Technical difficulties occurred during the opening weekend of the Avatar: The Way of Water sequel in Japan. The movie crashed the screening equipment of some movie theaters in the country due to the high frame-rate 3D format that requires a fast processor.
(Photo : Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 13: A view of the screen is seen at the “Avatar: The Way of Water” Influencer Screening Hosted by Straw Hat Goofy at Cinemark Playa Vista in Playa Vista, California on December 13, 2022.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 13: A view of the screen is seen at the “Avatar: The Way of Water” Influencer Screening Hosted by Straw Hat Goofy at Cinemark Playa Vista in Playa Vista, California on December 13, 2022.
Avatar Crashes Screening Equipment in Theaters
Walt Disney Co. premiered the sequel of highest grossing film of all time entitled "Avatar: The Way of Water" last December 16th. During its opening weekend, Bloomberg reported that some of the screening equipment in Japanese movie theaters crashed during the film showing.
Avatar's sequel is one the most expensive productions in Hollywood history, given that the first film broke records. Because of this, the movie adopted many of the latest visual technologies, like a high frame-rate 3D format that needs a faster processor.
This may have caused the crash of screening equipment in movie theaters in Japan as it was reported that most of their equipment was being slow to upgrade to the most up-to-date. But it remains unclear if this was really the main cause of the technical difficulties during the screening.
Movie-goers mentioned that United Cinemas Co. and Tokyu Corp. are the theater chain operators in the country that encountered this problem. Both parties did not release any statement regarding this matter.
劇場からのお知らせ
12/16(金)より公開致します「アバター：ウェイ・オブ・ウォーター」のIMAX版上映につきまして、当初ハイフレームレート版(48fps)での上映を予定しておりましたが、諸事情により通常フレームレート版(24fps)での上映を行わせて頂く運びとなりました。 （続く）— イオンシネマ大高 (@ac_odaka) December 15, 2022
Technical difficulties led to cancellations and refunds for the screening that disappointed the fans. One theater in Nagoya lowered the specified 48 frames per second to the traditional cinematic 24 fps for an uninterrupted movie experience for the fans.
Avatar: The Way of Water's Japanese Gross
The long-awaited sequel of James Cameron's 2009 film was released on 1,466 screens in Japan on December 16th, which is the largest number in the country's cinematic history. Despite this, it earned a disappointing gross.
With 259,000 admissions in its first weekend, CrunchyRoll reported that the film only earned $3.48 million in the country during its first weekend. The film placed third in its debut in Japan, which was the only country in the world where the film failed to debut at No. 1.
Avatar did not beat The First Slam Dunk, which is a Japanese basketball anime film. This film was already in its third weekend but still earned $3.99 million on 365,000 admissions. For three consecutive weekends, The First Slam Dunk keeps its No. 1 position.
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Collider reported that Avatar's global earnings now stand at $411.6 million. However, the film fell short of its box office predictions over the weekend.
Domestically, the sequel earned $134 million from North American theaters, but critics expected a debut of at least $150 to $175 million. As of the moment, Fox Business reported that Avatar is tied with The Batman as the fourth-highest domestic debut this year.
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