‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Overtakes the Star Wars Hit That Almost Killed Han Solo Off

3 days ago 8

Return of the Jedi - 1983 - Han Solo _ Harrison Ford shrug

Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him).

It's a battle between epic sci-fi fantasy franchises, as James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash finds itself tackling two Star Wars blockbusters. Having passed the coveted $1 billion mark at the global box office recently, Avatar 3 is now aiming to meet the high benchmarks set by its predecessors, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water — they're the first and third-highest-grossing hits in global box office history. At the domestic box office, Avatar 3 recently passed the $300 million mark, after which it overtook Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, arguably the least-liked of director George Lucas' prequel trilogy. Avatar 3 has now overtaken another Star Wars film, the one that nearly killed off Harrison Ford's fan-favorite character Han Solo.

With $318 million at the domestic box office, Avatar 3 has passed the $316 million lifetime domestic haul of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi. Released in 1983, the movie served as the third installment of the original trilogy, and was directed by Richard Marquand. It brought back Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, but Ford's return was always uncertain, as he wasn't contracted to return. In fact, it was originally planned for him to not be brought back, which is why Han Solo was left hanging at the end of the second film, Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back. Ford had become a massive star in the years leading up to Return of the Jedi, thanks to the two previous Star Wars films, and also Raiders of the Lost Ark. He was convinced to come back by one of the film's producers, but he wanted Han Solo to die a heroic death. This ultimately didn't happen, and the character wouldn't die until he was an old man, in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.

'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Earned Lukewarm Reviews

Return of the Jedi received positive reviews, and is remembered for introducing the Ewoks, the bounty hunter Boba Fett, and Admiral Ackbar. Avatar 3, on the other hand, also introduced a whole new tribe of Na'vi, the fire-wielding Mangkwan. Produced on a reported budget of $400 million, Avatar 3 has earned the most lukewarm reviews of the trilogy, and is sitting at a 66% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. You can watch the film in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.