Avatar 2 Has To Make History Just To Break Even
Avatar 2 must be the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time to break even on its budget.
James Cameron knows what it means to make a hugely successful blockbuster, as the man has been involved in such movies for decades. He currently holds the title of the highest-grossing movie in cinema history, as Avatar sits in the #1 spot having made $2.9 billion in worldwide box office numbers. However, Avatar 2 must go above and beyond to break even, as the director stated via Deadline, “You have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history…That’s your threshold…That’s your break even.”
Apparently, it was so expensive to make Avatar 2 to make that James Cameron must now hope that the sequel makes around $2.7 billion in worldwide box office numbers, as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens is #4 highest-grossing movie with $2.69 billion in worldwide box office numbers. With the amount of hype that the sequel movie has had for this long, it could be quite successful, even passing its predecessor, but we are not sure that the Avatar franchise has the same level of a dedicated fanbase as Star Wars does.
Avatar was budgeted at $237 million, but this was also back in 2009, which we would imagine did not have the same level of CGI technology that exists today. Granted, James Cameron likely started the movie a few years ago, but he would have still been able to use far greater tools to ensure that Avatar 2 looked as pristine as ever. Considering that both movies are CGI-heavy, we would imagine the budget now is far greater.
Avatar 2 having to make money is something that is certainly expected, as everyone has been patiently waiting for this sequel for 13 years. However, there could be too much pressure attached to this movie, and it could end up not being anywhere near as successful as James Cameron hoped. It could be too long to have waited as well, leaving many to no longer care about how magical the first movie was.
James Cameron understands that should Avatar 2 not perform in the way that he hopes, it could put an end to the franchise. According to Cameron, “The market could be telling us we’re done in three months, or we might be semi-done.” He added that should the sequel underperform then he would change Avatar 3 to end the story instead of allowing additional movies to continue if they are not profitable.
That is certainly a good way of looking at it, as we all know that some franchises stick around a lot longer than they should. Avatar 2 could also prove to be unbelievably profitable, which would pave the way for the additional movies that Cameron has planned. We reported that Avatar 4 was already being worked on, which would be terrible if Avatar 2 flops, as all that work would be for nothing.
Avatar 2 officially comes out on December 16th, and Cameron and the crew have the benefit of the holidays to work with. A ton of children have time off from school at the end of the month, and with families coming in to visit for the holidays, it could mean that the sequel stands to make a ton of money. That would be the hope for now, as Cameron could pull the plug on the franchise if they do not turn a profit, so go see Avatar 2 and save the franchise.
