‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Available for Digital Purchase Starting March 28; When Will it Land on Disney+?
If you’ve been waiting to enjoy the return to Pandora from the comfort of your own couch, your wait is almost over. “Avatar: The Way of Water” is coming to digital platforms like Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu and the rest of the usual suspects starting Tuesday, March 28.
The movie is set more than a decade after the events of the first “Avatar” film. Jake and Neytiri have a family of their own now, but the dangers of living in paradise are never far away. The greed of humanity is a danger they still live with, and the film forces the Sully family to endure new hardships and fight new battles in order to preserve the Pandora they love.
Much like the first film, critics have praised the stunning visual effects. Reviewers have given “Avatar: The Way of Water” a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it has pulled in over $2.3 billion at the global box office so far. That’s just short of the $2.9 billion the first “Avatar” made in theaters, but the sequel could benefit from re-releases to boost its take.
Watch a Trailer for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
Although “Avatar: The Way of Water” is coming to transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) platforms on March 28, there has been no word from Disney on when the film will be available to stream via a Disney+ subscription. When the film was released in theaters, The Streamable predicted it would take six months to debut on Disney’s flagship streamer, arriving there sometime in June.
That prediction still seems like the most logical timeline for now. Considering how much money the film has brought in while in theaters, there’s no doubting Disney would love to give it a second life on the digital purchase market. Given the tough financial situation the company is currently in (with streaming losses still exceeding the $1 billion per quarter mark), it would certainly make Disney executives happy to see “Avatar: The Way of Water” bring in a sizeable haul as a TVOD offering.
The length of time Disney keeps the new “Avatar” movie on digital purchase platforms and off Disney+ will especially bear watching because of its possible implications on future streaming releases. Given the new trends in the streaming market that insist streamers must put themselves on a path toward profitability, media outlets may start to insist on longer digital purchase windows for new films. If “Avatar: The Way of Water” doesn’t move to Disney+ until June, it may signal that Disney means to extend digital purchase windows for all of its major films.
That seems like the best bet for now. Because Disney so desperately needs to increase revenues from every potential source, we think it’ll still be mid-to-late June before you’ll be available to stream “Avatar: The Way of Water” as part of your Disney+ subscription.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”