James Cameron’s sci-fi film Avatar: Fire and Ash released in Indian cinemas on December 19. The movie opened with strong advance bookings, showing that there is a lot of excitement among audiences. It started releasing internationally from December 17, and is expected to have a big box office run.
In India, early estimates suggest the film will earn more than Rs 30 crore on its first day. As per Sacnilk data till 1:30 PM, the movie had already collected Rs 3.33 crore net across all languages. Collections are expected to rise further after evening and night shows.
Worldwide, trade experts are also expecting a huge opening. According to Variety, the film may earn $90-105 million in the US from around 3,800 theatres, while other countries could add another $250-275 million. This means the film could make $340-365 million globally in its opening weekend.
To compare, the first Avatar film earned $232 million worldwide when it released in 2009, while Avatar: The Way of Water made $441 million in its opening weekend in 2022. If current estimates are correct, Fire and Ash will open somewhere between these two big hits.
Both earlier Avatar films crossed $2 billion worldwide by the end of their runs. If Avatar: Fire and Ash also reaches this mark, it will become the first film franchise with three movies earning over $2 billion each, a record currently matched only by Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War.
In India, Avatar films usually perform well over time. Avatar: The Way of Water opened to nearly Rs 50 crore and went on to earn around Rs 500 crore in total. With Fire and Ash releasing in multiple languages, trade experts believe it could show similar strong performance in the coming weeks.
About Avatar: Fire and Ash
The film is written by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver, with Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno also contributing to the plot. The film marks the third chapter in the Avatar saga, following Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).
It stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, Matt Gerald, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo and Duane Evans in the lead roles.
The movie will have sequels, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 as well.
