Why Avatar 3 Fans Don’t Care About Fire and Ash’s Rotten Tomatoes Score
Avatar: Fire and Ash stumbles to a franchise-low 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the fanbase is unfazed—hype for Pandora’s next chapter is still roaring.
Avatar 3 just landed a Rotten Tomatoes score that looks a little soft on paper, and the fandom collectively shrugged. If you were expecting panic, you must be new to Pandora.
The score, the reality
Avatar: Fire and Ash opened with a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it the lowest-rated of James Cameron's three Avatar films so far. It is early, though, and the score is still moving as more reviews roll in. Either way, the fan base does not seem rattled.
- Current snapshot: Fire and Ash sits at 70% on Rotten Tomatoes at debut.
- For context: the original Avatar is at roughly 83%, and The Way of Water sits at 76%.
- Also worth remembering: Way of Water still cleared $2 billion at the box office.
What fans are saying
Over on X (yep, formerly Twitter), the vibe ranges from chill to mildly curious. A lot of people are noting the franchise's track record: scores in the 70s and 80s, incredible legs in theaters, everyone goes anyway. One post boiled it down to: 'On track, don't worry.' Another pointed out the obvious: 'Way of Water was a 76 on Rotten Tomatoes and still made over 2 billion.'
'The original has like an 83% and WoW has a 76%. This is pretty much right around the standard for these movies. If you didn't like the first two, you won't like this. If you did, then get comfy for another 3+ hours in a world you love.'
There is some skepticism about critics versus crowds: 'I will still go and watch it, I don't trust Rotten Tomatoes anymore.' Others are waiting to see how audiences weigh in: 'A 70% still isn't terrible! Curious to see how the audience score shakes out. Maybe it's a Last Jedi situation.'
What this one is actually about
Fire and Ash pushes the Sully family into even deeper trouble as the fight for Pandora escalates. With Earth on the ropes, the RDA gets more aggressive about colonization, and that pressure forces Jake and Neytiri to deal with a threat that hits uncomfortably close to home. Cameron has been teasing messier moral territory this time, and that shows up in the Ash People — a fire-aligned Na'vi clan led by Varang — who side with the RDA. Expect fewer clean lines between good guys and bad guys.
Bottom line
A 70% is the lowest of the bunch so far, but history says that is not a death sentence for Pandora. The score could tick up as reviews keep coming, and regardless, this series has a habit of turning skepticism into long, healthy runs. Barring a shock, Avatar 3 should be a major box office presence for the next 2–3 months.