For the first time in its box office-dominating history, Avatar stumbled at the theater. Despite being one of the most successful film franchises ever, with just two entries so far, James Cameron's cinematic universe showed rare weakness with The Way of Water's recent re-release. The reissue arrived as part of the lead-up to December's Avatar: Fire and Ash, but unlike past Pandora returns, this one made only a small splash with audiences.
Avatar: The Way of Water's weekend re-release grossed just $3.2 million domestically, a sharp drop from the original Avatar's 2022 reissue, which debuted to $10.5 million across fewer theaters. The re-release, meant to build anticipation for Fire and Ash, instead became arguably the first stumble for the franchise that has long defined cinematic success ($5.25 billion collectively worldwide).
Overseas, Avatar 2 performed treaded water, earning $6.8 million internationally for a $10 million global reopening, including $2.2 million from IMAX screenings.
By Avatar standards, this weekend's results are far from impressive. Every prior re-release of the franchise performed considerably better.
The 2010 Special Edition of the first Avatar added $44.8 million globally, while the 2021 China re-release brought in an even stronger $57.9 million, cementing the title of highest-grossing movie ever over 2019's Avengers: Endgame.
Most notably, the 2022 Avatar re-release timed ahead of The Way of Water's debut earned $76 million worldwide, including nearly $25 million in the U.S. alone.
By comparison, The Way of Water's recent reissue is the franchise's weakest showing to date. While the sequel still sits among the most successful films in history, the muted turnout suggests that audiences may finally be experiencing a touch of Pandora fatigue.
Avatar: Fire and Ash, set to hit theaters on December 19, 2025, reunites Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Jack Champion, Cliff Curtis, and Kate Winslet. The threequel follows Jake Sully's alliance with the Wind Tribe as they face a brutal invasion from Oona Chaplin's Varang and her Mangkwan Clan.
Is Avatar 3 in Financial Trouble?
No franchise has seen greater box office success than Avatar. When it debuted in 2009, Avatar became a global phenomenon, and 13 years later, The Way of Water lived up to the hype with a $134.1 million domestic opening and $684 million total in the U.S., one of the biggest post-COVID hits to date.
Now attention turns to Avatar 3, aka Fire and Ash. However, the underwhelming Way of Water re-release raises mild concern that audiences aren't as eager for the next installment as they were in 2022, especially since the wait between sequels is 10 years shorter this time.
Still, expectations remain sky-high. With 2025's current box office leader (of U.S. releases), Lilo & Stitch, barely passing $1 billion, Fire and Ash is projected to surpass that with ease and could again approach the $2 billion benchmark typical of the Avatar franchise.
