[imagesource: 20th Century Studios]

The long-awaited sequel to 2009’s Avatar is almost here.

Avatar: The Way of Water will hit cinemas on December 16 and is expected to blow box office records out of the water.

It better, but more on that later.

Earlier today, a new trailer for James Cameron’s film arrived and “provides a better look at the reef-dwelling Na’vi clan Metkayina, who probably have some connection to the film’s title”.

Mashable has an updated synopsis:

Set over 10 years after the previous film, Avatar: The Way of Water sees the return of former human and current giant blue alien Jake Sully (Sam Worthington). Joined by his giant blue wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their giant blue family, the Na’vi now face new dangers and must fight to keep each other safe.

The film will also star Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Kate Winslet.

Those headed to cinemas are advised to prepare for the long haul. The movie is longer than three hours – that’s a fortune in snacks unless you intend to sneak in your own.

Within hours of its release, the latest trailer flew past a million views and will likely top two million before the end of the day:

Smash a few edibles beforehand and the 3D experience should be epic.

You might think Cameron and the film studio have a guaranteed monster profit-maker on their hands. Think again, says The A.V. Club:

The Avatar series is exactly “very fucking” expensive to make, according to Cameron, who considers The Way Of Water “the worst business case in movie history.”

Ultimately, the movie would need to be “the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” to break even.

This means Avatar: The Way Of Water would need to outgross both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Cameron’s inaugural highest-grossing movie ever made, Titanic.

The 2009 original cost roughly $240 million to make and grossed just shy of $3 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of all time.

In order for the sequel to become the fourth-highest-grossing film ever, it would need to gross more than $2,7 billion.

If the film doesn’t perform well enough at the box office, Cameron has stated that the third installment of the movie series could be the last.

[sources:mashable&avclub]