After more than a decade of waiting, we’re only a few short weeks away from the premiere of the sequel to James Cameron’s groundbreaking film Avatar. Avatar: The Way of Water marks the return to the alien moon of Pandora, with all its incredible visuals, strange creatures, and wondrous vistas.
However, the world has changed quite a lot since the original Avatar came out in 2009. Streaming services have become a major player in the entertainment landscape. Streaming viewers won’t get to experience Avatar: The Way of Water with all the 3D effects like people in the theaters will, but it should still be worth watching. So when will we get to stream it on Disney+?
When will Avatar: The Way of Water be available on Disney+?
As of this writing, 20th Century hasn’t yet announced a streaming release date for Avatar: The Way of Water. However, since the studio is owned by Disney we can draw a few pretty safe conclusions.
Disney has generally premiered its theatrical releases on the Disney+ streaming service after a set exclusivity window in movie theaters. For Marvel movies, that window is at least 45 days, though for other Disney properties it can be shorter. Encanto, for example, only had a 30-day window of time in theaters before it moved to Disney+.
It hasn’t been announced what the theatrical exclusivity window for Avatar: The Way of Water will be, but given that it’s the studio’s big holiday tentpole, as well as the sequel to the highest grossing film of all time and something that was made to uniquely utilize theatrical 3D technology, the chances are high that it will be at least as long as the 45-day window Marvel movies get before it comes to Disney+. Probably longer, considering that it has to make a staggering $2 billion at the box office to break even.
All this means that we shouldn’t expect Avatar: The Way of Water to be streaming before at least late February or March of 2023, and possibly even later than that if it performs well in theaters. But whenever it does come to streaming, it will almost certainly be on Disney+.
Avatar: The Way of Water premieres in theaters on December 16.
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