The Avatar Sequel Is a Make-or-Break Moment for Disney’s $71 Billion Fox Deal
Returning boss Bob Iger oversaw the 2019 purchase. A December premiere will help indicate whether he overpaid.
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 Saldana 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, booking 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. 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 Disney’s studio division. “The first film was one of the most important films ever released.”