As Avatar: The Way Water continues its steady path towards a two billion dollar box office haul, few would second guess the film’s performance in China, however, due to unforeseen circumstances, James Cameron’s latest blockbuster will get an extended theatrical run that will keep it in the mainland until Chinese New Year.

Despite Avatar being immensely popular among Chinese moviegoers, the film’s release coincided with one of the country’s worst pandemic waves of the last two years as new COVID variants have surfaced in China, thus triggering a national health crisis. After this past weekend, The Way of Water had only earned $190m China, a number that pales in comparison to the first movie’s $261.82 total, and one that will surely have Disney executives unhappy about its performance.

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Nevertheless, per The Hollywood Reporter, Chinese regulators have extended the Avatar sequel’s license so that The Way of Water can be screened for another 30 days on top of the one-month permit normally given to foreign movies. Since The Way of Water’s China premiere coincided with the rest of the world, before this extension, Avatar 2 would have been taken down from theaters on January 15, though now it will stay well past China’s New Year’s celebrations, which take place on January 22 this year.

Avatar The Way of Water sequels James Cameron

According to sources familiar with China’s movie scene, the decision is a rare one, especially because government authorities tend to keep Hollywood movies away from theaters whenever there’s a national day since that’s the date Chinese studios prefer to release their own blockbusters. This year, The Way of Water would face stiff competition from The Wandering Earth 2, a prequel to the 2019 Chinese blockbuster that earned $700m in revenue.

Just like everywhere else, The Way of Water is expected to drop off significantly three to four weeks after being out, yet it seems like extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures many people in China might have not been able to attend local screenings. Reception for the Avatar sequel in the mainland has been overwhelmingly positive, even more so than in other countries, so it’s fair to say Disney has reasons to be optimistic about this decision.

Overall, The Way of Water’s financials became a talking point mainly due to its massive production costs, which at some point were believed to have the power to jeopardize Cameron’s plan for three more Avatar sequels.

Avatar: The Way of Water is currently available in theaters.

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