IT’S OFFICIAL: 20th Century Studios sets James Cameron’s AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER for Blu

JAMES CAMERON’S GLOBAL PHENOMENON AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER ARRIVES ON BLU-RAY, BLU-RAY 3D AND 4K ULTRA HD ON JUNE 20

PLUS: EXPERIENCE THE ORIGINAL AVATAR REMASTERED IN STUNNING 4K AT DIGITAL RETAIL AND ON BLU-RAY DISC JUNE 20

BURBANK, CA (May 22, 2023) – On June 20, Avatar fans have double cause for celebration as Avatar: The Way of Water makes its long-awaited debut on 4K UHD, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD and the original Avatar arrives for the first time on 4K UHD in High Dynamic Range to digital retailers and on Blu-ray disc.

Avatar: The Way of Water release will include over three hours of bonus content featuring the filmmakers, cast and crew.

The 4K UHD edition of the original Avatar has both existing and new bonus features including Memories From Avatar, where Producer Jon Landau leads a spirited conversation with cast members, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, recalling warm memories from production and reflecting on the extraordinary success of the film. Plus Avatar: A Look Back, provides a retrospective where cast and filmmakers reflect on their extraordinary journey making Avatar, the groundbreaking technologies they used to create an unparalleled cinematic experience, and the profound effect the film had on audiences worldwide.

Nominated for numerous Academy Awards including Best Picture, Avatar: The Way of Water became the third highest-grossing film of all time worldwide and set a new benchmark for visual effects. Produced by Cameron and his longtime partner Jon Landau, the 20th Century Studios—Lightstorm Entertainment production stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis and Kate Winslet. Joining the illustrious adult cast are talented newcomers Britain Dalton, Jamie Flatters, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Bailey Bass and Jack Champion. The screenplay is by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, with story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film’s executive producers. [Read on here...]

The original Academy Award-winning Avatar introduced the astonishing world of Pandora and became the highest-grossing film of all time earning over $2.9 billion worldwide and receiving nine Academy Awards nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. It won three Oscars, for Best Cinematography, Production Design and Visual Effects.

Avatar: The Way of Water will be available on 4K Ultra HD Combo (4K + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray 3D Combo (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray Combo (Blu-ray + Digital Code), and DVD.

The 192-minute theatrical presentation of the film will be offered in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio on UHD-100 and BD-50 disc configurations, with HDR10 high dynamic range (UHD only). (Per the studio, average bit rate is approx. 45 Mbps for UHD, 29.5 Mbps for Blu-ray 3D, and 23.3 Mbps for Blu-ray.)

[Editor’s Update: The Blu-ray 3D version of the film will be split across two BD-50 discs.]

Audio options will include:

4K UHD: English 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 DTS-HDMA, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital

3D Blu-ray: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA , English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Blu-ray: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA , English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

DVD: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Digital Subtitles: English SDH, French (for some platforms), Spanish (some platforms)

Physical Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

US retail-exclusive SKUs will include 4K Steelbook packaging at Best Buy, 4K with Lenticular cover at Walmart, and 4K with Exclusive Decals at Target.

Special features on all SKUs will include:

The newly-remastered Avatar will be available on 4K Ultra HD Combo (4K + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray Combo (Blu-ray + Digital Code), and DVD. (Note that the film has previously been made available on Blu-ray 3D.)

The 167-minute theatrical presentation of the film only will be offered in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio on UHD-100 and BD-50 disc configurations, with HDR10 high dynamic range (UHD only). (Per the studio, average bit rate is approx. 60.5 Mbps for UHD and 28.5 Mbps for Blu-ray.) (Note that the 170-minute and 178-minute extended versions of the film are not included, and many special features from the Extended Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release are not included, so fans may wish to keep that release.)

Audio options will include:

4K UHD: English 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 DTS-HDMA, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Blu-ray: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA , English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

DVD: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Digital Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Physical Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Special features on all SKUs will include:

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All right, so those are all the official details we have on this release.

For those of you wondering—as we’ve confirmed with producer Jon Landau (see our video comment here) and various studio and industry sources—James Cameron’s Titanic, The Abyss, and True Lies are all currently in production for 4K Ultra HD release (and first-time Blu-ray release in the case of The Abyss and True Lies) later in the year. Those are all likely to be late Q3 or Q4 releases. Further details will be updates as we have them.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned…

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