At 10 a.m. on November 23, the blockbuster "Avatar: Way of Water" directed by James Cameron was officially announced to be released in mainland China on December 16 in full formats such as ordinary 3D, IMAX 3D, Dolby Cinema, CINITY3D, and Chinese giant screens.

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2025-10-07

When the news came, Ding Rong was sitting in the office thinking about scheduling films. After the National Day holiday, the marketing managers of cinemas across the country faced the same problems - but there were not many scheduling films. At about 10 o'clock, a WeChat notification from the publisher was sent to Ding Rong's mobile phone. Then, in just three or two minutes, "the circle of friends exploded." Then, Weibo , Xiaohongshu... on various social media, from movie fans to the film industry, there was a lot of cheers.

111 at 10:00 am on November 23, the blockbuster "Avatar: Way of Water" directed by James Cameron (hereinafter referred to as "Avatar 2") was officially announced to be released in mainland China on December 16 in full formats such as ordinary 3D, IMAX 3D, Dolby Cinema, CINITY3D, Chinese giant screen, etc. Shortly after the news was released, "Avatar 2" quickly topped the list of "Real-time Want to Watch" in Lighthouse Professional Edition. As of December 11, the number of people who want to watch "Avatar 2" has exceeded 960,000, and the pre-sale box office has exceeded 100 million.

" Avatar: Water Way " Stills. Photo/Disney Company provides

Compared with excited audiences, Ding Rong is relatively calm as the marketing manager of Shanghai Heping Film City . In early November, there was news that "Avatar 2" would be launched in the mainland, but there was no clear letter until the official announcement was released in Taiwan and Hong Kong, China until December 15th. Fans who are looking forward to "Avatar 2" are all in their hearts. Ding Rong told " China News Weekly ": "In fact, at that time, the theater managers were basically confident at that time - "Avatar 2" would come to the mainland, it was just a matter of time."

Looking back 13 years ago, " Avatar " was a super "blockbuster" that maintained a global box office championship for ten years with a box office of US$2.749 billion. It once used Pandora's magical world to let Chinese audiences see what the real 3D IMAX is, and it has also become the first movie in China to exceed 1 billion. Now director Cameron has innovated more breakthrough technologies and brought the planet Pandora to the big screen again. It is hard to help but hope that

will once again bring revolutionary technological innovation to movies and theaters. Especially as the haze of the epidemic is dissipating, cinemas across the country are gradually "thawing". People are waiting for December to return to the world of light and shadow. Ding Rong said with emotion: "If you encounter sweet rain!"

"must become the third or fourth highest box office movie in film history"

"It's so shocking! It's so shocking!" When it comes to "Avatar 2", Ding Rong cannot refuse to repeat such answers. Shortly after the film was scheduled, Shanghai Heping Film received a test film of more than ten minutes. After watching the test film in the theater, Ding Rong told China Newsweek: "Its 3D effect is completely different from other 3D movies." The story of "Avatar 2" takes place more than ten years after the end of the plot of "Avatar". Jack and Natily formed a family, and their children gradually grew up. However, the crisis did not disappear. The Jack family struggled to survive and finally came to the islands and reefs on the seaside of Pandora to seek asylum. The "Water of Water" in the subtitle shows the key scene of this sequel - Ocean, the film presents a landform completely different from the previous work, from the rainforest with darkness as the main tone to the world of water. Anyone who knows a little about Cameron probably knows that Cameron is an ocean fan. He has fallen in love with deep-sea diving since he finished filming "Titanic". In 2012, he took the Deep-Sea Challenger to the Mariana Trench at about 11,000 meters deep under the Pacific , and stayed in the deepest abyss of the earth for about six hours. Since then, he has become the third explorer in human history to dive to the deepest part of the ocean, and is also the first person to dive alone. In an interview, Cameron mentioned that exploring the sea and directing films are his two major interests. He can combine these two happinesses in the process of filming "Avatar: Way of Water", which is really wonderful for him.

" Avatar: Water Way " Stills. Photo/Disney Company provides

"must become the third or fourth highest box office movie in film history"

"Avatar 2" is not the first movie to shoot a large number of undersea films. Before that, films such as "Aquaman" took stories in the deep sea, but most of these films were filmed on land through green screen Garvea. Cameron believes that it is difficult to capture the real dynamics of people in the water. His team once conducted a comparative experiment on this. They shot a clip of actors' movements on land and in water respectively. The actors on land imitated their movement postures in water as much as possible. After comparison, they found that although the clips shot in water were very rough, the effect of the shot was still much better than the "land duck". Therefore, the team finally decided that the actors and photographers would go underwater and devote all their energy to underwater real-life shooting.

boldly uses high-tech shooting equipment when shooting movies. The release of "Avatar" in 2009 directly led to the widespread use of motion capture technology in commercial movie . In "Avatar 2", in order to show Pandora Star's underwater world as realistically, "technical maniac" James Cameron has created a set of underwater cameras, cameras and motion capture systems specially prepared for underwater shooting. The crew also specially prepared a huge tank of 900,000 gallons of sea water to simulate ocean currents to the greatest extent.

Cameron has found the best air-retaining expert to train the actors how to hold their breath in the water for a long time and move freely in the water. As the filming approaches, the heroine Zoe Saldana can hold her breath in the water for about 5 minutes, while another Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet can stay under the water for 7 minutes and 14 seconds in one breath, breaking the 6-minute record set by actor Tom Cruise . The male star Sam Worthington said in an interview with Tonight Show that in order to save time, the actors sometimes use " scuba " to stay underwater for a long time, and stay for several hours at the longest time. After the underwater shooting of

is completed, the successful production of special effects lenses also requires new algorithms and artificial intelligence . A lens often needs to be made many times to satisfy Cameron. In an interview with GQ magazine in the United States, Cameron showed them a special effects shot numbered 405, which means there were 404 versions before that. Even so, it has been thirteen years since "Avatar 2" was released. It is hard not to be curious about such a long production time. What exactly has Cameron been doing in the past decade? Initially, he imagined making "Avatar" into a trilogy, but as the creation deepened, he found that the story created by the team was even bigger than expected, so that "Avatar" could be expanded into a large series of five works. He spent four years just creating the script, and then another five years after that, he designed different creatures, cultures, and costumes with his team. In other words, during these thirteen years, Cameron did not simply shoot a movie sequel, but created a complete and real "Avatar" universe.

Of course, the epidemic in recent years has also led to the extension of the film production cycle, which has led to the continuous increase in various costs. James Cameron said bluntly: "Avatar 2 is the worst business case in film history", and it must be the third or fourth highest box office movie in film history to reach a breakeven.

When filming "Avatar 2", the third part also completed the shooting in a "back-to-back" manner. The so-called "back-to-back" refers to the shooting of several sequels at the same time, and then produced separately and released separately. Hollywood started to become popular in this way of production since the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Now, all " Avatar 3" has been filmed, and some of the scenes of " Avatar 4" have been completed. "Avatar 5" has only only scripts... Cameron admitted that if "Avatar 2" fails at the box office, "Avatar 3" will be released as scheduled, and the release date is expected to be in December 2024, but the entire series will shrink from five to three. In other words, the shooting of "Avatar 4" and "Avatar 5" depends on the performance of "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3". If the audience is not satisfied, there is no need to continue shooting.But if the market needs it, he may also shoot more works, such as "Avatar 6", "Avatar 7" and even "Avatar" streaming series. After all, he once said that he felt like he was in the "Avatar" period, and even his remaining career would be filled with "Avatar". However, if he really did this, he would have to be in his eighties and nineties by then. After all, it took him more than ten years to make two "Avatar" movies. Cameron considered letting others take over the follow-up work. After all, he didn't have so much energy to make so many complicated movies, let alone run an IP. "I don't want to build any commercial empire," Cameron said. "I just want to make some cool movies."

James Cameron (left) was at the production site of "Avatar: Way of Water". Photo/Disney Company provides

sensational, rewriting history

In May this year, "Avatar 2" released its first trailer. One day after its release, the number of viewers around the world has been nearly 150 million, and domestic netizens alone contributed 23 million times. The reason why "Avatar 2" has such amazing appeal has caused a global sensation and rewrites the first film "Avatar", the film's history, has made an indelible contribution.

Many viewers still remember the grand occasion of "Avatar" when it was released. Douban netizen "It's summer" told China News Weekly that she went to all the cinemas around and couldn't buy a ticket for "Avatar" movie. At that time, there were no online tickets. Many people went to the entrance of the cinema in the middle of the night to queue up. She remembered that as long as she approached a business district with a cinema, she would "three steps" One foot, five steps and one whistle," they met scalpers. They kept shouting on the side of the road: "Avatar, Avatar...Avatar, Avatar..."

Chinese Film Archives curator and film history researcher Sha Dan has watched "Avatar" many times. In his eyes, the biggest influence of "Avatar" on the audience is that he truly witnessed the charm of 3D giant screen movies. "Before "Avatar", just watch movies, just find a place. People have no standards for what kind of cinema to choose." In January 2010, when "Avatar" was released in mainland China, people discovered for the first time that they needed to find the best cinema to find the largest screen when watching movies. "This movie not only brings us the impact of the picture, but also the comprehensive update and subversion of technology, concepts and thinking. It can be said that "Avatar" brought a revolutionary audio-visual experience. After watching it, you will find that your eyes suddenly have high requirements for the movie picture." The requirements of the audience's eyes have driven the development of the IMAX (three-dimensional giant screen) system in China and promoted the technological innovation of Chinese cinemas. IMAX entered mainland China in the early 21st century. The earliest IMAX theater appeared in Shanghai Science and Technology Museum . Then, science and technology museums in Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Nanjing also successively had their own IMAX theater . In the early days, they were only used to screen some high-definition science and education videos with IMAX specifications. In 2003, China's first commercial IMAX equipment moved into Shanghai Heping Film City, marking that the IMAX theater was officially settled in mainland China.

At that time, 3D movies were often criticized by audiences as IQ tax, because only subtitles can often feel 3D, and the film picture is not much different from the 2D version. For example, the 2006 3D IMAX version of " Superman Return " was released at the same time in Beijing and Shanghai, but there was almost no big "resonance". Until January 2010, the 3D IMAX version of "Avatar" was launched in China.

Ding Rong, who has only started to serve as the marketing manager of the Heping Film City in recent years, has heard his old colleagues tell the movie viewing frenzy 13 years ago. At that time, even in first-tier cities like Shanghai, there were not many theaters with IMAX theaters. As the earliest IMAX theater in China, Peace Film became the target of movie fans in the entire "Yangtze River Delta" region. "Not only are the audiences in Shanghai coming to us, but many movie fans in surrounding cities come here to travel far away for the best viewing effect. Suzhou , Hangzhou, Nantong, Wuxi , Changzhou ... There are too many people!" Ding Rong told China News Weekly.When there were the most people, the queues circled three times around the "Raffles Square" where Heping Yingdu was located. People took cash and waited to buy tickets at the counter. The one-day cash flow of Heping Yingdu even exceeded that of the bank, and the cash was placed in bundles in the office behind the counter. Nowadays, you can search on the Internet and you can also find the scenes of people queuing in long queues at the gate of Peace Film Capital overnight. The ticket price for film IMAX Hall is about 60 yuan, and the ticket price for the number IMAX Hall is 150 yuan. The ticket price for Peace Film City's "Avatar" movie is sold for more than 1,000 yuan from scalpers.

According to public data statistics, at the beginning of 2010, the total number of screens in mainland China was only about 5,000, and the total number of IMAX screens nationwide was 22, of which only 11 were commercially available. Many theaters did not even have 3D projectors. But it was this only a dozen IMAX screens that created 11.4% of the box office for "Avatar". IMAX's road to China has opened up. As China ushered in a period of rapid development, cinemas in various places have transformed and upgraded screens as quickly as possible. In this sense, "Avatar" has brought technological innovation to the Chinese film industry. When "Avatar" was re-released in China in 2021, the national screen exceeded 80,000 yuan, and the IMAX screen had reached 783 yuan, ranking first in the world. The box office generated by the IMAX hall reached one-third.

The profound influence of this super blockbuster is of course reflected in the box office. At the end of 2009, "Avatar" caused a global sensation shortly after it was released in North America, promoting the innovation of the film's 3D technology, winning 9 nominations for the 82nd Oscars, surpassing "Titanic" to top the global box office championship. It was not until 10 years later that it was surpassed by "Avengers 4" by Marvel Studios, but in March 2021, the film was re-spent in mainland China, achieving a box office of 375 million yuan, thus regaining the box office rankings in film history. In January 2010, "Avatar" broke the mainland box office record with a box office of 1.339 billion yuan, becoming the first movie in the history of Chinese movie box office to exceed 1 billion yuan. Its Douban score was 8.8, and the box office of Chinese movies also entered the "10 billion" mark since this year.

Sha Dan sighed, looking back at the history of the introduction of foreign films, almost every revolutionary viewing experience was brought by Cameron. In 1995, when there were always only "profile films", "documentary films", "science and education films", and "art films", the first "blockbuster films" appeared in the context of Chinese films, the first of the ten films that opened the eyes of Chinese audiences was " The True Lies ". Shadan recalled that when he was just a boy who loved movies, it was "The True Lies" that made him discover for the first time that movies could be so entertaining and so advanced, not just a carrier of artistic and educational significance.

The second subversive viewing experience of Chinese audiences is undoubtedly the third largest movie box office in the world. "That was the first time I sat in the movie theater for three or four hours without feeling bored or long. The film seemed to have magic to control the audience." Sha Dan sighed to "China Newsweek".

Cameron once said in an interview that many of his film ideas come from dreams, like "Terminator", and so is "Avatar". This movie director who was born as a truck driver seems to be a wizard born for movies. Shadan believes that it is precisely because of Cameron's previous challenges to the limits of big screen art that "Avatar 2" is so expected. "People have confidence in him, and believe that the 13-year-old "Avatar 2" has not been just a sequel. Something must have been impossible to realize in the past, which made him wait until today. Then this movie is likely to be another breakthrough and revolution."

The theater has been upgraded again?

13 years ago "Avatar" popularized 3D and IMAX systems all over the world. This time, the movie screening of "Avatar 2" adopts CINITY plate making and screening system. This is China's imaging technology with independent intellectual property rights, and was launched by China Film Group in 2019.Putting aside those complex and obscure technical parameters, simply put, CINITY combines the latest technologies in the film screening field of 4K, 3D, high brightness, high frame rate , high dynamic range, wide color gamut, immersive sound, etc., which brings the audience the feeling that the picture is clearer, the colors are more gorgeous, the images are smoother, and the details are richer...

The most intuitive effect should be resolution and frame rate . Generally, traditional cinemas usually play movies at 2K resolution + 24 frame rate specifications. In the past few years, Dolby Cinemas has gradually increased by 2K resolution + 120 frame rate, while CINITY's 4K resolution + 120 frame rate standard is currently unique in China. 120 frame rate means 120 shots flash per second, and the motion details that can be captured are 5 times that of ordinary movies, which is close to the limit of human vision, so the movie picture is smoother, with the resolution of 4K picture 4 times that of 2K.

A movie fan once shared the experience of watching " Gemini Killer " in CINITY Hall on social media - 4K+120 frames +3D The most direct feeling brought by "big" and "bright". There is a dark situation when playing 3D movies in ordinary cinemas. When the movie plays the camera in the dark, it is difficult to see the picture clearly. However, there is no similar problem in the CINITY hall. During the entire process of the movie, the screen remains high but not dazzling brightness, and there is always a brightness in the theater instead of darkness. Even the expressions of the characters can be seen clearly in the fight scenes.

It can be said that CINITY is designed for clear and gorgeous screen effects and immersive 3D experience. However, due to the lack of exclusive film sources suitable for CINITY in the past, many films do not have special formats, so they cannot fully play the top-level effect of this giant screen hall, resulting in CINITY Cinemas not yet spread out in domestic theaters and are not well-known. For "Avatar 2", CINITY is the best "partner". In June this year, the organizer of the European Film Expo awarded China Film CINITY Special Technical Achievement Award. Two months later, Disney Pictures and China Film Group jointly announced that China Film CINITY screening system will become the exclusive screening technology partner for the new remake of "Avatar" and the large-scale domestic celebrations of "Avatar: Way of Water".

An industry insider revealed to China News Weekly, "In the past, we always said that China's manufacturing would go to China's creation and then export China's own standards. Then this deep binding between CINITY and Avatar 2 is a very meaningful attempt." The cooperation between the two is likely to launch the brand of CINITY in the mainland and even overseas giant screen markets, attract more audiences, and drive the improvement of relevant theater hardware facilities. Ding Rong told China News Weekly that after the film was released, he planned to watch a movie under China Film Academy, examine what was going on, and then give feedback from his own theaters. If the effect is indeed outstanding, perhaps Heping Film will consider cooperating with China Film Academy and introducing the CINITY system.

In addition to the upgrade of the technical field, domestic epidemic prevention and control measures have been continuously optimized. It has been nearly a year since the last Disney film "The House of Magic" introduced, and "Avatar 2" also carries more expectations. On November 20 this year, Disney suddenly issued a statement to "fire" CEO Bob Chapek. The former CEO who had led Disney for 15 years was welcomed back to replace his former successor as the new CEO. Among the senior American business leaders, Bob Eagle is recognized as the "Knowing Hua School". Among the movie fans of a certain cinema, a viewer sent a message saying: "I haven't entered the cinema much this year. No matter how much the ticket price of "Avatar 2" is, 200 or 300, it's just it, and I have to watch it once." Sha Dan sighed that in today's world where many short videos, streaming media, mobile Internet are constantly competing for people's attention, and even reshaping people's understanding of the whole world, it can still make people have the impulse of life functions and walk back to the cinema with a sincere desire. It can be said that "Avatar 2" is a defense of offline movie screenings.

With the introduction of "Avatar 2", people are also looking forward to a prosperous and diverse film market.A "Avatar" cannot save the entire film industry. What people really want to see is the hope it brings to cultivate the Chinese film ecology, just like the diverse but harmonious creatures on Pandora. When various movies form a large screen with diverse cultures, that is the "Pandora" that is truly worth yearning for.

published in 2022.12.19, the 1073rd issue of "China News Weekly" magazine

Magazine Title: After 13 years, how big is the ambitions hidden in "Avatar 2"?

Reporter: Li Jing

But if the market needs it, he may also shoot more works, such as "Avatar 6", "Avatar 7" and even "Avatar" streaming series. After all, he once said that he felt like he was in the "Avatar" period, and even his remaining career would be filled with "Avatar". However, if he really did this, he would have to be in his eighties and nineties by then. After all, it took him more than ten years to make two "Avatar" movies. Cameron considered letting others take over the follow-up work. After all, he didn't have so much energy to make so many complicated movies, let alone run an IP. "I don't want to build any commercial empire," Cameron said. "I just want to make some cool movies."