Just two days ago Disney announced hat Star Wars: Episode VIII premiere will be moved from May 2017 to December 2017, today the internet is buzzing with news that Avatar 2 “will not be ready” to premiere in December 2017.
Even though 20th Century Fox says that they never announced an official release date for Avatar 2, it really only feels like they are trying to avoid to compete with Star Wars at the box office. Considering that The Force Awakens shuttered every possible record at the domestic box office it is a justified reaction. The latest Star Wars movie passed Avatar at the Box Office two weeks ago earning $758 million, still worldwide is behind James Cameron’s Avatar ($2.6b) and Titanic $2.1b).
So, while this can be taken as a sign of fear, the logic is more economic in regards of both franchises. If both films are released in December 2017 the fact is financially both will suffer, fans will have to choose between the two movies and revenues will not be maximized. However it looks like Disney has the upper hand in creating their schedule for releasing movies.
The next three Avatar movies will be produced back-to-back, simultaneously and will start with pre-production a bit later this year.
The sad thing is that the earliest release for a movie like Avatar would be most likely May 2018, or worst case scenario will put the movie in the 2018 Christmas season, which feels like in a galaxy far far away….