Avatar: The Way of Water is weeks away from releasing, 13 years on from the original movie, which is the highest-grossing movie of all time at the box office.
That's a lot for the sequel to live up to, and it's anyone's guess as to whether the sequel will overtake its predecessor. What we do know though is that Avatar 2 is off to a good start.
Variety reports that the film is on track to open to $150 million to $175 million in its first weekend. Compared to the $77 million made by the first film in its opening weekend, the project figure starts at just under double the takings, and peaks at almost $100 million more (obviously inflation plays a factor here, but still).
Related: James Cameron defends Avatar 2's lengthy runtime
James Cameron has admitted that the film needs to do really, really well since it took so long to make and all that underwater and motion capture filming doesn't come cheap.
Although five films have been announced in total, with some scenes for the fourth already shot, the director has stated that if audiences don't come to see The Way of Water, plans will change.
He said: "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.
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Related: James Cameron admits concerns over Avatar 2's lengthy delay
"We’re in a different world now than we were when I wrote this stuff, even. It’s the one-two punch – the pandemic and streaming. Or, conversely, maybe we’ll remind people what going to the theatre is all about. This film definitely does that. The question is: how many people give a shit now?"
It won't be long at all until we find out.
Avatar: The Way of Water is out in cinemas on December 16.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
