James Cameron's epic sci-fi film, "Avatar: Fire and Ash," the third installment of the film series, has grossed over 200 million yuan (about 28.4 million U.S. dollars) in the Chinese mainland in just 48 hours after its release on Friday.
According to data from Maoyan, an online movie data platform, "Avatar 3" took in over 99 million yuan (about 14 million U.S. dollars) in ticket sales on Friday, accounting for more than 73 percent of China's total daily box office. Maoyan currently projects that the film's final gross in the mainland will exceed one billion yuan (about 142 million U.S. dollars).
In the Chinese capital Beijing, moviegoers cited the immersive visuals as a major draw.
"[I watched] the IMAX 3D version. It's really good. It feels very real," said a moviegoer.
"What left the deepest impression on me this time was the final battle. It was especially exciting. This series has always been top-notch in terms of technology," said another moviegoer.
"Avatar 3" is the latest in a line of major film releases to open simultaneously in China and North America. Earlier, "Zootopia 2" also hit Chinese big screens with zero-time difference and has gone on to earn 3.6 billion yuan (about 511 million U.S. dollars) in the mainland, making China the film's highest-grossing single market worldwide. Chinese viewers are now active and simultaneous participants in global moviegoing waves and are becoming core contributors to global box office revenues.
Behind this is what analysts have described as a comprehensive upgrade from sheer market capacity to industrial ecosystem, and from cultural consumption to technology export.
At its China premiere, "Avatar 3" chose CINITY LED system, a projection technology independently developed in China, for its screenings, making it the first Hollywood import to be shown in CINITY LED 3D high frame rate format.
"We went to New Zealand specifically to show Director Cameron the CINITY LED projection effect. After he watched the effect, he decided on the spot to adopt this latest technology," said Bian Wei, executive director of China Film Technology and general manager of CINITY.
Cameron's first "Avatar" film in 2009 not only reshaped global box office records, it also helped a generation of Chinese viewers get used to watching films in premium-format theaters with advanced visual effects.
Sun Jiashan, a research fellow of the department of the Chinese culture studies at the Central Institute of Socialism, said the arrival of "Avatar 3" has showcased the extent of China's transformation across the entire film industry.
"The release of 'Avatar 3' actually witnesses an all-round upgrade in Chinese cinema from the cultural industry to theater technology and equipment. Over this period, Chinese film has achieved comprehensive and matrix-style breakthroughs. Not only in the production of film content, but also in the level of our cultural industry, the training of talent, and the facilities and equipment of our theaters. In this cycle, Chinese cinema has basically reached the standards of the world's mainstream film markets," said Sun.
Cameron attributed the franchise's enduring appeal to film's emotional storytelling with the common topic that could be understood by all human beings.
"We try to deal with things that are universal in the human condition, ideas around family, around courage, around a sense of duty to our family, to our tribe, to our community and so on that are really kind of timeless and kind of exist outside of any specific country or culture. This is really important for us," said the film director.
The strong opening for "Avatar 3" comes against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding Chinese film market. According to the latest data from the China Film Administration, as of 14:30 on December 13, 2025, China's total box office for the year had exceeded 50 billion yuan (about 7.08 billion U.S. dollars), up 17.5 percent from the full-year total in 2024.
"We are seeing a large number of imported films. These are also evidence of the continuous progress of Chinese cinema and our consistent commitment to high-quality opening-up. Behind these relevant films are in fact emotions shared by all humanity, and also, vivid testimonies and visual demonstration to a community of shared future for humanity," said Sun.
China's box office for 'Avatar 3' hits 200 million yuan in 2 days
