Spoilers Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) - Full Spoiler & Review Thread

[theenglish]

I had little doubt about it being a hit, but still, to lose no business at all between the second and third weekend, that's almost unheard of. I mean, No Way Home was a huge hit with legs, but even that one dropped 34% on its third weekend.

I think what happened here is that the built in audience for movies like No Way Home wasn't really there for Avatar because its been so long since the first movie. Even my kids didn't want to see it because why would they want to see a sequel to an old movie they haven't seen? Then word of mouth spread over the week. Same thing happened with the first Avatar (although I don't know what the drop between first and second week was) and then that movie stayed in theatres for months. I remember my wife taking my mother to see it at Easter time.

 

[Skipper]

Only managed sixth highest opening day of the year after Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Thor, Jurassic World and Batman.

Not good for a movie that in Cameron's own words needs to be one of the highest grossing ever before it makes a profit.

Please enlighten us
Box Office: ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Rules Over New Year’s, Global Gross Hits $1.38 Billion

 

[Nightowl1701]

* Side note; who the hell was his biological mother anyway? All they said was that he was orphaned by the war, so we're to presume Quarich knocked up someone under his command?​

Spoiler: From the prequel comic...

Jake's narration: "Miles 'Spider' Socorro. Another war orphan like Kiri, but he adopted us. He's got a human foster family at Hell's Gate, but at heart this kid's all Na'vi."

Ney'tiri talking to Jake: "I don't like [Kiri] spending so much time with that boy. He is trouble."
"He's an orphan. Can't you cut him some slack? There's a saying on Earth - 'The sins of the father should not be visited on the son.'"
"What is a 'sin'?"
"Ummm... a bad thing. Bad things people do..."
"So we will wait. And see this boy make his own sins."
"That's not what I meant... (narration) but I didn't know what I meant anymore. I mean, Ney'tiri had every right to be worried. Looking at my own kids, I know...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

The comic then flashbacks back to introduce us to Paz Socorro, a beautiful brunette Scorpion pilot described by a pair of Marines as out-of-their-league. "Marines aren't supposed to fraternize. But you put 'em on a planet a million miles from the nearest bar... and things happen. Spider was one of the first true Pandoran humans. There was more than one 'fatherless' birth at Hell's Gate. In a lot of ways, that kid is more Pandoran than I'll ever be. Spider grew up without a dad...or a mom. Paz Socorro died in the last Great Battle. And I had something to do with that. (A Na'vi arrow shot through her Scorpion's windshield into her chest) Talk about the sins of the father...so yeah, I cut the kid some slack. And hope he doesn't turn out like his parents."

 

[Lakenheath 72]

This film is on its way to getting $2 billion and may surpass it. The film had a 0% drop in its third weekend.

Avatar 2's Unprecedented Third Weekend Virtually Guarantees $2 Billion Gross (msn.com)

Exhibitor Relations Co. on Twitter: "Water element is on fire. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER dropped 0% in its 3rd box office adventure, matching its 2nd weekend take of $63.4M--legendary status. Even SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME dropped -34% in its 3rd weekend, netting $56M." / Twitter

I will be seeing the movie again this week. This will be my fourth trip to Pandora. I feel good about supporting James Cameron and this franchise.

In another article, Cameron spoke about what we might see in Avatar 3. There is a new tribe of Navi called the "Ash People" who live in another region of Pandora. They are described as being less friendly and maybe playing the role of a villain.

Upcoming Avatar 3 to Include a Na'vi Fire Nation Called the 'Ash People' (msn.com)

 

[XCV330]

I do think the word avatar is going to come into its own in the third movie. The movie draws away from Jake who really was an avatar and more about the succeeding generation, the key character becomes or already is an embodiment of Eowa produced from Grace's avatar body and a possible unknown father (Unless they're REALLY going for the Messiah thing). Neytiri said that Eowa did not take sides in the previous movie, only to be proved wrong when Eowa finally did summon living things to defend either the Navi or the sacred space (possibly the same thing, to something like Eowa).

So if Eowa is the embodiment of the Gaia Hypothesis, then Kiri is the Avatar of the world-deity, just as one might theologically speak of Krishna being an avatar of Vishnu. All of Grace's memories are inside of Eowa's neural-network supercomputer, which also means Eowa has, in some ways, far more knowledge of Earth than Earth does of Pandora.

Cameron has said that future possible movies could take place on Earth and it's not inconceivable that they might go fill-on with the idea of introducing the Gaia Hypothesis back on Earth somehow, as well.

Jake is not navel gazer, but he got unusually insightful previously when he said, "We killed our mother and they're going to do the same here" -Jake Sully.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

All of Grace's memories are inside of Eowa's neural-network supercomputer, which also means Eowa has, in some ways, far more knowledge of Earth than Earth does of Pandora

I know it's not going to happen, and that undoing character deaths takes away from them, but I want Eywa to spit Grace back into the avatar when she's done studying her memories, having her wake up a second after she was lying dying under a tree. So cynical and deservedly pessimistic, last thing she remembers is the the avatar programming shutting down and genocide beginning, she deserves to see – decades later – human kids running around the Na'vi village, Na'vi kids running inside the shack of the scientists, scientists making visits like when she once remembers. Surreal. And bitter-sweet, it's Jake now who's in worse relations with the humans. And, of course: “Mother... You're back...” “Daughter? Who are you child?”

 

[Nightowl1701]

I wouldn’t discount the possibility. They’ve kept Grace’s avatar alive after her death (& post-Kiri’s birth) for a reason. Grace’s resurrection (& revelations about Eywa) was in the original 90’s script treatment, Cameron may have simply decided to put it off ‘til a more suitable moment further on.

 

[thribs]

James Cameron Avatar 3 Will Feature Fire Na'vi

James Cameron is just taking the piss now.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

According to the BBC, the working title for the third movie is Avatar: The Seed Bearer.

Pandora's version of the Trinity is perhaps Grace's Na'vi avatar, Kiri and Eywa.

 

[Mudd]

So, TWOW has passed 1.7 billion worldwide, with plenty of running room yet.

 

[JoeZhang]

If we get some memes I think it can draw the kids in and hit $2 billion.

 

[Mudd]

If we get some memes I think it can draw the kids in and hit $2 billion.

Probably not this one:

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[Unicron]

 

[Smellmet]

So, TWOW has passed 1.7 billion worldwide, with plenty of running room yet.

Should do 2 billion now, but can't see it getting past say 2.3b. Time will tell. I want more of these movies.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

James Cameron already said he's making 4 and 5, so we'll see how the story ends unless 3 flops really badly. 4 and 5 can flop all they want, I suppose.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/james-cameron-says-avatar-2-201517164.html

I so envy be the lab tech who screams at the Navi kids for entering the makeshift lab inside the cave. Girl was like Michael Collins sitting in the command module while Neil & Buzz went to the moon. Went all the way to Pandora, got stuck in Hell's Gate to help the avatar drivers, which in turn got told to go home. Now war made them relocate inside the clan's village, and she's bossing the chief's kids around who would invade the lab and all without permission. Having the time of her life, I'm sure.

 

[Skipper]

James Cameron already said he's making 4 and 5, so we'll see how the story ends unless 3 flops really badly. 4 and 5 can flop all they want, I suppose.

But 2 already flopped!!! Didn't you read all boxoffice experts' analysis on this thread?!?!

 

[Mudd]

Yeah, this franchise is on track to continue for quite a while.

And it's always really nice to see something that's new succeed big. The current commercial movie box office is dominated - with exceptions like the F&F series - by properties derived from other media of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, along with the occasional sequel to a forty-odd year-old movie.

TWOW's domestic performance so far:

 

[ashleytinger]

Got to see it in 3D this past weekend. So so worth it

 

[Kor]

I normally detest high frame rate in movies, but I thought it worked very, very well in the action scenes in this one, especially coupled with 3D viewing.

Kor

 

[Mudd]

Yeah, the experience was as completely immersive, for me, as the filmmakers could have hoped it would be for IMAX audiences. I'm sure that part of that was the high frame rate, but I hadn't thought about that aspect of it until you mentioned it.

The only other high frame-rate film that I've seen that I'm aware of was the first Hobbit movie, which I thought was awful in just about every technical respect. In that instance, it just made the whole mess look more like video and less like film.