'Avatar' to re-release in theatres on September 23

Los Angeles: James Cameron's "Avatar" is coming back to theatres worldwide on September 23 in remastered 4K High Dynamic Range format, Disney and 20th Century have announced.

The epic sci-fi film's re-release comes three months before the arrival of its much anticipated sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water" on December 16.

"Avatar", starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, will be available for a "two week limited engagement".

The official Twitter handle of 20th Century shared the new trailer of the 2009 movie on Tuesday.

"On September 23 #Avatar returns to the big screen for a limited time only. Watch the new trailer now," read the tweet by the studio.

On September 23 #Avatar returns to the big screen for a limited time only. Watch the new trailer now pic.twitter.com/8RtVkD5P3p

— 20th Century Studios (@20thcentury) August 23, 2022

Cameron's "Avatar" became the top-grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office with more than USD 2.8 billion in revenues. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards including best picture and best director, and won three Oscars, for best cinematography, production design and visual effects.

In 2010, a special extended theatrical re-release of "Avatar" exclusively in 3D theatres and IMAX 3D fetched USD 44 million worldwide. Early last year, the re-release of the movie in China raised USD 57.7 million.

According to Deadline, Disney+ has removed "Avatar" ahead of the theatrical re-release. However, it will return to the studio's streaming platform at a later date just before the release of "Avatar: The Way of Water".

The film will still be available to rent digitally on other OTT platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

In early May, the makers revealed the first teaser trailer for "Avatar: The Way of Water", shortly after CinemaCon, the annual gathering of theatre owners.

Worthington and Saldana return as Jake Sully and Na'vi Neytiri, respectively, as the film's story focuses on the two primary protagonists, their family and the lengths they go to keep each other safe.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" will also mark the return of Sigourney Weaver as Dr Grace Augustine and Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch. The new entrants include Vin Diesel and Kate Winslet, who had famously starred in Cameron's 1997 hit "Titanic".