EXCLUSIVE: Avatar: Fire and Ash Ignites Weekend with $12 Million in Previews

20th Century Studios’ Avatar: Fire and Ash began its box office run with an estimated $12 million in previews from showtimes starting at 2PM today.

While this is $5 million less than the previews for 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which earned $17 million on its way to a $53.2 million Friday and $134.1 million three-day opening, it’s important to consider the timing. With Christmas approaching, audiences are likely to turn out for this 3 hour and 17 minute James Cameron sequel once initial holiday distractions subside. Historically, assessing the full performance of an Avatar film requires waiting until late January. Initial tracking predicted a $90 million to $105 million domestic weekend for the film. The screenplay is credited to Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno.

The $12 million preview figure is comparable to other triumphant sequels, such as Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two (starting previews at 3PM on Thursday), which grossed $32.2 million on its full Friday/preview day and ultimately earned $82.5 million over the three-day weekend (that film was 2 hours and 46 minutes long). It also aligns with Disney/Marvel Studios’ Thursday night previews for Captain America: Brave New world (starting at 2PM, with $40.9 million in first-day/preview revenue and a $88.8 million three-day total). However,Marvel films often benefit from a sense of urgency and fear of missing out (FOMO),driving immediate attendance,while Avatar films rely more on audiences selecting preferred showtimes and seats.

Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a critics score of 73% for