Disney’s feeling blue – but, like, in a good way

If you woke up singing, “I’m blue, da ba dee, da ba di,” there’s a good reason. Because starting today, you can now go see Avatar in US theaters.

☝️ First things first… This isn’t the sequel – that’s set to come out in December. Rather, what’s happening today is just a re-release of the original movie from 2009, but with updated visuals and sound.

What’s the point, you ask? Well, the studio is projecting the film to bring in $7 million–$12 million this weekend (mid-teens would be “huge,” per box office analysts) – so it’s probably not about the money. But it does fill an empty spot on the theatrical calendar for Disney, and also allows the company to gauge the interest in/hype-up the movie’s ~$250 million sequel, The Way of Water.

• The latter of which is probably important, given Disney’s bet on its franchise potential. The company has committed to funding at least three more Avatar movies over the next decade.

🤔 Zoom out: While the original film is highly-awarded and still the highest-grossing movie of all-time, it hasn’t seen the same level of commercial success outside the box office as, let’s say, Marvel or Star Wars. Toy sales have fizzled, and cosplayers donning heavy blue makeup at pop culture fan conventions have become few and far between, CNBC reports.

But a long-term bet against Avatar is a bet against ‘ole JC – which, historically, has been a bad move. And based on his reply to feedback, we’ll definitely be seeing his vision manifested into reality.

• In a recent interview with the NY Times, Cameron explained how he convinced the studio to keep certain elements of the original film: “You know what? I made Titanic. This building that we’re meeting in right now, this new half-billion dollar complex on your lot? Titanic paid for that, so I get to do this.”