After 13 years, we’re on the cusp of the second Avatar film finally hitting our cinema screens, and operating as the big box office release before we’re engulfed by the Metro Manila Film Festival. Pre-pandemic, as December would always herald the release of a Star Wars installment or a big Marvel blockbuster, cinema fans would rise up and complain about how some of these films would be pushed to a January opening to avoid the MMFF calendar - or their run would be cut short, save for IMAX screenings. So the million dollar question…. let’s make that a billion dollars, is whether there’s still that much interest in Avatar - The Way of Water.

When the first Avatar film opened in 2009, James Cameron could sit back on the laurels of groundbreaking special effects and world-building, and from a reported $237 million budget, bank on the $2.923 billion box office receipts. The use then of advanced motion capture filming techniques, and expanded 3D viewing, had the film surpassing Cameron’s own Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time - which it held for 12 years, surrendered to Avengers: End Game, and then recaptured via a China re-release in 2021.

Nominated back then for nine Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director; it eventually brought home three, for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Visual Effects. Signed on by 20th Century Fox to produce four sequels, we finally have this first one, delayed by the pandemic, and have the second sequel slated for December 2024. Cameron reports that most of the principal photography for Avatar 3 has in fact, already been completed. Wryly, when asked for details about Avatar 4 & 5, Cameron rebuffs questions, saying that if 2 and 3 don’t make a ton of money, then there won’t be a 4 and 5. The budget for Avatar 2 is estimated at north of $350 million.

To the fans of the first film, they’ll be happy to know that Sam Worthington is back as Jake Sully, and Zoe Saldana reprises her role as Na’vi Ney’tiri. Sigourney Weaver returns, no longer as Dr. Grace, but in a new role. And yes, Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch will be seeking his revenge on Jake, resurrected as a Recombinant. And lower those eyebrows, it’s a SciFi film. Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, and Jemaine Clement are among the notable new cast members.

At 192 minutes running time, there is some trepidation on whether the audience is ready to be immersed in so much Pandora-time. But if the trailer is anything to go by, it looks like even more outstanding visual cinematography and special effects will be on display, making the film a stunning marriage of technology and story-telling. 

The first reactions from audiences treated to the London screening were unanimously in favor of the film, extolling its virtues and while they did say the running time can be exhausting, they mention that the last act is outstanding and well worth the slogging through the middle portions of the film. 

Philippine audiences can make up their own minds this Wednesday, Dec. 14, and while it will be in cinemas across the metropolis, you can count on cinema aficionados insisting that an IMAX screen is the only way to watch this film for the first time.