James Cameron sows doubt about Avatar 4 and 5: “We have to make a lot of money to continue”

The director repeats that the rest of his expensive SF franchise is not guaranteed.

Avatar: the waterway comes back in theaters, upstream from the exit ofAvatar: fire and ashthe 3rd part of the saga (December 17 in France). And James Cameron Take advantage of the promotion to remind us that the future of its universe remains uncertain.

Avatar 4 et Avatar 5 are scheduled for 2029 and 2031. After having suggested that he could pass the hand, the filmmaker has since declared that he would remain well for the making of the two films. But still it must beAvatar 3 Make enough recipe, as Cameron explained to Variety :

“Do we do money with Avatar 3? I mean, we will do a little money. But the question is, that it is the profit margin, if there is one, and how much does it take for that to encourage us to continue this universe? Or maybe we will have to wait a bit that we find the way to lower the costs. Because production costs have exploded in recent years, especially for digital special effects. The amounts have climbed so much that it jeopardizes the kind of film that I like to make.”

Avatar 2 et 3 were turned almost in a row, over a period of 18 months between 2017 and 2019. No plan ofAvatar 4 has not yet been filmed at this stage, and Cameron suggests that it could depend on the events take a break and devote himself to other projects, such as the adaptation of Ghosts of Hiroshimawhose script has not yet been written. And finish the movies Avatar When he is 80 years old (!): “I am at the crossroads, everything is not traced. Life does not work like that.“

Avatar 2 benefited from a pharaonic budget of $ 460 million. But the film brought back more than $ 2.3 million to the box office, becoming the 3rd biggest success of all time behind the first Avatar et Avengers : Endgame. Can the miracle still take place, three years later?

In another interview with the Podcast Crewcall, Cameron has given a layer of it, recalling how difficult it is for a blockbuster of this benefit of profits.

“We spend a lot of money to make these films, and we offer this banquet to a global audience for the same price as a ticket for a short independent film. But the giving-back is that you have to make enough money to continue.“

What is the profitability threshold forAvatar 3 ? We should already know his budget. The figure of $ 250 million which circulates on the net comes from an interview of 2017 where James Cameron announced that the four suites ofAvatar would cost $ 1 billion, or 250 million per film. It is therefore obsolete and certainly below reality, even if the technologies developed on The waterway could be profitable on Fire and ash.

But should we really worry about the aftermath ofAvatar ? Big Jim had already brandished the threat of the flop before The waterwaya way of mobilizing fans in the mode of “Come see it otherwise there will be no other“. Avatar reported $ 5 billion in two films, and it would take a disaster for it to stop.

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