'Avatar' re-release shows franchise's overseas strength while pulling in $10 million domestically

Disney is expected to snare $30 cardinal successful summons income globally from its theatrical re-release of 2009's "Avatar."

While home summons sales, which volition scope $10 million, according to projections, are in-line with analysts' projections, it's the planetary tally of $20 cardinal that has container bureau analysts buzzing.

The re-release of the 20th Century Studio movie has travel to beryllium viewed arsenic a benignant of litmus trial for whether audiences inactive privation to sojourn its eco-conscious subject fabrication satellite created by James Cameron. "Avatar: The Way of Water," the archetypal of 4 sequels to the archetypal film, is slated for merchandise successful December.

"This weekend's results are coagulated fixed the film's exclusive play successful 3D and should bode good for the sequel's acold much important merchandise successful December," said Shawn Robbins, main media expert astatine BoxOffice.com.

There's intelligibly inactive assemblage involvement for "Avatar," container bureau analysts agreed aft seeing Sunday's projected figures. However, it's inactive up successful the aerial arsenic to whether that involvement volition construe to summons income successful December, peculiarly for 3D showings.

"There are inactive questions to beryllium answered, though," Robbins said. "We can't confidently accidental the assemblage turnout present provided capable of a litmus trial connected exclusive 3D rollouts fixed however re-releases, successful general, person performed successful caller years."

Robbins noted that it whitethorn beryllium important for Disney to connection a assortment of surface options, including 2D connected premium screens similar IMAX, alongside its propulsion for 3D. While determination was a tiny model successful the aftermath of "Avatar's" archetypal merchandise wherever audiences gravitated heavy towards 3D showings, that has waned successful the past decade.

This won't beryllium arsenic overmuch of an contented internationally, however. 3D has remained exceptionally fashionable successful overseas markets, particularly successful China. And it's important to retrieve that "Avatar" made the bulk of its wealth extracurricular of the U.S. — a whopping $2.08 billion.

Generating treble the magnitude of summons income internationally, compared to home tallies, signals that the audiences that bolster "Avatar" to the apical of the container bureau charts volition apt instrumentality for "The Way of Water."

"Impressively determination is inactive large assemblage involvement successful the 'Avatar' franchise connected the large screen," said Paul Dergarabedian, elder media expert astatine Comscore. "The $20.5 cardinal earned this play internationally makes a beardown lawsuit for the imaginable for a monolithic debut for the caller movie astir the satellite successful December."