Aimee Walker
Avatar 2 has been so expensive to make that it needs to make a staggering $2 billion at the box office to break even.
Avatar: The Way of Water, which is the long-awaited sequel to the 2009 box office hit, is set to be released on December 16.
Its trailer recently dropped and it’s given a breathtaking glimpse at the world of Pandora, while also revealing an array of new characters and stunning special effects.
While not much is known about the plot of the film, the movie’s runtime has been confirmed and it’s set to be ridiculously long – so make sure to grab yourself a lot of popcorn.
Now the film’s director James Cameron, 68, has revealed there’s a lot riding on its success.
Find out what the movie’s stars have said about the sequel…
In an interview with GQ, Cameron said it was ‘very f***ing expensive’ to make and that to be defined as a success, it would need to be the ‘third or fourth highest-grossing film in history’.
The director admitted it was ‘the worst business case in movie history’ when pitching it to studios.
Cameron’s original film, Avatar, currently ranks as the highest-grossing movie worldwide, it grossed $2.9 billion (which is unadjusted for inflation), reports Variety.
Avengers: Endgame is in the second position at $2.7 billion.
While Cameron’s other hit, Titanic, ranks third with $2.1 billion.
This means that if anyone can make another record-making movie, it’s Cameron.
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However, the director appears to be remaining cautious about the sequel being a success, as he has recently said Avatar 3 could be the last film.
Previously, he revealed he would like to make five films for the franchise, reports Vulture.
In an interview with Total Film, Cameron explained: “The market could be telling us we’re done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning: ‘OK, let’s complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly’, if it’s just not profitable.”
He added: “We’re in a different world now than we were when I wrote this stuff, even.”
He also expressed doubt that he would want to direct all five movies, even if the sequel was to be a success.
“The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming,” he admitted to Empire.
“I’ve got some other things I’m developing as well that are exciting.
“I think eventually over time – I don’t know if that’s after three or after four – I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in. Or maybe not. I don’t know.”
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Cameron has previously revealed that although Avatar 2 isn’t even out in cinemas yet, Avatar 3 is ‘95% complete’.
When chatting to Arnold Schwarzenegger – who starred in Cameron’s Terminator movies – at the 2020 Austrian World Summit, he said: “So where we are right now, I’m down in New Zealand shooting, we’re shooting the remainder of the live-action.
“We’ve got about 10% left to go. We’re 100% complete on Avatar 2 and we’re sort of 95% complete with Avatar 3.”
Avatar: The Way Of Water will be available in cinemas exclusively from December 16.
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