It looks like Christmas came early for Disney this year.
James Cameron’s sequel to the 2009 sci-fi/action mega-hit film Avatar has officially been approved for a successful release in China on the same day of its global premiere. Distributed by the Disney-owned entertainment company 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox), Avatar: The Way of Water will be the first Disney film to be released in Chinese theatres after 2019.
Marvel Studios, one of the highest-earning franchises to fall under Disney’s umbrella, has faced various impediments in the past couple of years with regard to releasing MCU films in China. And given the country’s potentially enormous box office, the movies getting banned by the government there has certainly been a blow to Marvel’s profits, regardless of its monumental success.
But now that Avatar: The Way of Water‘s path has been cleared for release in China, Disney’s future just got a whole lot brighter.
Avatar: The Way of Water is All Set to Release in China
James Cameron-directed Avatar sequel starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña is scheduled to release worldwide this December and recently got a green light from Chinese authorities, permitting its production in Chinese cinemas as well. It is definitely a big day for Disney Studios.
Not only is this a monumental achievement for the entertainment company, but it is just as huge a feat for Cameron, considering how earning a release in China opens up his film to a tremendous amount of potential, especially in terms of profits and revenue.
Avatar (2009) got crowned the highest-grossing movie of all time after earning a colossal sum of about $259 million from its sale in Chinese theatres alone and making $2.5 billion in total concerning the international scenario. So, for the sequel to live up to the standards of its predecessor if not outmatch it completely, the film is undoubtedly going to have to make A LOT of money.
Avatar 2 Will be the First Disney Film to Premiere in China Since 2019
Disney has had quite a patch of bad luck in the past few years when it comes to releasing its movies in Chinese theatres with the country’s strict guidelines and censors making it difficult for the media conglomerate to surge forward.
Even the latest MCU movies including Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever faced a ban from being released in China, thereby hampering Marvel’s progress at the global box office. Despite of that though, Ryan Coogler‘s Black Panther 2 has still managed to break records after surpassing the $500 million mark in just the second week of its opening.
But fortunately enough, Disney’s Christmas wishes have come true in the form of the Chinese market opening its gates to welcome Avatar 2 with arms wide open. It surely is going to be a jolly month for Cameron and his crew.
Avatar: The Way of Water will premiere on December 16, 2022.
Source: Twitter
