AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH Lands the Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Score of James Cameron’s Sci-Fi Saga

Reviews are officially rolling in forAvatar: Fire and Ash, and while the response has been generally solid, the third chapter inJames Cameron’s sci-fi epic is currently sitting at the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the trilogy.

At the time of writing, Fire and Ash holds a 68% score based on 88 reviews. That puts it below Avatar: The Way of Water, which landed at 76%, and the original Avatar, which still leads the pack at 81%. As always with Rotten Tomatoes, that number could shift as more critics weigh in, but for now, it marks a noticeable dip for the franchise.

That said, the reaction hasn’t been anything close to disastrous. A lot of people like the movie! I’m not the biggest fan of the franchise, but I liked the film regardless of its faults.

The story picks up directly after the devastating loss at the end of The Way of Water, following the death of Jake Sully and Neytiri’s son, Neteyam. That grief hangs heavy over the film as the Sully family is pulled into a new and far more volatile conflict.

The big addition this time around is Varang, played by Oona Chaplin, the ruthless leader of the Ash People, also known as the Mangkwan. This fire-based Na’vi clan brings a harsher, more aggressive energy to Pandora, and they quickly establish themselves as the most dangerous threat the series has seen so far.

Despite the mixed critical response compared to earlier entries, Fire and Ash is still tracking toward a strong opening weekend. It might not hit the same heights as The Way of Water, but expectations remain high. The box office performance also carries extra weight, as Cameron has already made it clear that the future of the franchise depends on how this chapter performs financially.

Cameron said: "I've been in Avatar land for 20 years. Actually, 30 years, because I wrote it in '95, right, but I wasn't working continuously on it for those first 10 years. There was a brief flurry of interest in '95, and then everybody said, 'You're out of your mind,' and I shelved it for 10 years, and then we got serious in 2005. Yeah, absolutely. Sure, if this is where it ends, cool."

Whether Fire and Ash ends up being a turning point for the series or simply a transitional chapter will depend on how audiences respond once it hits theaters. For now, it stands as the most divisive Avatar film yet, even as it pushes the story into darker and more dangerous territory.

Avatar: Fire and Ash arrives exclusively in theaters on December 19.