Ahead of the December 2022 release of Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar, the original movie returns to theatres from today (23 September).
With $2.8-billion in worldwide box office receipts since its 2009 premiere, Avatar holds the record of the highest-grossing film of all time.
It was briefly overtaken by Avengers: Endgame, which eventually become the second-highest-grossing film of all time, with $2.7-billion in takings. Endgame was overtaken by Avatar after the re-release of the latter movie in China, which brought in $44-million in just ten days, giving it the top spot once more.
Avatar‘s success motivated James Cameron to continue the series, and he announced plans for four further films to be produced through to 2028.
The movie revolves around the Na’vi, a native alien race on the far-off planet Pandora. They are compelled to protect their homeworld against intruders who want to harvest its riches.
In order to help the Na’vi in their battle, a former soldier, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) commandeers a body using a breakthrough technology that allows humans to transfer their consciousness into a Na’vi body.
He eventually falls in love with the tenacious Neytiri along the road (Zoe Saldana). Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, and Stephen Lang also appear in the movie. It was Nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three Oscars, for Best Cinematography, Production Design and Visual Effects.
The re-released film uses remastered audio and video – as well as swapping out the 20th Century Fox logo for Disney’s after the studio’s acquisition.