Only 2 Theaters? Avatar Aang Deserved Better

Two theaters. Across the entire United States, Paramount is showing Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender in exactly two theaters, seemingly just to tick a box for awards eligibility. The animated sequel to one of the most beloved animated series of all time is otherwise being funneled straight to Paramount+, where you can watch it on your phone during your commute. For a movie that reportedly looks this good, that's a decision that borders on contempt for the work Avatar Studios put into it.

The film picks up years after the original series, with an adult Aang still processing the near-extinction of the Air Nomads. Dave Bautista voices a surviving Airbender named Tagah, and the full original crew returns: Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko. At 99 minutes, reviews suggest the side characters get squeezed for time, but the animation itself is being praised as a showcase for what 2D can do when a studio commits to it. Every fight scene, every bending sequence, every frame apparently makes the case that hand-drawn animation isn't some relic. And Paramount's response to all of that craft was to skip a real theatrical rollout entirely.

This movie also had the misfortune of being leaked online months before its official trailer even dropped, which didn't help its momentum. But the leak isn't what kept it out of cinemas. Paramount made a business calculation, and the result is a film built for the big screen being compressed onto laptops and tablets. I think this is one of the worst ways a studio can treat its own creators. You greenlight a movie, staff it with talented animators, let them pour years into it, and then decide it's not worth projecting onto a proper screen for more than a token awards-qualifying run. If Paramount didn't believe in this project enough to give it a real release, I'm not sure why they made it at all.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is available now on Paramount+.