A New Avatar For the Mouse

A sequel to the 2009 blockbuster will show whether Disney's $71 billion Fox purchase was worth it

- David Rocks

On Dec. 6, London's Odeon Leicester Square theater is scheduled to light up for the premiere of Avatar: The Way of Water. As photographers jostle for a shot and fans clamor for autographs, stars Zoe Saldaña and Sigourney Weaver and director James Cameron will proceed down the red carpet for a screening of the sequel to the top-grossing movie of all time, which has booked sales of $2.9 billion since its release in 2009.

It's the kind of feel-good spectacle Hollywood adores, with hefty doses of glamour, glitter and magic to enthrall the public. The Way of Water has the potential to cast a similar spell on Walt Disney Co., helping the studio's bosses forget, just for a moment, how badly the pandemic upended their business. Disney got the rights to Avatar when it paid $71 billion for 21st Century Fox three years ago, and the franchise-Cameron is planning sequels every two years through 2028-"is certainly one of our biggest priorities since the acquisition," says Alan Bergman, chairman of the company's studio division. "The first film was one of the most important films ever released." There's little doubt that the science fiction tale, following the story of a moon called Pandora and the colonization that threatens it, will attract a sizable audience. Adam Aron, chief executive officer of theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., has said The Way of Water will be one of 2022's top-grossing films, approaching Paramount's Top Gun sequel, which has taken in close to $1.5 billion since May. On Twitter, Aron called the movie a "masterpiece" and a "likely huge hit." What's less clear is whether the film will do well enough to warrant the price Disney paid for Fox.