Even James Cameron Has Doubts About Avatar: The Way Of Water's Box Office Potential
James Cameron has made a lot of strong impressions during his decades-long career, from pitching "Aliens" by revealing a well-placed dollar sign to a room of execs, to (according to The Independent) being the kind of boss who will shoot your phone with a nail gun if it goes off on set. With a reputation for bold moves, I wouldn't have been surprised if Cameron had barreled headfirst into the pricey and long-gestating "Avatar" sequels with all the confidence in the world. But apparently, even he is willing to admit he has some doubts.
Cameron spoke with Empire Magazine for the film publication's August 2022 issue, and discussed the changing habits of moviegoers and the ample amount of time that have passed since the first "Avatar" film shattered records in 2009.
The filmmaker thinks the first film's September re-release will help refresh viewers' memories ahead of "Avatar: The Way of Water" releasing in December. "We've gotten into a little bit of an outer orbit and we've got to re-establish ourselves," the director admits. While he politely acknowledges that some people will likely point out that the original story has faded from their memory, he thinks the re-release will address that:
"The trolls will have it that nobody gives a s*** and they can't remember the characters' names or one damn thing that happened in the movie ... Then they see the movie again and go, 'Oh okay, excuse me, let me just shut the f*** up right now.' So I'm not worried about that."