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| ▲ This file photo shows the movie schedule in a movie theater in Seoul on Jan. 15, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by CGV, shows 'Avatar 2' screened via '4DX Screen 3D.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Walt Disney Co. Korea, shows a scene from 'Avatar 2.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) – With James Cameron’s sci-fi film “Avatar: The Way of Water” garnering 10 million admissions in South Korea as of Tuesday, the attention is focused on whether this sequel to “Avatar” will be able to surpass the record of the previous movie “Avatar,” which was released in 2009.
Following James Cameron’s announcement of 4 more sequels that awaits international moviegoers, the film industry expects the success of “Avatar 2” will have a positive impact on the success of the upcoming sequels.
Thanks to the movie being screened in special theaters, “Avatar 2” is predicted to keep swimming and raking in even more profits, although it may be challenging for the film to surpass the cumulative number of viewers (13.62 million viewers) of the previous film.
“Avatar 2” hit the 10 million mark in terms of admissions on the 42nd day of its release, four days later than the previous sequel, which became a 10-million-movie only in 38 days. As an aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased admission fees, and more films hitting the box office, the long-term success of “Avatar 2” was thought to be challenged.
South Korean movie critic Yoon Sung-eun once said, “There will be a decrease in the number of families visiting the movie theaters after the Lunar New Year holidays, and it will be even more challenging for ‘Avatar 2’ to maintain its juggernaut status with new films hitting the big screen.” Nevertheless, the sales of this sci-fi sensation are expected to rather readily surpass the previous one.
As of the previous day, the cumulative sales of “Avatar 2” were about 126.29 billion won. Although the number of viewers is 3.6 million less than the first film, the difference in sales is less than 2.2 billion won, which makes the cumulative sales of “Avatar” up to 128.44 billion won.
The main reason behind the film’s success is an increase in admission fees, compared to that of 13 years ago, along with the diversification of the types of special theaters in which sci-fi movies, such as those of James Cameron, can be screened.
65.1% of the audience of James Cameron’s sci-fi sequel chose to watch the film at a special theater, according to data released from the CGV Data Strategy Team. As the film was screened in various types of theaters elevated by professional film technologies, including IMAX, 4DX, and Screen X, as well as 3D, the relative number of tickets booked to watch “Avatar 2” at such special theaters increased, adding up to the cumulative sales.
The sales growth rate of “Avatar 2” in Korea and the U.S. show similar performance: In the U.S., the film raked in more than $600 million (KRW 741.9 billion), going over and beyond the profits the first movie earned over the same period.
In terms of global ticket sales, the sequel has surpassed $2 billion (KRW 2 trillion 473 billion) globally after just 6 weeks of release, going after the first film which remains the biggest movie of all time with $2.89 billion (KRW 3 trillion 573.4 billion).
“Avatar: The Way of Water” has recently made it to the list of movies that have hit the 10 million admissions, alongside the first Avatar; it marks the third movie for a sequel to have surpassed 10 million viewers along with the first film in the series, following the South Korean film series “Along with the Gods” and Walt Disney’s legendary “Frozen.”
The “Avangers” series had only 7 million moviegoers accumulated in the first movie, but all 3 sequels had surpassed 10 million, marking the first film series to have three consecutive sequels to all have garrnered more than 10 million viewers.
The success of “Avatar 2,” in succession to the first Avatar, is consequential in that it laid the foundation for the upcoming sequels, as the “Avangers” series has been continuing the heroes’ stories.
Cameron has already moved on to the next and has three future installments ready even with the third even shot – he is ready with “Avatar 3,” and the Director will be releasing the third, fourth, and fifth film every two years.
The third film, which was filmed concurrently along with “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is currently half way done and is scheduled to be released in December of 2024. Cameron formerly said that the fourth and fifth sequels may not be made depending on the performance of his previous works; however, with “Avatar 2” surpassing its break-even point by grossing over $2 billion worldwide, his sequels are expected to be released as scheduled.
“The ‘Avatar’ syndrome is expected to continue, at least domestically,” said Heo Nam-woong, a South Korean film critic. “With the success of the second sequel, there has been a strong perception that Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ series is must-see in theaters, especially worthwhile to be watched in special theaters.”
“The sequel will be released every two years, which will be less burdensome for the domestic moviegoers,” he continued. “‘Avatar 2’ proved that the third, fourth, and fifth sequels can definitely go above and beyond.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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