‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Dominates at the Visual Effects Society Awards

Having your house crashed into by Pete Davidson is no picnic.

The newest entry in the “Avatar” franchise will hit digital retailers soon.

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water will be available from all major digital retailers including Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu and Movies Anywhere on March 28.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” broke box office records when it was released this past Christmas, and after months at the theater, the sequel is finally hitting home video. The movie will be available from all major digital retailers (including Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu and Movies Anywhere) beginning on March 28.Unlike other blockbusters, the movie will premiere on digital retailers before streaming or physical media (my kingdom for a 4K Blu-ray).

J. Kim Murphy “The Way of Water” has no beginning and no end — even in your living room! James Cameron’s long awaited “Avatar” sequel has finally set a digital platform release date. The sci-fi epic will be available to purchase on March 28, setting course for Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu and Movies Anywhere.

Fandom’s “Oscars According to Fans” survey reports that “Avatar: The Way of Water” takes the Oscar for Best Picture over “Top Gun: Maverick” if it were up to fans.James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel was the favorite of 15 states — such as Washington, Oklahoma, Illinois, New York and Alabama — while Tom Cruise’s equally long-awaited sequel took second place as the top film in 13 states including California, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, North Carolina and Maine among others.“Elvis” came in third place for fan votes to win Best Picture. Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis was the fan favorite of 9 states including Arizona, Mew Mexico, Minnesota and more, with 36% of voters picking him to win the Oscar for the Best Actor.

Jeremy Fassler Film editor David Brenner, who died in the middle of work on the Oscar-nominated “Avatar: The Way of Water,” never shied away from a challenge. Ahead of the American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards, directors Zack Snyder and James Cameron remembered Brenner and his celebrated career. Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, Brenner worked alongside some of the most technically demanding directors in Hollywood, from Oliver Stone to Cameron. But whether he was editing an alien invasion in “Independence Day” or a Vietnam veteran leading an antiwar protest in “Born on the Fourth of July” (for which he won an Academy Award), he always found the humanity of his subjects.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Top Gun: Maverick” topped the winners at the 58th Cinema Audio Society Awards for outstanding achievement in sound mixing. Other winners included “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Better Call Saul,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Five-time Oscar-nominated production sound mixer Peter J. Devlin, whose credits include “Black Panther,” “Bullet Train” and “Gone in 60 Seconds,” was honored with the Cinema Audio Society’s 2023 career achievement award. Alejandro González Iñárritu who directed this year’s Oscar-nominated “Bardo” received the CAS Filmmaker of the Year.

Will Smith makes a triumphant awards show return at the 14th Annual AAFCA Awards at the Beverly Wiltshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday (March 1) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The stars are hitting the red carpet!

Daron James Along with its record setting box office numbers and four Oscar nominations, “Avatar: The Way of Water” brings a “Metkayina” wave of impressive next-gen technology that will undeniably set new industry standards in motion capture, animation and underwater photography.  The original facial motion capture rig that also impressively immersed Andy Serkis as Gollum and Caesar, received an overhaul. Not only physically but also in the way the software replicates a performance.  “We looked at how the muscles in the face, eyes and lips are all related and created a neural network that maps all the connections between them,” says senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri. “This gave us this sympathetic motion in the actor’s face which allowed us to translate the performance to the character and make each frame more believable.” 

Tim Gray Senior Vice President “Avatar: The Way of Water” is a sequel, but the VFX team had a mandate far beyond supplying “more of the same.” The follow-up to the 2009 original “Avatar” had many new demands — and these jaw-dropping innovations have helped make the film one of the top box-office films of all time. Joe Letteri, heading up his team at Weta FX, tells Variety, “We were working on this film since the last one finished, identifying what we could do better. Then there was a big burst of research-and-development” about six years ago, when writer-director James Cameron delivered the scripts for this and three more sequels; that’s when they realized the full scope of the film, which takes place in water about 60% of the time.

So many stars made it out for the 2023 Producers Guild Awards on Saturday evening (February 25).

Brendan Fraser and Angela Bassett were among the big winners at the 2023 Hollywood Critics Association’s HCA Film Awards!

Global blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water was named Best Film today at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts’ 12th annual AACTA International Awards. See the full list of film and TV winners below.

An urgent 'do not swim' warning has been issued at a UK beach for an entire year after dangerous levels of bacteria were found in the water. Faecal matter has been uncovered at St Mary's Bay on Romney Marsh in Kent by the Environment Agency and swimmers are now being told to stay away throughout 2023.

Film Independent has announced the presenters for the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

James Cameron truly is king of the box office.

Judd Apatow has nothing but pride for his 25-year-old daughter, Maude, and her role in the hit HBO drama . Apatow caught up with  at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday in Beverly Hills and set the record straight on her daughter's success, assuring that he's «not traumatized» by the racy series. Maude plays the role of Lexie Howard, whose character's storyline was centerstage in season 2. «I can watch it.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Disney’s box office domination has started early in 2023. Six weeks into the new year, the studio has already cleared $1 billion globally, with ticket sales at $1.283 billion to date. It can take other major studios up to 12 months to hit that benchmark. Thanks to the combined turnout for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” and the international re-release of “Titanic,” Disney’s 2023 box office tally stands at $383 domestically and $900 million internationally. James Cameron’s enduring “Avatar” sequel is the main reason that Disney has surpassed $1 billion faster than its rivals. Over the weekend, “The Way of Water” reached a staggering $2.2433 billion worldwide, enough to overtake “Titanic” ($2.2428 billion) as the third-highest grossing movie of all time. Also during the President’s Day holiday frame, the third “Ant-Man” adventure opened across the globe, performing above expectations with $225 million worldwide.