Chinese Netizens Sneer at Presale Ticket Prices for ‘Avatar’ Sequel

Presale tickets for Avatar: The Way of Water, which will officially open in Chinese cinemas on December 16, have been available in China since December 6. The film, created by visionary filmmaker James Cameron, is the highly-anticipated sequel to Avatar (2009).

China is easing up on its strict Covid-19 policies, and many content-hungry film enthusiasts have jumped at the opportunity to see the blockbuster in cinemas.

Ticket presales for Avatar: The Way of Water surpassed 13.9 million RMB (about 2 million USD) on the first day alone and reached 29 million RMB (around 4 million USD) at the time of writing.

However, many people are unimpressed with just how expensive tickets are, with entry to the Avatar sequel costing as much as 200 RMB (around 28 USD) per person at some cinemas.

On Weibo, China’s top microblogging site, a hashtag about the steep ticket prices for Avatar: The Way of Water has amassed 280 million views, with many netizens venting their disapproval.

“[The pricing] is unacceptable. Don’t justify the high price with excuses like ‘movie theaters are struggling during the pandemic.’ I also suffered over the past three years. If you want people back in the theater, price your tickets reasonably instead of trying to get the most money out of every customer,” wrote a Weibo user.

According to the Chinese financial news platform Dahe Cube, movie tickets for the Avatar sequel are priced between 30-230 RMB (about 4-33 USD), depending on cities and theaters. Most 3D tickets are priced between 40-80 RMB (about 6-12 USD), while IMAX experiences sell at more premium prices.

All images via Disney