The Way of Water: James Cameron’s Contribution to Avatar, Terminator, and Jurassic Park for the 21st Century
It is possible that all of this is crossed out by the Hollywood maxim: never doubt James Cameron. Even though it may seem like few people care about Avatar these days, that might not matter. When the original film got rereleased in China in 2021, it made millions—so many millions that it reclaimed the top spot as highest-grossing film of all time, beating out Avengers: Endgame. The film also comes at a time when audiences are more comfortable than ever going back to the theater. It’s possible that they just need to see the way, and that’s it.
The way for more sequels to follow was helped by the two films that came seven years after the first movie. In each case, he expanded upon, rather than merely replicating, the existing template, most impressively with “Aliens,” which was based on a movie directed by the man himself.
After the haunted-house-in-outer-space concept of “Alien,” the sequel called in the Marines for a more adventurous and muscular battle, one that included introducing the complex bug-like dynamics of the alien creatures. The formula was revised in “Judgment Day” when the original villain was turned into a hero.
The second “Terminator” also marked a massive leap forward into the world of computer-generated visual effects with its shape-shifting liquid robot, which helped lay the groundwork for “Jurassic Park” and the technological explosion that followed. “Avatar” also advanced that ball, and “The Way of Water” feels as if it has again moved the goalposts in terms of the horizons for digital filmmaking.
“Jim Cameron is the ultimate pioneer in this arena,” Stan Winston, who designed the special makeup effects on “Terminator 2” and countless other films, said in a discussion about “Judgment Day” coinciding with its 25th anniversary.
That nearly oversimplifies the way the films were constructed, especially when so many sequels adhere to the saying “You give the audience the things that they liked.”
There is still a taste of being an alien host in the movie, but the bulk of it is a good rip-roaring thriller.
Avatar: The Price of a High-Gamma-Ramsey? Cameron’s Expectation Values
The central couple are given a family and are able to explore those dynamics with their children, while also introducing a new clan with its own unique culture.
That might not technically make him the king of anything, but in terms of Hollywood’s current math, it’s the ticket to becoming a certain kind of royalty.
In the first 10 days of its release, The corpulent film made $253.7 million domestically, compared to $212 million in the same period for the first Avatar, which would go on to become the highest-grossing film of all time.
The film could be a turning point for the movie theater industry too, which had been decimated by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The success of the movie will depend on whether audiences will pay for the 3D experience, which has decreased in popularity over time.
Though Cameron hasn’t revealed exactly how much it cost to make the “Avatar” sequel, one answer isn’t in doubt: a lot. Or in Cameron’s own words to GQ Magazine, “very f***ing expensive.” The star director estimated to industry executives that in order to break even the movie has “to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history.”
“The future of the Pandora isn’t going to be determined this weekend,” Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. We will have a strong week after week numbers, I think, with the film playing for the next few weeks.
The film will be at the top of the list for viewers during a busy holiday period, which will not include a major blockbuster competition, according togarabedian. The movie is 190 minutes long and reduces the number of showings in theaters.
The Way of Water: James Cameron’s First $100 Million Opener & Future Prospects for the Universal and Adaptive Shrek Spinoffs
Disney placed a big bet on the series. “The Way of Water” is one of four planned sequels, with a third installment set for release on December 20, 2024. The stars from the first film, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, returned as Jake and Neytiri. In the sequel, they live on Pandora with their family.
“This is James Cameron’s first $100 million opener,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore “For this movie to have opened that big and only dropped 58%, it shows it has staying power.”
It’s also clear sailing for the film looking ahead, with more holiday time coming and no comparable competition until February, when Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is released.
Universal’s animated Shrek spinoff, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, featuring the voices of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, finished a distant second with $11.35 million in its opening weekend.
“I don’t believe that the opening weekend is a factor in Babylon,” he said. “We’ll have to see what it does in the coming weeks then into the new year, particularly if it gets more awards buzz.”
The October opening weekend of David O. Russell’s Amsterdam brought industry fears that audiences weren’t going to see the film because of its scope, stars and auteur.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, with Wednesday through Sunday in parentheses. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.