The first trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water premiered in theaters last weekend in front of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with an official online release following on Monday. This sneak peek at James Cameron's Avatar sequel was highly anticipated, especially as it's been nearly thirteen years since the first instalment was released and broke countless box office records.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the sequel's teaser managed to rack up an impressive 148.6 million views during its first 24 hours online, with 23 million of those from China alone.
What's interesting about this number is the fact Avatar: The Way of Water's trailer views have surpassed those for every single modern Star Wars movie, including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's 112.4 million. That's an impressive feat given how much more iconic that Galaxy Far, Far Away is than Pandora, and all of this points to Cameron having another record-breaking hit on his hands.
While the fact many people saw the trailer in theaters before watching the Doctor Strange sequel, it hasn't cracked the Top 10 and is a far cry from a number of recent superhero blockbusters. Avengers: Endgame's teaser racked up a whopping 289 million views in 24 hours, while Spider-Man: No Way Home remains the record holder with a jaw-dropping and hard to beat 355.5 million views.
We expect Avatar: The Way of Water to open big at the box office later this year, but whether it can surpass its predecessor or even movies like Jurassic World and Avengers: Endgame remains to be seen.
Avatar: The Way of Water arrives in theaters worldwide on December 16th.