{"id":2068682,"date":"2025-10-04T13:23:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T13:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2068682"},"modified":"2025-10-04T13:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T13:23:17","slug":"blockbusters-are-making-less-money-these-days-but-im-still-shook-about-what-james-cameron-is-saying-ahead-of-avatar-3-4-and-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/blockbusters-are-making-less-money-these-days-but-im-still-shook-about-what-james-cameron-is-saying-ahead-of-avatar-3-4-and-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Blockbusters Are Making Less Money These Days, But I&#8217;m Still Shook About What James Cameron Is Saying Ahead Of Avatar 3, 4, and 5"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Credit: 20th Century Studios<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It&#8217;s not exactly a controversial statement that the theatrical film industry is in a weird place right now. People simply aren\u2019t going to the movies in quite the numbers they used to. Moderately budgeted films are disappearing from theaters, and even <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/hard-tell-much-money-studio-164952900.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:blockbusters aren\u2019t putting up the numbers they used to;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">blockbusters aren\u2019t putting up the numbers they used to<\/a>. Although there are exceptions, like <em>Avatar<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Avatar: The Way of Water<\/em> proved that there was still interest in the franchise, not only being a massive hit, but also becoming one of the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/avatar-way-water-keeps-climbing-164842751.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:highest-grossing movies ever;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">highest-grossing movies ever<\/a>. I fully expected that the new movie <em>Avatar: Fire and Ash<\/em> would also put up big numbers, and that the two remaining planned sequels would happen in short order, but speaking with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/film\/news\/james-cameron-ai-avatar-2-release-fire-and-ash-changes-1236536512\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Variety;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Variety<\/a>, it seems James Cameron is far less sure. He indicates that if the new film doesn&#8217;t make enough, we could see a delay in making the last two films, or perhaps that they might not even happen. He said\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There are others that I may or may not direct. And the big swing in all of this is, do we make any money with \u2018Avatar 3\u2019? I mean, we\u2019ll make some money. But the question is, what kind of a profit margin, if any, is there, and how much of an inducement is that to continue on in this universe? Or maybe we wait a while until we figure out how to bring costs down. Because production costs have spiraled over the last few years, especially in VFX. Everything\u2019s gone up an enormous amount, and it\u2019s starting to close out the type of films that I like to make.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While there\u2019s certainly no argument that movie production budgets have steadily increased, and the cost of massive blockbusters has increased that much more, at the end of the day, that usually just means those movies need to make a lot of money at the box office to be profitable, but the <em>Avatar<\/em> franchise certainly hasn\u2019t had that problem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">To be fair, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemablend.com\/movies\/james-cameron-is-making-a-big-budget-spectacle-with-avatar-2-whats-an-extra-dollar5-million-here-or-there\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Avatar: The Way of Water was an expensive movie;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Avatar: The Way of Water<\/em> was an expensive movie<\/a>, with an estimated budget that may have approached $500 million. That said, some of that cost was also the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemablend.com\/movies\/james-cameron-reveals-how-much-of-avatar-3-and-4-has-already-filmed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:filming of Avatar 3, which was done alongside the second film;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">filming of <em>Avatar 3,<\/em> which was done alongside the second film<\/a>, and since <em>Avatar 2<\/em> made well over $2 billion, it more than paid off its debts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But who knows? <em>Avatar 2<\/em> came a decade after the first film. Perhaps there was a pent-up demand for the franchise that won\u2019t be there with <em>Avatar 3<\/em>. If that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s possible that the remaining two sequels may not go into production for a while, which may give Cameron the chance to work on other things. He continued\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">So there\u2019s an argument for taking a pause and figuring that out. There\u2019s an argument for going out and doing some smaller, more personal film in the meantime, while that gets figured out. There\u2019s an argument, in wild success, for us just launching and just going straight into [\u2018Avatar 4\u2019 and \u2018Avatar 5\u2019] and I figure out a production methodology where I have a bit of a hiatus where I can make another film. And there\u2019s another argument that says just go make those two damn movies and figure everything else out when I\u2019m 80.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Cameron has expressed interest in directing other films and is attached to write and direct the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/why-james-cameron-ready-let-181208027.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:adaptation of the book Ghosts of Hiroshima;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">adaptation of the book <em>Ghosts of Hiroshima<\/em><\/a>. But one of the big questions is just when he might have time to do that with two major <em>Avatar<\/em> films left to make. Certainly, if the franchise took a significant break, he would have the time. Of course, if things wait too long, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemablend.com\/movies\/wait-james-cameron-might-not-direct-future-avatar-sequels\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cameron might not be able to direct the last two Avatar movies;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Cameron might not be able to direct the last two <em>Avatar<\/em> movies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It seems wild to believe that <em>Avatar: Fire and Ash<\/em> won\u2019t make billions and that Cameron won&#8217;t jump right into making <em>Avatar 4<\/em> and <em>5<\/em>, but then, the movie business keeps changing, and certainly, anything is possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: 20th Century Studios It&#8217;s not exactly a controversial statement that the theatrical film industry is in a weird place right now. People simply aren\u2019t going to the movies in quite the numbers they used to. Moderately budgeted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2068683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[387130,337374,387131,311556],"class_list":["post-2068682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-avatar-films","tag-fire-and-ash","tag-going-to-the-movies","tag-james-cameron"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Blockbusters-Are-Making-Less-Money-These-Days-But-Im-Still.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2068682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2068684,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068682\/revisions\/2068684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2068683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2068682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2068682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2068682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}