The Way of Water’ Announces Streaming Premiere Date

A movie as big as Avatar: The Way of Water is apparently too big to premiere on just one streaming service.

20th Century Studios just announced when James Cameron’s massive sequel — which is now the third biggest movie in the history of Earth and Pandora — will hit streaming. And in an unsual turn of events, you will actually have your choice of streaming services to watch it on. The movie will premiere simultaneously on Disney+ and on Max (formerly HBO Max).

READ MORE: The 25 Highest-Grossing Movies in History

As for why Avatar: The Way of Water is not just going to Disney+, you can blame a deal made a few years ago between Disney and WarnerMedia to share the streaming rights to all movies produced by 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures, the production companies that Disney acquired a few years ago from Fox. The deal ended in 2022, which makes The Way of Water likely the last movie that will receive this unusual home release.

Avatar: The Way of Water took 13 years to arrive in theaters following the original Avatar’s release. Written and directed by Cameron. the film is the first of at least four planned sequels, and stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang, in the continuing saga of the Na’vi and their war with humanity, who want to colonize their homeworld of Pandora.

Although skeptics claimed people had forgotten Avatar in the interim between films, that was most assuredly not the case; the sequel grossed $2.31 billion in theaters around the world, more than any other movie in history besides the first Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER reaches new heights and explores undiscovered depths as James Cameron returns to the world of Pandora in this emotionally packed action adventure. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER launches the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. All of this against the backdrop of the breathtaking seascapes of Pandora, where audiences are introduced to new Na’vi cultures and a range of exotic sea creatures.

Avatar: The Way of Water premieres on Disney+ and Max on June 7.

Sign up for Disney+ here.