Disney has already kicked off the marketing campaign for an upcoming movie that will almost certainly make $1 billion. The entertainment conglomerate is no stranger to billion-dollar movies, as their Walt Disney Animation Studios animated output has included Frozen ($1.27 billion), Zootopia ($1.02 billion), and Frozen II ($1.45 billion) while billion-dollar Walt Disney Studios movies include 2019’s The Lion King ($1.661 billion), 2017’s Beauty and the Beast ($1.27 billion), 2019’s Aladdin ($1.05 billion), and Pirates of the Caribbean: ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Chest ($1.07 billion). However, the company has put out even more billion-dollar тιтles thanks to its acquisitions of various studios.

In fact, the only 2024 releases that have so far earned $1 billion belong to two of these studios, namely Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which grossed $1.69 billion, becoming the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, and Marvel Studios’ ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, which is the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, with $1.34 billion. Other acquisitions that have since turned out billion-dollar тιтles include Lucasfilm (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, more) and 20th Century Studios (Avatar: The Way of Water), which is the studio behind what is likely to be Disney’s next smash hit.

Disney Is Kicking Off Avatar 3’s Marketing Campaign (& It Will Be Big)

Fire And Ash Will Be Promoted All Year Long

Disney has now begun the marketing campaign for the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash. The 20th Century Studios movie, which is set to premiere in theaters on December 19, is writer-director James Cameron’s sequel to 2022’s The Way of Water, which in turn was a sequel to his original 2009 hit. Both previous movies are in the Top 3 highest-grossing movies of all time, with Avatar at No. 1 with $2.92 billion worldwide and The Way of Water at No. 3 with $2.32 billion. The No. 2 тιтle is also a Disney property, namely Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, with $2.79 billion.

The marketing campaign for the newest installment is starting off relatively small, with a pair of concept art pieces for Avatar: Fire and Ash being shared via Empire on January 15. However, it will quickly balloon, even at that single publication. Empire is set to release new promotional material for the movie in every subsequent 2025 issue, as part of their Path To Pandora series. This will run alongside the movie’s other marketing partnerships and releases, which will include teasers, trailers, first-look images, a press tour, and much more.

How Much Avatar 3 Is Expected To Make At The Box Office After The Way Of Water

It Should Earn Much More Than $1 Billion

While it is still much too early to use typical factors like social media engagement, trailer views, and ticket pre-sales to estimate the movie’s opening weekend and overall run, it seems highly likely that Avatar: Fire and Ash will earn more than $2 billion worldwide. Not only has this been the precedent set by the previous two movies, James Cameron has made a habit of directing some of the highest-grossing movies of all time. While the original Avatar still tops the chart, his 1997 historical romance тιтanic rounds out the Top 4 highest-grossing movies of all time with $2.26 billion.

Even if it falls below The Way of Water at the same rate that the 2022 movie fell below the original Avatar, Fire and Ash could still earn a whopping $1.841 billion. Thus, even if it comes in below expectations, it could easily become the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time, supplanting Inside Out 2 from its current position on the all-time chart and falling below just the original Avatar movies, Avengers: Endgame, тιтanic, The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Avatar: The Way Of Water Shut Down Any Concerns About The Avatar Franchise’s Future

The Movie Came After A Much Longer Hiatus

For some time, it seemed possible that the franchise could suffer as the years went by without a sequel and Cameron continued to promise more and more follow-ups to the 2009 movie without releasing a new installment for more than a decade. However, the Avatar: The Way of Water box office, its Certified Fresh 76% Rotten Tomatoes score, and its four Oscar nominations with one win, should ᴀssuage fears that the upcoming movies will underperform. However, it is still entirely possible that Fire and Ash will falter somewhat.

This was the case with The Force Awakens’ 2017 sequel Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which earned $1.33 billion, far below its predecessor. The reason for this could be the fact that it only followed the previous movie by two years, whereas The Force Awakens was the first Star Wars movie in a decade, harnessing a stronger sense of nostalgia. However, just like The Last Jedi, Fire and Ash – which follows that timeline more or less exactly – seems set to be a smash hit for Disney even if it is not nearly as successful as The Way of Water.

Source(s): Empire