Avatar: The Way of Water hasn’t with the big numbers we expected it to. The film grossed $435 Million in its opening weekend, which is less than Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($449 Million) and consequently Spider-Man: No Way Home ($587 Million). This is worrisome for James Cameron’s sequel as it has to keep up with the unreal expectations attached to it as it is the sequel to the biggest movie of all time Avatar ($2.9 Billion). Apart from this, the sequel’s budget is unreal as well. According to recent reports, the production budget of Avatar: The Way of Water is much higher than previously told. It is around $460 Million which makes it the costliest film ever to be produced in Hollywood.
Cameron has mentioned countless times that he’d only make the rest of the Avatar sequels if The Way of Water makes money and by that he meant that the sequel should at least gross $2 Billion. Releasing one week before Christmas, with no big competitor The Way of Water has all the resources to make it happen and despite its underwhelming opening the sequel is going might strong at the box office. With its collection reaching up to $900 Million in the second week. The film is doing phenomenal business in regions like India where it has grossed more than $37 Million. The Chinese box office is suffering but the sequel has still managed to collect more than $100 Million. With all these numbers going around and the aim of the sequel to reach the figure of $2 Billion, it does beg the question-
When will Avatar: The Way of Water starting streaming? Well, the short answer is not soon but if you want to hear the long answer then continue reading.
Avatar: The Way of Water Disney+ Streaming Release Date Revealed!
Now, if this was any other film then we wouldn’t be having this discussion we because we all live in the post pandemic world so, we know that all releases mostly play out in theatres and after a 45-day theatrical window it comes to some or the other streaming platform. However, we’re not talking about any other movie. We’re talking about James Cameron’s new film which is a sequel to Avatar. Before the pandemic, when times were different, the general practise was to have a 90-day window before being available to purchase on VOD or Blu-Ray/DVD.
Since 2020 though, Disney started to release the films in theatres as well as on the streaming platform on the same day (Black Widow, Raya, The Last Dragon). 2022’s biggest movies until now namely, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder followed a similar pattern of 45 days theatrical window. Top Gun: Maverick won’t feature in this list as it is a Paramount film. Multiverse of Madness started streaming on Disney+, 47 days after its release while Love and Thunder took 62 days to come to the streaming platform.
The track record of James Cameron and the hype around the sequel makes it clear that Disney is no fool to make make the sequel available on Disney+ anytime soon. The sequel is projected to cross $1 Billion till New Year (only the 2nd film to do in 2022) and dethrone Top Gun: Maverick ($1.48 Billion) to become the highest grossing film of 2022 in early January 2023. That $2 Billion figure doesn’t look that far does it now? Cameron’s previous ventures- Titanic and Avatar both followed a similar trend.
They opened fine but then had strong legs in the many weeks at the theatres where they continued to draw in audiences. Avatar: The Way of Water seems to have taken after them. The sequel has no major competition and what it does have has already been crushed like Damien Chazelle’s Babylon. The only major competition it will have is in February 2023 when Marvel’s Antman and The Wasp: Quantumania releases. That means The Way of Water has almost 2 months of uninterrupted time in the theatres.
Considering all this, the earliest the sequel can make it to Disney+ is if Disney decides to follow the pre-pandemic model of VOD or BluRay/DVD being available 90 days after release. This would mean that the earliest the sequel could start streaming is 17th March 2023. It has to be noted that this is not the official date but is heavily speculated. There is a real possibility that the success of the sequel is such that it doesn’t come on Disney+ till April 2023. Well, see about that. Ciao for now.
Watch the Official Trailer For Avatar 2: The Way of Water on YouTube:
Avatar: The Way of Water is currently playing in theatres near you and is reportedly start streaming on Disney+ from March 17th 2023.
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