James Cameron Doesn't Want You To Watch Avatar On Your Phone

As the box office receipts have shown, plenty of people have been heading out to the theater — be it IMAX 3D HFR or your average 2D DCP at a multiplex — to go see James Cameron's sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water." Nearing $2 billion at the worldwide box office, it is the highest grossing release of 2022, and it will only widen its gap over "Top Gun: Maverick" as the days pass. I am someone who really values the theatergoing experience, and it is quite heartening that so many people not only showed up for the latest "Avatar" film but showed up multiple times to see it.

Of course, not everyone is going to head out to their local theater to see it. Whether it's trouble finding a babysitter, being unable to carve out over three hours of your schedule, or some other reason entirely, plenty of folks are waiting to check out "The Way of Water" at home. Cameron understands this and has some suggestions for how to get the most out of your viewing experience when you aren't in the theater, telling NPR:

"If you watch 'Way of Water' at home on a reasonably large flat screen TV with a decent sound system and you sit close enough and that way across the room, you're going to have a good experience."

That seems reasonable. What he will not tolerate is people viewing the film on their phones. While your first instinct is to think that this is simply because of the size of the screen, that isn't exactly why Cameron is opposed to phone viewing. The reason he considers that a suboptimal viewing method is due entirely to your ability to engage with the material because of the amount of distractions around you.

When people tell you about why they don't go to the theater, they tell you about their bad experiences, which usually amount to being around people who were talking or using their phones during the movie. It's distracting, right? We all agree. Now, let me ask you: How many of you are as precious about your movie watching from the comfort of your own home? Are you turning off your lights and phone, not talking, and not pausing there too? If so, good job! If not, well, that's the real reason James Cameron is so adamant about seeing movies in the theater: The chances of you actively engaging with the film increase exponentially. As he told NPR:

"When you start looking at something on a phone, you're sort of missing the point. Going to a movie theater is less about the size of the screen and the perfection of the sound system. And it's more about a decision to not multitask [...] You're making a deal between yourself and a piece of art to give it your full attention. And you don't when you're at home."

I could not agree with Cameron more here and that's why I try to see as much as I possibly can in a theater, including older films. This year, I'm especially making a concerted effort to attend repertory screenings, and of course, I'm definitely catching next month's theatrical re-release of "Titanic." If so many people put their time and heart into creating something, the least I can do is give it my full, undivided attention. The only true way they will get that from me — or anyone else — is in a cinema. Movies aren't content to be churned through or viewed as background noise. Don't treat them as such.