Avatar: The Way of Water will have to be a huge success for it to go head-to-head. Speaking to GQ, director James Cameron revealed that the long-awaited sequel must be one of the best-performing films of all time to reclaim its estimated $250 million budget. When asked how much money it takes to deal with it, the producer described The Way of Water as “the worst business case in movie history”. The Avatar sequel is “the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. This is your threshold. This is your breaking point.” While the struggle to make that much money has been daunting, the Avatar series has already set a precedent as a massive profit machine. Cameron’s first film in the series, which was released in 2009, currently holds the record for the highest-grossing film of all time, with $2.9 billion worldwide. Despite this, the director is aware that the times have changed and the change in the audience going to the cinema can affect The Way of Water. “We’re in a different world now than when I even wrote these things down. It’s a one-two punch – pandemic and flow,” Cameron said. “Or on the contrary, maybe we remind people what it’s like to go to the theater. This movie definitely does that. The question is: how many people give it like that now?” What’s in Avatar’s Future? The success of the sequel will also affect the extended future of the series. While Cameron has made it clear that he wants to make at least five Avatar movies, if The Way of Water fails, he’ll have to abandon the last two installments planned. “If we make some money with two and three, everything is planned out,” Cameron said. “The scripts are already written, everything is designed. So just add water.” The longtime director also stated that if the fourth and fifth films do happen, he will likely look for another filmmaker to head the projects. Set a few years after the first Avatar, the sequel will see returning characters Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) leave the jungles of Pandora to start a new life beside the lunar oceans. Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, who both starred in the original film, will return for the sequel, joining Kate Winslet, Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh. Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters on December 1. 16. Source: GQ
