(Los Angeles) Huge theatrical successAvatar: The Way of Waterthe second installment of James Cameron’s saga, whose receipts are approaching two billion dollars at the global box office, proves that “the cinema is back” after the pandemic, according to the Canadian director.
“We had a year to see that this resurgence is not an accident, or just a film,” the filmmaker told AFP Thursday in Los Angeles, taking as an example other feature films that have made return theatrical crowds to the United States in 2022: Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the last Spiderman.
With these popular successes, to which is added the cardboard of the new Avatar“there is a trend,” said Mr. Cameron in front of the illustrious Chinese Theater, where he left his mark during a ceremony honoring his career in Hollywood.
Thirteen years after the first part, which remains to this day the biggest success in the history of cinema with 2.9 billion dollars in revenue, Avatar: The Way of Water seems to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor.
This spectacular underwater fable, shot in 3D, tops the US box office and is already the seventh best film in history at the world box office.
Something to invigorate the film industry a little, to which the competition from streaming and the apathy following the pandemic had given cold sweats.
In the United States, about 500 theaters have closed since the pandemic according to the National Association of Theater Owners. And Cineworld, the British group that owns Regal Cinemas, America’s second-largest cinema chain, is in the midst of restructuring after filing for bankruptcy this fall.
In a recovering industry, the director of titanic and terminator remains firmly convinced of the adaptability of the seventh art.
“I think movies will never die,” he insists. “As a culture and as a society, we need to find ourselves in these great spaces, with hundreds of strangers. »
“Sincerity”
At 68, the filmmaker nevertheless recognizes that going out habits have changed.
The second underwater part of his saga, where the native Na’ vi, these large blue humanoids living in harmony with their planet Pandora, must fight against a new invader from space, tears viewers everywhere from the comfort of their sofa.
But the public’s rediscovered taste for the big show and entertainment did not trickle down to auteur or independent cinema.
“I award a certain type of film that people want to see in the cinema, and another type (of feature films) where they will not go”, summarizes Mr. Cameron. In this sense, “streaming has a very important and very rich place” to hold for the diversity of the cinematographic offer, according to him.
Tech Summit, Avatar 2 takes 3D to new horizons and allows the director, experienced diver and vegan, to offer a variation on the themes of the saga: the protection of nature, threatened by ecocidal imperialism.
This sequel, however, does not enjoy the same success of esteem.
After a mixed reception from critics, the film left empty-handed from the Golden Globes on Tuesday, unlike its 2009 predecessor, which scooped the Best Picture award and earned Mr. Cameron a Best Director statuette.
She was also not nominated for awards presented by her peers from the Directors Union of America (DGA).
“It’s the nature of art, you can’t please everyone,” evacuates the Canadian, who assumes the simple and universal side of his franchise, the next two parts of which are already in preparation.
” The critics […] think that a certain form of sincerity, where one puts one’s heart bare, is not sophisticated enough, even naive”, regrets the filmmaker. “For me, it’s a pseudo-intellectual point of view. »
The universe ofAvatar “speaks to all the cultures of the world”, he rejoices, explaining that the second part “approaches the status of the most seen film in history in Ukraine”, invaded by Russia as Pandora can be.
“That means that when the missiles stop and the power comes back, people go out to the cinema,” he breathes. “Bringing hope to Ukraine is what makes this work worthwhile, not the money or the rewards. »