Disney's Biggest Digital Release Ever Is A Sequel You Might Not Expect

It's been a rough few years for Disney, as the once box-office surefire has seemingly dwindled to embers, with franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "Indiana Jones," and Pixar struggling to recapture audiences' attention. Thankfully for the House of Mouse, nothing can seemingly keep it down, as the studio continues to thrive off of home releases.

It turns out people really love "Avatar," as only a few months after the digital release of "Avatar: The Way of Water," the sequel has already broken Disney records, becoming the company's biggest domestic digital release ever. The reveal comes as part of Disney's recent quarterly earnings presentation, proving that, no matter how long James Cameron makes them wait for a sequel, fans can't get enough of the legendary filmmaker's Pandora-based stories.

As if that weren't enough, "Avatar: The Way of Water" recently topped DVD and Blu-ray sales, meaning not only is it dominating the digital market, but physical sales are working hand in hand to secure the franchise's future at Disney. All of this cold hard cash only builds on the film's historical box-office run, which solidified "The Way of Water" as the third highest-grossing movie of all time, strengthening Cameron's choke hold on the prestigious top five.

Leading up to the release of "Avatar: The Way of Water," there was an overwhelming doubt that the James Cameron-led sequel would live up to its predecessor. Although it didn't take long for "Avatar" to shatter the box office, it had been 13 years since the director introduced audiences to the world of Pandora, so the sequel wasn't a guaranteed success, or so we thought.

Fast-forward a few months, and "The Way of Water" proved all the doubters wrong. The film showed that audiences desperately wanted more Pandora stories as it coasted through the box office, earning over $2 billion. By all means, "The Way of Water" has defied expectations, which is insane considering its predecessor is the highest-grossing movie ever. However, the sequel alone has solidified "Avatar" as the most significant portion of Disney's acquisition of Fox, with the franchise practically printing money for the company.

Understandably, the success of "The Way of Water" immediately confirmed plenty more "Avatar" stories are on the way. Despite the ongoing strikes forcing Disney to delay the sequels, "Avatar 3" and "Avatar 4" have release dates of December 19, 2025, and December 21, 2029, respectively. Cameron also confirmed he has plans for "Avatar 6" and "Avatar 7" if the fans demand them, ensuring that Pandora will captivate audiences on the big screen for the long run.