put Avatar on his personal top 10 of all time list in 2012

Click to shrink...

Roger Ebert also famously adored Avatar.

Avatar movie review & film summary (2009) | Roger Ebert

Watching "Avatar," I felt sort of the same as when I saw "Star Wars" in 1977. That was another movie I walked into with uncertain expectations. James Cameron's film has been the subject of relentlessly dubious advance buzz, just as his "Titanic" was. Once again, he has silenced the doubters by...

www.rogerebert.com

Watching "Avatar," I felt sort of the same as when I saw "Star Wars" in 1977. That was another movie I walked into with uncertain expectations. James Cameron's film has been the subject of relentlessly dubious advance buzz, just as his "Titanic" was. Once again, he has silenced the doubters by simply delivering an extraordinary film. There is still at least one man in Hollywood who knows how to spend $250 million, or was it $300 million, wisely.

Click to shrink...

Spielberg had a similar reaction:

The last time I came out of a movie feeling that way it was the first time I saw Star Wars.

The most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since Star Wars.

Click to shrink...

Tarantino listed it as his favourite film of that year and said he wished he'd made it.

For better or worse, it's also what lit a fire under Ridley Scott to get back into Science Fiction films and try and push the visual envelope with Prometheus.

"Jim's [Cameron] raised the bar and I've got to jump to it. He's not going to get away with it."

Click to shrink...

And of course, it even inspired Scorsese to shoot in 3D (which to this day is the finest use of 3D imo). Before studios ruined 3D through conversions, I remember Scorsese was even saying he wanted to keep shooting in 3D.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Who's gonna make the wall of shame? 👀

 

[Xater]

Well I watched it just to confirm that I still don't care. I was actually asking myself if the main character from the first one is in it. I am honestly not sure based on the teaser. I also don't remember the name.

 

[Scullibundo]

Well I watched it just to confirm that I still don't care. I was actually asking myself if the main character from the first one is in it. I am honestly not sure based on the teaser. I also don't remember the name.

Click to shrink...

How many times are you going to watch the movie in cinemas to make doubly sure that you don't care?

 

[Xater]

How many times are you going to watch the movie in cinemas to make doubly sure that you don't care?

Click to shrink...

0

 

[Scullibundo]

0

Click to shrink...

Don't forget to pee before the movie. I hear it's going to be a long one.

 

[Binabik15]

I think the saying goes "always bet against James Cameron".


I haven't watched the teaser actually, I want to do it with my mom, who is an Avatar fan and even went to the cinema for it. Twice.

 

[TheHunter]

Roger Ebert also famously adored Avatar.

Avatar movie review & film summary (2009) | Roger Ebert

Watching "Avatar," I felt sort of the same as when I saw "Star Wars" in 1977. That was another movie I walked into with uncertain expectations. James Cameron's film has been the subject of relentlessly dubious advance buzz, just as his "Titanic" was. Once again, he has silenced the doubters by...

www.rogerebert.com

Spielberg had a similar reaction:


Tarantino listed it as his favourite film of that year and said he wished he'd made it.

For better or worse, it's also what lit a fire under Ridley Scott to get back into Science Fiction films and try and push the visual envelope with Prometheus.


And of course, it even inspired Scorsese to shoot in 3D (which to this day is the finest use of 3D imo). Before studios ruined 3D through conversions, I remember Scorsese was even saying he wanted to keep shooting in 3D.

Click to shrink...

So I have Cameron to blame for Prometheus and Alien : Covenant?

 

[Bengraven]

I'm convinced 75% of the world is fucking obsessed with Avatar and just keep it super quiet.

Like, your mom has all the McDonald's toys hidden in a mini shrine in a safe behind your graduation pictures. They have a secret hand sign they do at the grocery check out.

The other 25% are loud and insist on arguing about how no one loves Avatar how the fuck did it become #1.

Someday Cameron is going to say The Words and the 25% are going to be executed and Avatar and the Abyss will suddenly become the only films in the JimCam government.

 

[Pure Spirit]

I'm convinced 75% of the world is fucking obsessed with Avatar and just keep it super quiet.

Like, your mom has all the McDonald's toys hidden in a mini shrine in a safe behind your graduation pictures. They have a secret hand sign they do at the grocery check out.

The other 25% are loud and insist on arguing about how no one loves Avatar how the fuck did it become #1.

Someday Cameron is going to say The Words and the 25% are going to be executed and Avatar and the Abyss will suddenly become the only films in the JimCam government.

Click to shrink...

Shhh 🤫

 

[Tace]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, discussion here about the movie and all the factors surrounding it will be more interesting than the film itself, at least for me. It's either going to be a huge hit or a mega flop and either way it'll be entertaining

 

[5pectre]

I don't get the hype for Avatar?

I went into the first movie blind, when it was relesed back in the day. Only thing I knew was that it had amazing 3D. And it did have amazing 3D, but man, that was a super predictable cookie cutter plot. So on the nose with everything, and the flying beast that noone could tame/fuse with... ofcourse etc.

I must be missing something?

 

[Kyuuji]

I don't get the hype for Avatar?

I went into the first movie blind, when it was relesed back in the day. Only thing I knew was that it had amazing 3D. And it did have amazing 3D, but man, that was a super predictable cookie cutter plot. So on the nose with everything, and the flying beast that noone could tame/fuse with... ofcourse etc.

I must be missing something?

Click to shrink...

Here's an entire thread's worth of discussion on it:

Avatar's $2.847 billion box office draw in.. I still don't get it?

How the hell did this movie attract so much viewers? I mean Marvel movies are a no brainer but Avatar?

www.resetera.com

 

[Bengraven]

Shhh 🤫

Click to shrink...

YOU CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS.

I will reveal your secrets, wait, what's with the black unmarked helicopters landing on my front wait no no I JUST I JUST SAID I WANT ABYSS IN 4K I SWEAR I LOVE JAKE SULLY I LOVE BLUE CAT GIRLS LOOK AT THE BOOKS BEHIND ONE PIECE ON MY MANGA SHELF

 

[LoadingErrorMTL]

Cameron going to do it again. Probably re watch the first one later this year.

 

[Indy in the Fridge]

Thing is, I may have certain opinions or a low expectation regarding how Cameron moves the story forward, but I still have every intention of getting to an IMAX theater in December to see this sucker.

I rewatched the trailer last night and I still maintain that it looks absolutely incredible and that alone is worth the price of admission to me.

 

[More_Badass]

I don't get the hype for Avatar?

I went into the first movie blind, when it was relesed back in the day. Only thing I knew was that it had amazing 3D. And it did have amazing 3D, but man, that was a super predictable cookie cutter plot. So on the nose with everything, and the flying beast that noone could tame/fuse with... ofcourse etc.

I must be missing something?

Click to shrink...

Goes for countless genre films, not just Avatar, but originality is kinda overrated. Being "cookie cutter" - or perhaps formulaic, familiar, well-trodden, simple, etc. - isn't inherently bad. Sometimes that's actually a major strength or at least an asset that allows other elements to flourish

 

[Uncle at Nintendo]

Mid-Late 2023, after Avatar 2 grosses 3.5 billion dollars

"No one remembers Avatar 2, it had no cultural impact, Avatar 3 will be lucky to reach one billion if it ever comes out"

 

[strudelkuchen]

Why is that trailer/teaser in 1080p? Looks really bad.

 

[5pectre]

Here's an entire thread's worth of discussion on it:

Avatar's $2.847 billion box office draw in.. I still don't get it?

How the hell did this movie attract so much viewers? I mean Marvel movies are a no brainer but Avatar?

www.resetera.com

Click to shrink...

Reading through that thread it seems like people mention:
1. it was a technical marvel
2. it was camerons first film in over a decade

I agree with this.

Noone talks about how amazing the story is, so I guess I didn't miss anything after all.

 

[Stat]

Part of me feels like this movie will do gangbusters if only cause it was so long, and people are curious.

 

[Kyuuji]

Reading through that thread it seems like people mention:
1. it was a technical marvel
2. it was camerons first film in over a decade

I agree with this.

Noone talks about how amazing the story is, so I guess I didn't miss anything after all.

Click to shrink...

It's definitely second to the visuals, especially at the time, but I fell in love with the package as a whole, including the story. That's not to say you should love it yourself, just that there are people who liked that aspect of the film too. It's not going to compete in any top list of narrative features, but it complemented the rest of the film for me.

 

[subpar spatula]

Avatar haters will never not bring me life.

 

[Infinity Times Two]

Avatars success makes perfect sense. An incredibly simple story, visuals that promote the movie on its own, good performances across the board…

James Cameron knows how to spend money, but he also knows exactly where.

 

[Dr. Mario]

I already watched it 5 times.
The first time was in potato quality, the second time in decent HD, the third time in 4k, the fourth time in HDR and the fifth time in HDR on my OLED, and finally I was satisfied with the quality.

 

[Kyuuji]

I already watched it 5 times.

Click to shrink...

 

[Orange Piccolo]

I don't understand how the John Wick films are as popular as they are!

Click to shrink...

Hey!

You take that back.

 

[Tovarisc]

Good for IP that basically has been dormant for past 13-ish years.

 

[Vonocourt]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, discussion here about the movie and all the factors surrounding it will be more interesting than the film itself, at least for me. It's either going to be a huge hit or a mega flop and either way it'll be entertaining

Click to shrink...

Disney is gonna market the shit out of this film, it's not gonna be a huge flop as a grand return to Navi world.

The main thing is the response to this film and how it will affect the third film and so on. This place is gonna be insufferable though.

 

[Xater]

I'm convinced 75% of the world is fucking obsessed with Avatar and just keep it super quiet.

Like, your mom has all the McDonald's toys hidden in a mini shrine in a safe behind your graduation pictures. They have a secret hand sign they do at the grocery check out.

The other 25% are loud and insist on arguing about how no one loves Avatar how the fuck did it become #1.

Someday Cameron is going to say The Words and the 25% are going to be executed and Avatar and the Abyss will suddenly become the only films in the JimCam government.

Click to shrink...

But the Abyss is awesome.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

People don't even have to remember the plot of the first movie to go wild about this. They remember what was like being "transported" to Pandora and they'll want to do it again in big numbers.

 

[Ricky_R]

So what are we expecting the runtime to be? 3.5 hours?

 

[Glasgow Mega-Snake]

Trailer did absolutely nothing for me, but I'm also generally interested a lot more in story than visuals, so Avatar probably just isn't for me

 

[Bengraven]

But the Abyss is awesome.

Click to shrink...

No arguments here. Top 10 science fiction film in my head.

 

[Yasuke]

As someone excited as hell for this, I'm shocked it's drawn that many eyeballs considering how muted the response to it has been.

 

[Ocean Bones]

This films launch is going to be very painful for a lot of people, going by the amount of I-DONT-GET-IT's in all these threads lol.

 

[Solo]

God the crow eating around here will be glorious.

But no one cares about the highest grossing movie ever, you know, that one they all saw multiple times!

 

[Blader]

That was always the weirdest criticism to me because a) what people seem to measure a movie's cultural impact by is the amount of memes it propagates, which is hardly a marker of quality and b) that I very distinctly remember all the stories (and even studies) about people getting depressed cause they couldn't actually go to Pandora, which seems pretty culturally impactful to me, I dunno.

Click to shrink...

This is the same forum that creates monthly threads talking about how no one talks about Game of Thrones anymore

 

[Haikira]

Honestly, I was expecting higher numbers. Isn't this about half of what the 'No Way Home' trailer got in 24 hours?

Maybe the trailer debuting in cinemas took away some of the online numbers?

I'm not trying to be a moan. I'm looking forward to checking out Way of Water, and I do think it's going to have mighty impressive box office numbers.

 

[NinjaScooter]

This is the same forum that creates monthly threads talking about how no one talks about Game of Thrones anymore

Click to shrink...

Seriously this community is incredibly out of touch and then without a hint of irony or self awareness is surprised every time they don't "get" the general public/mass market. "Why is Avatar popular?" "People actually play Fortnite?"

 

[jaymzi]

I would love to live in this magical world where all the major blockbusters have this amazing story that far surpass Avatar's.

Unfortunately I live in the world where Star Wars, MCU, Fast series, Jurassic World and live action Disney are the highest grossing movies despite their medicore at best stories.

 

[Haikira]

I would love to live in this magical world where all the major blockbusters have this amazing story that far surpass Avatar's.

Unfortunately I live in the world where Star Wars, MCU, Fast series, Jurassic World and live action Disney are the highest grossing movies despite their medicore at best stories.

Click to shrink...

I'm not a massive fan of Avatar. I think the film is just fine. I definitely agree with this though. Compared to the likes of Jurassic World, it's a piece of art.

I'm also sick of hearing about how the first film is derivative, like it's some big zinger. Everyone globbed onto jokes about it being similar to Pocahontas, and now we've had years of people parroting the same old tired shit.

 

[ceej]

I just want to be able to see the first one in 3d during the re-release this fall. I was never able to see it in 3D.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Funny how the discourse online has completely 180'd now that the first teaser has finally dropped, and suddenly people are all like "oh yeah, I always knew this was going to be huge. Never doubted it."

If it bombs then the discourse will 180 back again. "Oh yeah, the writing was on the wall. Always knew this was doomed."

People love to act like they were right along.

 

[deathsaber]

While Avatar is a narrative lyrics unremarkable film imo, it's definitely a showcase for cinematic technologies. It's one of the few films where you absolutely have to see this in theaters. I'd argue that Dune is in the same category of being a showpiece film above everything else (although the story is pretty good imo).

Click to shrink...

Yeah this. The original Avatar, which basically kicked off a "3d craze" for a time, in the end was the only really worthwhile example of the format. I saw the film in theaters three times in its original run, had a blast each time (while my eyes just melted from the visuals), and only bothered to watch once at home, where it was just another "effects film., and while it was still decent, I prefer to just keep my theater experience memory of it intact where it was truly special

That said, I will probably go see the original again in theaters one more time(IMO its that good of a movie that you must see in 3d on the largest screen possible) and will be there in an instant for the sequel.

And beyond all other things, people should know by now- NEVER bet against James Cameron.

 

[Lebon30]

Looks amazing! Absolutely powerful.

 

[More_Badass]

I'm not a massive fan of Avatar. I think the film is just fine. I definitely agree with this though. Compared to the likes of Jurassic World, it's a piece of art.

I'm also sick of hearing about how the first film is derivative, like it's some big zinger. Everyone globbed onto jokes about it being similar to Pocahontas, and now we've had years of people parroting the same old tired shit.

Click to shrink...

It's kind of wild that Avatar has been getting that criticism for years like it's a huge flaw while people (probably the same audience) fell head-over-heels for Galactic Lone-Wolf-&-Cub. Point being that either being tropey, familiar, retrofitting old premises in other settings and genres isn't a bad thing

 

[LaneDS]

For better or worse, it's also what lit a fire under Ridley Scott to get back into Science Fiction films and try and push the visual envelope with Prometheus.

Click to shrink...

Prometheus was maybe the only other 3D movie that provided a similar visual "wow" that Avatar did (that is also maybe the only nice thing I can say about Prometheus). I don't think The Hobbit in HFR really worked, and every other 3D movie I saw felt like they really shoehorned the effect onto the movie versus trying to build around it which Avatar obviously did better than anything else.