“Avatar: The Way of Water” is a big bet for Imax CEO
Richard Gelfond told an investors conference James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel has reached “one of the highest pre-sale levels we’ve ever seen” ahead of its Dec. 16 global release.
James Cameron’s much-anticipated sequel Avatar: The Way of the Water is expected to do well at the box office in China and everywhere in the world, according to Imax CEO Richard Gelfond.
During a panel on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit conference, Gelfond stated that “Avatar and Imax share a synergy, a DNA.” He recalled that Imax had 250 cinemas worldwide in 2010 and that his business had made about $250 million at the box office for the first Avatar film.
The sequel to Avatar: The Way of the Water will unavoidably do disproportionately more business on Imax screens as moviegoers are drawn to his company’s high-end, giant screen experience, Gelfond said, adding that he couldn’t predict the movie’s final global box office.
On December 16, the sequel will debut on 1,700 Imax screens across 89 nations. Even though Gelfond claimed the Avatar pre-sale figures couldn’t be revealed just yet, he did say: “It’s one of the highest pre-sale levels we’ve ever seen. Therefore, I’m quite happy that Avatar is coming to China.
On December 16, the same day it opens in North American theatres, the Disney and 20th Century film will have its Chinese premiere. Since the pandemic started, Avatar: The Way of Water has received a rare berth in China as a Hollywood film.
The international release of Cameron’s sequel is scheduled. 13 years after Avatar made history in 2009 by earning the most money at the worldwide box office, a title it continues to hold today with more than $2.92 billion in ticket sales, not adjusted for inflation and including rereleases.
Imax attributes the acceleration of its brand expansion in that important Asian market to the 2010 release of Avatar in China on its screens. Without a doubt, Gelfond said at the investor conference, “Avatar was a catalyst for additional [theatre] agreements and opening up areas throughout the world.”
Even though Imax only owns only 1% of screens in China, the technology company provided 30% of the opening weekend box office in March 2021 when Imax rereleased the first Avatar movie there.
According to Gelfond, prolonged regional lockdowns could hurt the box office for the Hollywood blockbuster, while China loosening its zero-COVID policy could increase demand for the Avatar sequel. It is unstable because it’s clearly a problem if not enough people attend, that’s definitely a risk,” the Imax CEO argued.
Gelfond praised the production standards of the Avatar sequel despite not having seen it yet. People will be drawn to that, he said, since “I’ve seen some of the technology and the work [Cameron has] done and it’s a quantum jump forward from the first movie.”