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Watching characters dive underwater just as a burst of mist hits you and the theater’s wind fans kick into high gear is exciting every time it happens — and it happens a lot.

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

Link Stream / Download Avatar: The Way of Water

Runtime : 192 minutes

But the real highlight of this movie’s 4DX screenings is the water effects. Avatar: The Way of Water is a tremendously wet movie, so it only makes sense that it would take full advantage of 4DX’s capability of splashing audiences in the face, simulating rain, or often both at the same time. Watching characters dive underwater just as a burst of mist hits you and the theater’s wind fans kick into high gear is exciting every time it happens — and it happens a lot.

That being said, 4DX works best as a second-time viewing experience, should you decide to return to Pandora. If you opt for the immersive format the first time out, you may lose a plot detail or two to the water drops accumulating on your 3D glasses. But by the second viewing, it all just adds to the movie’s overall sense of massive theme-park excitement.

How do I make sure I’m seeing the right version of Avatar 2?

This is maybe the most and least complicated question on the list. The answer is that some theaters list whether they’re showing the movie in HFR, while others do not. Regal Cinemas, for instance, lists every detail on its showings online, including HFR. So if you don’t see that listed in the extra features of the screening you’re buying tickets to, assume that it’s in standard frame rate. AMC Theatres, on the other hand, does not list whether a screening is in HFR. So if AMC is your only option, I guess... try calling the theater to ask?

This sounds like a miserable experience at a national chain like AMC — you’re likely to get shunted through an exhaustive phone tree in a quest to find a human worker, who may or may not have the answers. At least if AMC gets enough calls with this question, it might make more of an effort to list the details of its screenings. If you want that information from a local, non-chain theater, you’re at least more likely to get someone on the other end of the line quickly, and hopefully, they know which version they’re showing. The good news is that 3D should be listed for every showing at just about every theater, and that’s the most important feature to make sure you get.

Thanks in large part to its extraordinary visuals, Avatar ascended to the top of the box office to become the world's highest-grossing movie of all time. Now, 13 years later, James Cameron is taking moviegoers back to Pandora for a sequel that our Avatar: The Way of Water review called "a good old-fashioned Cameron blockbuster, full of filmmaking spectacle and heart."

Avatar: The Way of Water is available in theaters this weekend. If you're wondering how and where you can watch it yourself, take a look at the information below.

Is Avatar 2 in 3D?

Avatar: The Way of Water is available in both 3D and standard formats depending on which theater you see it in. If you want the full Avatar experience for the sequel, you will need to don a pair of 3D glasses.

Avatar: The Way of Water Streaming

Avatar: The Way of Water is not currently available to stream online, though it will almost certainly be added to Disney+ eventually. However, there's been no official announcement regarding its streaming release date. Our best guess is that Avatar 2 will hit Disney+ sometime in 2023, though should the sequel replicate the original's box-office longevity, it may not hit the subscription service until later in the year.

Where to Watch the First Avatar

If you want to watch or re-watch the first Avatar movie before diving into the sequel, you have a few options. If you currently have a Disney+ subscription, you can stream Avatar for free on that platform. If you don't have that streaming service, you can also rent or purchase the film on Amazon or Apple TV. You can go to the links below to watch the movie.