‘3D Master’ James Cameron’s Avatar series, the third installment “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, was originally scheduled to hold its premiere red carpet event on the 8th in Sanya, Hainan, China. On the night of the 1st, however, the organizers suddenly announced the cancellation ‘due to force majeure’, leaving Chinese fans who were eagerly anticipating appearances by Cameron and the cast in shock.
According to Chinese media reports, the organizers urgently began ticket refunds and are also offering movie exchange vouchers as compensation. As for the reason for cancellation? The official statement is vague, but discussion online exploded, with many speculating that it was due to the recent Hong Kong Hong Fu Yuen fire that caused heavy casualties, combined with the sensitive “fire and ash” theme of “Avatar 3”, making the cancellation an undoubtedly wise decision, though this has not yet been confirmed.
Although the Chinese red carpet has been canceled, Cameron, who is affectionately called “God Cameron” by Chinese fans, did not let his fans down and is confirmed to still fly to Sanya on the 8th to attend the screening event. The reports point out that this time, the film will be screened using China-developed CINITY (4K/3D/48fps) technology, which Cameron praised as the “best spec” for viewing large-scale volcanic scenes.
On the market side, the first two Avatar films rank first and third in box office history, so the box office performance of the third installment is highly anticipated. Currently, “Avatar 3”’s North American opening week box office forecast is between $135 million and $165 million USD (about RM557 to RM681 million), while expectations for China are as high as 2 billion RMB (about RM1.17 billion). Cameron also bluntly stated that if the box office flops, “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5” may be axed.
Source: Apple News Network