For a movie saga that is, on paper at least, the world’s most popular fantasy trilogy of all time, Avatar doesn’t half have its sceptics. Maybe it’s James Cameron’s po-faced belief that he’s making the sort of films that could save planet Earth from future environmental apocalypse. Or perhaps it has simply become the kind of cultural behemoth that invites opposition merely by existing. Either way, it’s fair to say not everyone has exactly been sobbing over the idea that Fire and Ash might be the final time we get to see an Avatar film for the foreseeable future.
Until recently, this had seemed like a genuine likelihood. The Hollywood trades have been filled with reports that the saga would be done and dusted if the new instalment fell short of expectations at the box office, while Cameron himself has been publicly talking about what happens if Avatar 4 and 5 don’t get made. Those who would rather chew on their own spleens than sit through six more hours of glowing eco-sermons ever again will have been quietly encouraged by last week’s relatively puny box-office opening for the new episode, reportedly just over $340m worldwide on debut.
