A poster of the film "Avatar: Fire and Ash"

"Avatar: Fire and Ash," the third installment of the sci-fi epic, premiered on the Chinese mainland on Friday simultaneously with North America, accounting for as much as 46.5 percent of the day's total screenings across China and sparked mixed reactions among Chinese moviegoers.
 
As of 3 pm Friday, the film has grossed 144.9 million yuan ($20.58 million) in ticket sales, including preview screenings, according to Chinese online ticketing platform Maoyan.
 
As the latest installment in the highest-grossing film series of all time, it boasts a runtime of 195 minutes, making it the longest one in the franchise to date.

Following "Avatar" (2009) and "Avatar: The Way of Water" (2022), the third installment in one of the much-anticipated film franchises globally, but few would expect the new film to match the record-setting performance of "Avatar" in China.

Released in 2010 in the Chinese mainland, it became China's top-grossing title with 1.34 billion yuan in ticket sales, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A film viewer from Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, told the Global Times that the first film left people with wonderful memories. "I think that even just for the sake of nostalgia, this installment is worth watching," he said. 

"The storyline is very tight, the action sequences are plentiful, and there are essentially no dull moments throughout. The film also continues to embody its trademark themes of environmentalism and pacifism, which I really appreciate, so overall I quite like this installment," he said. 

Another viewer named Gao Mingyang from Beijing, 26, told the Global Times that she thought director James Cameron is extremely subtle and nuanced in his portrayal of human nature. 

"The story stands out for its strong sense of integrity and continuity, and its call to protect the Earth resonates with audiences around the world," Gao said. 

However, one Weibo user posted that "if you keep your expectations for the plot and characters in check, it is still a film well worth seeing in the cinema."

The pacing of the film is still a bit slow, with multiple storylines feeling somewhat scattered, and the narrative framework sticking to a familiar, classic formula without many unexpected twists, the Weibo user posted 
 
At the 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival in South China's Hainan Province, director James Cameron, lead actress Zoe Saldaña and Chinese dubbing stars including Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xuan, Deng Chao and Sun Li engaged with Chinese audiences in a pre-screening event on December 8.

By late Thursday, China's year-end box office revenue had already topped 4 billion yuan. This year's year-end movie season runs from November 28 to December 31.