Something that utterly baffles me is the fact that that James Cameron's AVATAR movies are three of the 20 highest-grossing films in history, and they have essentially zero pop-culture penetration. Like, is there an AVATAR fandom? Does anyone even care about this story? Who is seeing these movies?

April 11, 2026 - 15:27 UTC

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i mean I know theres a fandom, ive looked it up bc ive had this same exact thought, but it feels like Avatar fans just dont share fanworks for whatever reason, so we never see the fandom unless we search for it. Which is odd compared to other fandoms
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If I had to guess, I'd imagine they dont share fanworks bc itd be kinda embarrassing. I know I've been pretty upfront that I think its an atrocious colonizer's wet dream, and others point that out too, so maybe they just get mocked mercilessly enough they dont share it?
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There's a pretty vibrant community of people who learn the language and cosplay and stuff
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Huh! I had no idea… which is totally on me. That's really cool! I hope those folks are having an awesome time.
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Based on my last attendance of Armageddon Expo (here in NZ where Cameron has moved to), there were a few detailed Na'vi cosplayers
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::raises hand enthusiastically::
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Oh, nice!

Genuine, serious question: what is it about AVATAR that draws you in?
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My assumption has been that they're popular with people that otherwise don't really bother with genre stuff or maybe even cinema in general. So they're almost entirely absent from places where movies and SF are normally discussed but are just, like, somewhere else.
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That may account for some, but I’ve also known people who love movies who loved AVATAR. I don’t know those folks are super into genre stuff, much less into fandoms, though. 🤷‍♀️
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I don't mind them. Which is a step up from my previous 'I had to see film 1 about 8 times with child 2 back in the day and I never want to think about the whole concept ever again' position. Also I guess that's your answer. High grossing because kids like them.
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I'm not saying this to be a bitch, I swear. I'm just always startled when I remember that AVATAR exists. I saw the first movie in theaters in 2009, then promptly forgot about it. There've been two more since then, neither of which I've seen, nor has anyone I know.
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You'd think a franchise that holds 1st, 3rd, and 16th place in the top 20 list and has made nearly $7 billion would be, I dunno, more of a cultural force?

Instead, when I hear of AVATAR at all, it's always in the context of "heh giant blue elf people" and… that's it. It doesn't really go deeper.
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