Although it has not yet premiered, James Cameron's long-awaited sequel film, Avatar: The Way of Water, has managed to do what few other Hollywood films have been able to do these last few years. It has been granted a release date in China.
20th Century confirmed the date on the Chinese social media site Weibo, which displayed the date Dec. 16 on Avatar: The Way of Water's official page. The same day it releases in the United States.
A Rare Get for Hollywood
While it is rare nowadays for a Hollywood film to be released in Chinese theaters, The Way of Water's chances seemed good early on. Cameron himself traveled to China earlier this year to screen scenes from the upcoming film for China Film Group, China's film authority run by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party and responsible for foreign film releases and censorship. The Avatar sequel's scenes were played on China's CINITY cinema format, which was launched back in 2019.
Avatar: The Way of Water is one of just a handful of blockbuster releases to get a release date in China this year. Others, including Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Warner Bros. Discovery's Black Adam, have failed to acquire a release date. While each apparent ban has different reasons rumored to be at its root, Chinese authorities have made no official announcements about them, as is often the case.
China and Hollywood Have Fallen Out
Hollywood's apparent lockout from China seemingly began in 2020, as theaters in the Middle Kingdom and around the world were forced to shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. But while cinemas around the world began to open up once again, China's theater screens remained closed off to foreign films. This was partly due to the Chinese Communist Party's centennial in 2021, which saw major cultural shifts and a focus on nationalism and domestically produced media. With Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping's third term in office, there is speculation that Hollywood's lockout will only worsen in the coming years.
Prior to the pandemic, the Chinese market represented a quarter of a global box office at $9 billion in revenue. It was for this reason that Hollywood studios appeared to acquiesce to Chinese censors when it came to film alterations or censorship-- a fact that drew heavy criticism from human rights groups and other organizations. After the pandemic, China's box office value has shrunk significantly and is currently estimated to be worth $3.9 billion.
Because of this and the current lockout, major studios have largely shifted their attitudes toward appeasing Chinese censors. Following Spider-Man: No Way Home's nearly $2 billion box office take and the success of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek suggested that, while films will continue to be submitted for release in China, the company would no longer rely as heavily on the country for success.
Avatar: The Way of Water is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 16.
Source: Weibo