Fire & Ash’ Footage To Debut Exclusively With ‘Way of Water’ Re-Release – But There’s a Catch – TopLineDaily.Com

The upcoming re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water will include a special look at Avatar: Fire and Ash, but audiences may see different clips depending on which screening they attend. Disney is beginning the marketing push for Fire and Ash, the studio’s big holiday tentpole, which aims to follow in the footsteps of both previous installments, both of which grossed over $2 billion at the worldwide box office. To build the excitement, 20th Century Studios is re-releasing The Way of Water in theaters for a one-week limited engagement.

Variety reports that new footage from Avatar: Fire and Ash will be shown after the screenings of The Way of Water. However, there is a catch, as not every screening will show the same sneak peek. Each screening will feature one of three different clips, so fans will have to catch several showings to watch them all. The Way of Water screenings begin October 3, 2025.

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Ramps Up Marketing Ahead of Major Box Office Debut

Varang, the leader of the Ash Clan in Avatar: Fire and Ash

20th Century Studios

Avatar: Fire and Ash‘s marketing is in full swing, as the newest trailer was just released, along with a new poster. The Way of Water re-release is the next part of the marketing push, and another clear sign that James Cameron wants audiences to see Fire and Ash exclusively in theaters. The first teaser trailer for the upcoming sequel played exclusively in front of screenings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Attaching a clip of the latest entry in a franchise with a re-release of a new entry is a smart move. Disney and 20th Century Studios pulled a similar tactic when Avatar: The Way of Water was coming out. The original Avatar was re-released in September 2022, accompanied by a sneak peek of the first sequel. The 2009 re-release of Avatar brought in $10.5 million in its opening weekend and eventually earned $76 million worldwide. However, it is unlikely that The Way of Water re-release will reach those same heights, given that it is a relatively recent film. An entire generation had not likely seen the original Avatar when it was re-released 13 years later, making its theatrical return a more novel experience.

The next Avatar film is positioned to surpass The Minecraft Movie as the highest-grossing film of 2025 in the domestic market. Given the success rate of the two previous Avatar titles, Fire and Ash is also the only film that has a chance of beating Ne Zha 2‘s $2.2 billion gross as the highest-grossing film of 2025 worldwide. Cameron has teased that Fire and Ash will be an emotional epic, one that will make the four-year wait (possibly more, given the past movie’s history) for Avatar 4 in 2029 a long one.