Avatar 3 Runtime Reveal Finally Confirms What James Cameron Teased

James Cameron is not in a hurry. AMC Theatres just posted the theatrical runtime for Avatar: Fire and Ash, and, shocker, it is the longest one yet.

The runtime (and how it stacks up)

• Avatar (2009): 2 hours, 41 minutes
• Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): 3 hours, 12 minutes
• Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025): 3 hours, 15 minutes (per AMC Theatres)

So yes, Fire and Ash edges out The Way of Water by three minutes. This tracks with what James Cameron has been teasing. Back in March 2025, he told Empire the third movie would run longer than the second. Later that year he floated a round three hours. The final number is a bit past that, which honestly feels very on brand.

Why it got even longer

Cameron says the big swing came from adding the Great Leonopteryx, aka the Toruk — the massive, apex flying creature from Pandora — into this movie. He originally planned to save it for a later film, then changed his mind, rewrote, and shot a couple new scenes around it, swapping out other material to make room. That creative pivot nudged the cut past the three-hour mark.

"I was saving it for a later film. I was like, 'F- that! He should get the bird. Get the Toruk.' So I just re-wrote it, and we went back and shot two or three scenes around that concept... And we're at three hours, big surprise!"

According to Cameron, it plays beautifully, and the cast was all-in on the idea. It is a very specific behind-the-scenes tweak to build toward Jake Sully's larger arc — and exactly the kind of detail that explains how a movie quietly grows by a few minutes.

The essentials

Avatar: Fire and Ash is written by James Cameron with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, from a story developed by that trio alongside Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. The film opens in theaters on December 19, 2025. Plan your bathroom break accordingly.