“Avatar: The Way of Water” filmmaker James Cameron had sharp words for streaming services on Tuesday as his latest film continues to dominate at the box office.
Cameron’s “Avatar” sequel, which has grossed over $1.7 billion, is the seventh-highest-grossing movie of all time, and the film is expected to break the $2 billion mark at the worldwide box office, something only five films before it have done.
Before Tuesday’s Golden Globe Awards, Cameron told Variety that he thinks the film’s success is linked to audiences’ COVID-19 fatigue.
“I’m thinking of it in the terms of we’re back to theaters around the world, people are going back to theaters, even going to theaters in China where they’re having this huge COVID surge,” Cameron told Variety.
“We’re saying as a society, ‘We need this. We need to go to movie theaters and have that experience.’ Enough with the streaming already. I’m tired of sitting on my ass.”
The filmmaker, who now has directed three of the seven highest-grossing films of all time, has previously said that his roughly $350 million to $460 million “Avatar” sequel had to be the third- or fourth-highest-grossing film ever made in order to break even.
Cameron recently told CNN’s Chris Wallace that the film will easily earn over $2 billion and added that he can’t “wiggle out” of releasing future sequels.
“We’ve begun a franchise at this point,” Cameron said. “We’ve begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films.”
