'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Hits Chinese Screens With Strong Early Box Office, IMAX Buzz

James Cameron's latest "Avatar" installment opened in China with a nationwide IMAX event on Thursday night, as about 140,000 moviegoers across 200 cinemas joined a live Q&A with the director ahead of the film's simultaneous release in the Chinese mainland and North America.

The special screenings were held at Wujiaochang Wanda Cinema in Shanghai, where "Avatar: Fire and Ash" was presented in IMAX format. The event marked one of the largest coordinated preview screenings for a Hollywood release in China this year.

Following the Thursday-night event, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" officially hit cinemas across China on Friday, matching its North American release date. As of noon on Friday, the film had generated more than 71.2 million yuan (US$10.1 million) in ticket sales, according to box office tracker Beacon.

Appearing on screen during the live broadcast, Cameron greeted Chinese audiences and highlighted the country's strong IMAX following, describing China as home to "so many IMAX fans" and calling the response "fantastic."

Cameron explained that the second and third films in the "Avatar" series were originally conceived as a single story but were later split into two movies.

"So it's probably a good way to think of it as not just another chapter or sequel, it actually completes a full story with these characters," he said.

The film expands the world of Pandora by introducing new groups and environments, while continuing the franchise's focus on family relationships, particularly the evolving dynamics between parents and children.

Since the debut of the first installment of the epic series 16 years ago, "Avatar" has developed a large fan base in China. Many viewers were amazed at the film's stunning visuals, as well as the series' continuing evolution of a technological and aesthetic revolution.