Summary
- James Cameron confirmed he is ready to abandon the multi-decade Avatar franchise if Fire and Ash fails to make enough profit to justify sequels
- The director offered a stark financial benchmark: the movie must make “two metric f**k tons of money” to be considered successful enough to continue
- Avatar: Fire and Ash releases in theaters on December 19 globally
Legendary filmmaker James Cameron has revealed the monumental stakes riding on the box office performance of the next sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash. Speaking candidly on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, Cameron admitted he is prepared to abandon his sprawling, multi-decade Avatar franchise at the third film if the threequel does not generate enough revenue to guarantee the final two instalments — Avatar 4 and 5.
The director expressed his anxiety over the current theatrical climate, acknowledging the commercial forces working against major releases in 2025. When pressed on the production’s massive budget, Cameron skirted the exact figure but offered a clear-eyed financial benchmark for success, “It is one metric f**k ton of money, which means we have to make two metric f**k tons of money to make a profit.”
Cameron remains optimistic about the film’s earnings, but insisted that profitability is the only metric that matters for the saga’s continuity, “The question is, does it make enough money to justify doing it again?,” he asked. When Belloni asked if he was truly ready to walk away from the open story threads, Cameron’s reply was definitive, “Yeah, absolutely, sure. If this is where it ends, cool.” He even offered a non-cinematic solution for the conclusion, joking, “There’s one open thread. I’ll write a book!” Cameron did confirm that whatever he does, he will not be handing over the world of Avatar to anyone else, “There are levels in which I immerse. I could produce it. I don’t think there’d ever be a version where there’s another Avatar movie that I didn’t produce closely. But in terms of taking over my life, that’s a threshold issue for me.”
Following the third film of the franchise, Avatar 4 is expected to release on December 21, 2029, with Avatar 5 due to premiere on December 19, 2031. The 2022 sequel Avatar: The Way of Water earned $2.3 billion USD while Avatar remains the highest-grossing film of all time, earning $2.9 billion USD across global theatrical runs. Avatar: Fire and Ash, starring the likes of Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña and more, is expected to release on December 19, 2025 in theaters.
