Theatrical
Initial screening
Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was released theatrically worldwide from December 16 to 18.[162] The film was originally set for release on May 22, 2009, during filming[163] but was pushed back to allow more post-production time (the last shots were delivered in November)[86] and give more time for theaters worldwide to install 3D projectors.[164] Cameron stated that the film's aspect ratio would be 1.78:1 for 3D screenings and that a 2.39:1 image would be extracted for 2D screenings.[165][166] However, a 3D 2.39:1 extract was approved for use with constant-image-height screens (i.e., screens that increase in width to display 2.39:1 films).[167] During a 3D preview showing in Germany on December 16, the movie's DRM "protection" system malfunctioned, and some copies delivered weren't watched at all in the theaters. The problems were fixed in time for the public premiere.[168]
Avatar was released in a total of 3,457 theaters in the US, of which 2,032 theaters showed it in 3D. In total, 90% of all advance ticket sales for Avatar were for 3D screenings.[169]
Internationally, Avatar opened on a total of 14,604 screens in 106 territories, of which 3,671 were showing the film in 3D (producing 56% of the first weekend gross).[170][171] The film was simultaneously presented in IMAX 3D format, opening in 178 theaters in the United States on December 18. The international IMAX release included 58 theaters beginning on December 16, and 25 more theaters were to be added in the coming weeks.[172] The IMAX release was the company's widest to date, a total of 261 theaters worldwide. The previous IMAX record opening was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened in 161 IMAX theaters in the US, and about 70 international.[173] 20th Century Fox Korea adapted and later released Avatar in 4D version, which included "moving seats, smells of explosives, sprinkling water, laser lights and wind".[20]
Post-original release
In July 2010, Cameron confirmed that there would be an extended theatrical rerelease of the film on August 27, 2010, exclusively in 3D theaters and IMAX 3D.[174] Avatar: Special Edition includes an additional nine minutes of footage, all of which is CG,[175] including an extension of the sex scene[176] and various other scenes that were cut from the original theatrical film.[175] This extended re-release resulted in the film's run time approaching the then-current IMAX platter maximum of 170 minutes, thereby leaving less time for the end credits. Cameron stated that the nine minutes of added scenes cost more than $1 million a minute to produce and finish.[177] During its 12-week re-release, Avatar: Special Edition grossed an additional $10.74 million in North America and $22.46 million overseas for a worldwide total of $33.2 million.[5] The film was later re-released in China in March 2021, allowing it to surpass Avengers: Endgame to become the highest-grossing film of all time.[24]
Avatar was rereleased in theaters on September 23, 2022, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures for a limited two-week engagement, with the film being remastered in 4K high-dynamic range, with select scenes at a high frame rate of 48 fps.[178] The reissue was prior to the December 2022 premiere of its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.[179] Prior to this, Cameron previously teased a re-release of the film back in 2017 when promoting the Dolby Cinema re-release of Titanic, stating that there were plans in the works to remaster the film with Dolby Vision and re-release it in Dolby Cinema.[180]
Home media
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on April 22, 2010,[181] and in the United Kingdom on April 26.[182] The United States release was not on a Tuesday as is the norm, but was done to coincide with Earth Day.[183] The first DVD and Blu-ray release does not contain any supplemental features other than the theatrical film and the disc menu in favor of and to make space for optimal picture and sound. The release also preserves the film's 1.78:1 (16:9) format over the 2.39:1 (21:9) scope version as Cameron felt that was the best format to watch the film.[184] The Blu-ray disc contains DRM (BD+ 5) which some Blu-ray players might not support without a firmware update.[185][186]
Avatar set a first-day launch record in the United States for Blu-ray sales at 1.5 million units sold, breaking the record previously held by The Dark Knight (600,000 units sold). First-day DVD and Blu-ray sales combined were over four million units sold.[187] In its first four days of release, sales of Avatar on Blu-ray reached 2.7 million in the United States and Canada – overtaking The Dark Knight to become the best ever selling Blu-ray release in the region.[188][189] The release later broke the Blu-ray sales record in the United Kingdom the following week.[190] In its first three weeks of release, the film sold a total of 19.7 million DVD and Blu-ray discs combined, a new record for sales in that period.[191] As of July 18, 2012, DVD sales (not including Blu-ray) totaled over 10.5 million units sold with $190,806,055 in revenue.[192] Avatar retained its record as the top-selling Blu-ray in the US market until January 2015, when it was surpassed by Disney's Frozen.[193]
The Avatar three-disc Extended Collector's Edition on DVD and Blu-ray was released on November 16, 2010. Three different versions of the film are present on the discs: the original theatrical cut (162 minutes), the special edition cut (170 minutes), and a collector's extended cut (178 minutes). The DVD set spreads the film across two discs, while the Blu-ray set presents it on a single disc.[194] The collector's extended cut contains eight more minutes of footage, thus making it 16 minutes longer than the original theatrical cut. Cameron mentioned, "you can sit down, and in a continuous screening of the film, watch it with the Earth opening". He stated the "Earth opening" is an additional 4+1⁄2 minutes of scenes that were in the film for much of its production but were ultimately cut before the film's theatrical release.[195] The release also includes an additional 45 minutes of deleted scenes and other extras.[194]
Cameron initially stated that Avatar would be released in 3D around November 2010, but the studio issued a correction: "3-D is in the conceptual stage and Avatar will not be out on 3D Blu-ray in November."[196] In May 2010, Fox stated that the 3D version would be released some time in 2011.[191] It was later revealed that Fox had given Panasonic an exclusive license for the 3D Blu-ray version and only with the purchase of a Panasonic 3DTV. The length of Panasonic's exclusivity period is stated to last until February 2012.[197] On October 2010, Cameron stated that the standalone 3D Blu-ray would be the final version of the film's home release and that it was "maybe one, two years out".[198] On Christmas Eve 2010, Avatar had its 3D television world premiere on Sky.[199][200][201]
On August 13, 2012, Cameron announced on Facebook that Avatar would be released globally on Blu-ray 3D.[202] The Blu-ray 3D version was finally released on October 16, 2012.[203]
On February 2, 2024, the film became available to stream in variable high frame rate in 3D 4K Dolby Vision on the Disney+ app for the Apple Vision Pro.[204]
