Is Avatar: The Way of Water returning to cinemas? Re-release explained
Avatar 3is due to hit cinemas later this year, and if you’ve been craving Pandora’s return to the big screen, we have good news about Avatar: The Way of Water.
James Cameron is the self-declared king of the world for good reason: he directed three out of the top fivehighest-grossing movies of all time(Titanic, The Way of Water, and the firstAvatar).
And, yet, people continue to doubt Avatar, even though the sequel – released a whopping 13 years after the original film – made over $2 billion, and (at least) three more entries are in the works, including this year’sAvatar: Fire and Ash.
The threequel is expected to release in theaters in December, but there’s still no trailer. Don’t worry, though, because 20th Century Studios has just the thing to put your mind at ease.
Avatar: The Way of Water re-release dates
Avatar: The Way of Water will return to cinemas on Friday, October 3 for a “one-week limited engagement.”
Avatar: The Way of Water returns to theatres October 3.pic.twitter.com/uumYBagDU0
This is expected to be a global rollout, echoing the re-release of Avatar in 2022 (which made over $76 million worldwide, taking the first film’s total haul to $2.9 billion).
Here’s the best bit: it’ll be re-released in IMAX and 3D screens, so you can see it the way it was intended (if you’re unsure, read more about thebest way to watch Avatar 2 with our guide). This comes after Michael, a biopic about Michael Jackson, was delayed to 2026, freeing up an IMAX slot.
Fans are delighted, obviously, but they have one question: why isn’t there a teaser trailer for Avatar 3 yet? “At this point, I don’t believe Avatar is out this year unless they drop the trailer,” one userspeculated.
Highest grossing movies of 2025 so far
Avatar: Fire and Ash reveals nearly 50 year old detail by James Cameron
Avatar: Fire and Ash trailer leaves fans convinced this character is going to die
avatar announcement but somehow still not the trailerpic.twitter.com/nZy9u3sWpn
To be clear, that seems highly unlikely. 20th Century Studios wouldn’t green-light a re-release of Fire and Ash’s predecessor unless it was on track for its December release date. Looking ahead, Disney’s next major release is Elio on June 20 – there’s a good chance the first teaser for Avatar 3 will be attached to it in cinemas, or perhaps even Fantastic Four: First Steps in July.
“WHERE THE HELL IS THE TRAILER FOR AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH?!?? When Way of Water came out, the trailer dropped in theaters along Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness?? So, WHERE IS IT??” another fanpointed out.
“Shouldn’t we be getting an Avatar 3 teaser trailer in front of Lilo & Stitch or something???” a thirdasked.
In the meantime, find outwhy Fire and Ash’s title is a big tease for Avatar 4 and 5, our breakdown of theAvatar 2 cast, and our list of thebest sci-fi movies.
