Has James Cameron overestimated the support for 4 new Avatar movies?
Avatar, the highest grossing movie of all time, seemed like a good bet to have successful sequels.
But that was in 2009.
The success of the movie was based on mostly on it's amazing use of 3D CGI, interconnected with real life people, also shot with 3D cameras.
The result was an immersive 3D experience in an age with 3D movies were very much the "next great thing."
But since then, 3D has lost its shine. Most don't really care for it. Sure, we'd probably opt to see Avatar 2 in 3D but it's not the drawcard it was in 2009.
Then there is the use of amazing CGI. What was once ground breaking, is now standard. The Marvel movies have really established CGI characters and the bar is set very high. It's not 'ground breaking' to have amazing lifelike quality for a character like the Hulk anymore, it's simply expected.
Avatar hasn't enjoyed a cult following. It doesn't seem to have the 'universe' feel that Star Wars or the Marvel movies created.
James may go down in history for having both the most successful movie of all time, and the most expensive bomb if this goes sideways.