Despite being highly anticipated, Avatar: Fire and Ash hasn’t achieved the success many expected, though it is a significant entry in both the Avatar franchise and James Cameron’s filmography. As the third – and potentially last – installment following the Sully family on Pandora, the film generated so much buzz that it was predicted to overshadow even trailers for other major upcoming movies like Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and four different trailers for Avengers: Doomsday.
As a huge film fan, I was really excited to hear about the early screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash in early December. The reviews were finally released on December 16th, 2025 – exactly three years after Avatar: The Way of Water came out. Initially, the first reactions were good, but now that the full reviews are in, it seems like the film isn’t quite as well-received as the previous Avatar movies, or really, anything James Cameron has directed. It’s still a fresh release, but the critical scores are definitely lower than expected.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ is the Lowest Rated Entry in the Franchise on Rotten Tomatoes
20th Century Studios
As of today, Avatar: Fire and Ash has a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 128 critic reviews, and a Metacritic score of 61. For comparison, Avatar: The Way of Water currently holds a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (from 454 reviews) and a score of 67 on Metacritic. The original Avatar from 2009 remains the highest-rated film in the series, with an 81% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 335 reviews) and a Metacritic score of 83.
More reviews of Avatar: Fire and Ash are coming, which could change its current score. Right now, it’s considered ‘Fresh,’ but a wave of negative reviews could push it into ‘Rotten’ territory. While the reviews are still generally positive, it’s important to remember that the review score isn’t always perfect. It only gives a simple yes or no judgment, and many reviews fall somewhere in between. Currently at 71%, the film is performing better than average – meaning more critics liked it than disliked it, even though Rotten Tomatoes typically considers anything below 60% a failure.
It’s hard to say how the reviews will affect Avatar: Fire and Ash. While Avatar: The Way of Water received less enthusiastic reviews than the first Avatar film, it still became the top-grossing movie of 2022 and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. The Avatar films seem to be able to succeed even if critics aren’t thrilled. However, Avatar: Fire and Ash has potentially set a record it didn’t want: becoming the lowest-rated James Cameron film on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Becomes James Cameron’s Lowest-Rated Film
20th Century Studios
Here is every film directed by James Cameron, ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes score.
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes Score | Release Date |
| Aliens | 94% (143 reviews) | Jul. 18, 1986 |
| Terminator 2: Judgement Day | 91% (154 reviews) | Jul. 3, 1991 |
| The Terminator | 90% (130 reviews) | Oct. 26, 1984 |
| Titanic | 88% (255 reviews) | Aug. 9, 1989 |
| Avatar | 81% (335 reviews) | Dec. 18, 2009 |
| True Lies | 77% (135 reviews) | Jul. 15, 1994 |
| Avatar: The Way of Water | 76% (454 reviews) | Dec. 16, 2022 |
| The Abyss | 76% (177 reviews) | Dec. 19, 1997 |
| Avatar: Fire and Ash | 71% | Dec. 19, 2025 |
As a big fan of James Cameron, I’ve been following the chatter about his films on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s interesting to see how scores can be a bit tricky. A lot of his most famous work is from the 80s and 90s, and Rotten Tomatoes combines old reviews with newer ones. That can sometimes make a movie seem better now than audiences thought when it first came out. Thankfully, Cameron’s still got a perfect record – none of his films have earned a truly ‘Rotten’ score! But it’s a little disappointing to see Avatar: The Way of Water actually drop below The Abyss as his lowest-rated film. I’m sure neither he nor Disney were thrilled about that happening to the latest installment in such a massive franchise.
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2025-12-17 02:05