Fire and Ashes’ disappoints at its box office premiere and sows doubts about the future of James Cameron’s saga

The long-awaited ‘Avatar: Fire and Ashes’ has begun its run in theaters in a somewhat disappointing way: the film James Cameron has added 12 million dollars during the previews on Thursday, which represents a drop of almost 30% compared to the 17 that ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ achieved three years ago.

When assessing this figure, several conditions must be taken into account. The first is that Cameron himself has said that ‘Avatar 3’ It has to be one of the 10 most viewed films in history to be profitable and that Disney agrees to make the fourth part. That means having to surpass the 1,671 million that ‘Jurassic World’ made.

What does it have for and against?

If we also apply a possible 30% drop to its total income, that would mean that ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ would be close to achieving it, since it would be around 1,650 million. It seems outrageous to think of it as a failure or even a disappointment if it reaches that number, but is the narrative Cameron is selling.

Besides, Early estimates for the film’s U.S. opening weekend results also point in a similar direction.. ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ is expected to range between $90 and $105 million, which would also be a notable drop from the $134.1 million its predecessor earned.

However, The ‘Avatar’ saga has been characterized until now by having great box office performances, something that may lead many to have decided to see it later. Let’s remember that Christmas is just around the corner – more so than in the case of the second installment, which hit theaters on December 16 – and many will have commitments that they will not have been able to postpone.

Another factor that should be taken into account is that the fact that a new film is just three years after ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ it may have lowered its status as a must-see event for some viewers. And that’s not good at all for a film so expensive that I need a little less than historic success to justify its existence.

Finally, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ is the one that critics liked the least – they rank it as the worst of the franchise and the second least successful film in Cameron’s entire filmography. something that could also have a negative impact on the film. And here a couple of hundred million up or down could be key in the future of the saga…

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