Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender has had a pretty tough go of it over the past year. The animated sequel movie to Nickelodeon’s anime-inspired hit series was pulled from its theatrical run and relegated to a Paramount+ streaming debut, then leaked in its entirety back in April and circulated online without any watermarks. Now, the movie’s Paramount+ debut has been pushed up to next week on July 25, but you’ll still find plenty of fans rallying for a proper theatrical release, and after seeing the movie myself, I’m sure its animation would look incredible on the big screen. Well, someone at Paramount must have figured that out, too, and wants the film to qualify for awards season consideration, so they’ve pushed for a limited theatrical release, with a massive emphasis on “limited.”
Variety reports that Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is getting a week-long theatrical run in exactly two theaters in all of the United States of America. The AMC Burbank Town Center 6 in Los Angeles and the AMC Empire 25 in New York City will show the movie three times a day from July 24 to 30. Doing the math, that means there will be approximately 42 showings for the coastal elites while everyone else can just be content to watch the film on their TVs and iPads at home. Talk about low effort. I live in New York City and I’m still annoyed on behalf of everyone who doesn’t live anywhere near these theaters.
Hopefully, if these screenings sell out, someone at Paramount will get hit on the head with an apple and the company will release it elsewhere. The film’s animation is truly stunning and I might even be convinced to go see it again in a theater to get the full effect. Plus, you don’t have to ask me twice to check out the movie’s tasteful eye candy for a second time.
