Avatar: Fire and Ash Becomes Third Film in the Franchise to Surpass $1 Billion Globally — but Will It Match Avatar 1 or 2 at the Box Office?

Avatar: Fire and Ash has go the 3rd movie successful the franchise to surpass $1 cardinal astatine the planetary container office, but questions stay connected whether it volition extremity up matching Avatar 1 oregon 2 by the extremity of its theatrical tally — oregon person Disney to greenish airy Avatar 4 and 5.

On play three, James Cameron’s Fire and Ash made different $40 cardinal domestically, marking a 37% driblet week connected week. It’s present up to $306 cardinal domestically. Fire and Ash is proving a bigger deed internationally — peculiarly successful China — with $777.1 cardinal truthful acold from theaters. That makes for a expansive full of $1.083 billion. Disney said Fire and Ash pushes the Avatar franchise full past $6.35 cardinal globally.

The peculiar effects-heavy Avatar films outgo a immense magnitude of wealth to produce, but they person historically made billions of dollars astatine the container office. Avatar 1 remains the highest-grossing movie of each clip (not adjusted for inflation), and has earned a staggering $2.9 cardinal crossed respective theatrical runs. Avatar: The Way of Water has earned $2.3 billion, meanwhile, cementing it arsenic the third-highest grossing movie of each clip — conscionable up of Cameron's ain Titanic.

Will Fire and Ash extremity up matching the container bureau hauls of its predecessors? Fire and Ash is slower to $1 cardinal than some Avatar 1 and 2, but not by much. The Way of Water, released successful 2022, deed $1 cardinal 14 days aft launch, and Avatar, released successful 2009, reached $1 cardinal aft 17 days. Fire and Ash managed $1 cardinal 18 days aft release.

The Avatar films typically amusement awesome staying powerfulness astatine the planetary container office, peculiarly internationally, truthful the coming weeks volition beryllium crucial. Adding a helping hand, Disney is drip-feeding Avengers: Doomsday teaser trailers up of Fire and Ash successful theaters successful a bid to promote repetition viewings (the X-Men trailer is acceptable to beryllium replaced by a 4th adjacent week).

Perhaps the pertinent question is, volition Avatar 3 extremity up making capable wealth theatrically to person Disney to greenlight Avatar 4 and 5? Disney has fixed some sequels merchandise dates already: Avatar 4 presently has a December 21, 2029 merchandise date, with Avatar 5 owed retired December 19, 2031. Cameron, present 71, would beryllium adjacent to 80 years aged by the clip it each wraps up.

But volition helium get the chance? In the tally up to Fire and Ash’s release, Cameron admitted helium was feeling tense astir the film’s container bureau show and expressed interest astir the “forces” moving against theatrical releases successful 2025.

Speaking connected The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, Cameron said determination was imaginable for “sequelitis.” He added: "people thin to disregard sequels unless it’s the 3rd Lord of the Rings movie and you privation to spot what happens to everybody, which successful my caput this is — this is the culmination of a communicative arc, but that whitethorn not beryllium however the nationalist sees it.” And there’s the “one-two punch” of streaming and Covid, which means less radical are going to the movies — 75% of the fig successful 2019, Cameron suggested.

When pressed connected however overmuch Avatar: Fire and Ash outgo to make, Cameron wouldn’t beryllium drawn into divulging a figure, lone suggesting it was a batch of money, and truthful the movie volition person to marque a batch of wealth to crook a profit.

“It is 1 metric f**k ton of money, which means we person to marque 2 metric f**k tons of wealth to marque a profit,” helium said. “I person nary uncertainty successful my caput that this movie volition marque money. The question is, does it marque capable wealth to warrant doing it again?”

The unit is connected Avatar: Fire and Ash to present astatine the container office. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios.

And connected that point, Cameron admitted helium was “absolutely” acceptable to locomotion distant from Avatar if Fire and Ash flops. “I’ve been successful Avatar onshore for 20 years,” helium said. “Actually 30 years due to the fact that I wrote it successful ‘95, but I wasn’t moving continuously connected it for those archetypal 10 years. Yeah, absolutely, sure. If this is wherever it ends, cool.” But what astir unfastened communicative threads? “There’s 1 unfastened thread. I’ll constitute a book!” Cameron responded.

Disney has yet to remark connected the prospects of Avatar 4 and 5, but announcing Fire and Ash’s $1 cardinal milestone tonight, the institution called the fig “another monumental accomplishment for James Cameron's groundbreaking franchise and underscoring its unparalleled transportation with audiences worldwide.”

“Avatar: Fire and Ash has demonstrated the franchise's signature theatrical staying power, gathering its planetary full done sustained show driven by premium-format demand, and extended planetary play,” Disney continued, “hallmarks that person defined the Avatar improvement since 2009.”

Photo by Stéphane Mouchmouche / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].