James Cameron's Avatar sequel screened footage in Beijing

A few months ahead of the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel of the world's highest-grossing movie of all time, recently screened an exclusive clip in the CINITY format of 3D, 4K and high-frame rate at the CINITY Lab, the cutting-edge cinematic technology arm of China Film Group Corporation, in Beijing on Aug 19.

Gathering some decision-makers from Walt Disney and China Film Group, the screening provided the attendees with a surprise greeting video sent from director James Cameron, who says "thank you" in Mandarin.

Cameron states that he feels grateful for China's re-release of Avatar last year, which has propelled his sci-fi epic to return to the global box office champion seat, Cameron said: "With the first Avatar, we set out to push the limits of the big screen. With the new Avatar films, we're pushing those limits even further."

Earlier this year, CineEurope, an influential cinema trade show and convention held in Spain, saw The Way of Water specially screen new footage via the CINITY technology, a giant screen system developed by China.

Cameron said that he has received amazing feedback about CINITY from audiences in Europe. "The screening quality was remarkable, with the audience commenting that it was like nothing they had ever seen before. We are thrilled to have CINITY to showcase for the first time the selected scenes from Avatar: The Way of Water, thus proving that CINITY is a perfect match for our film. I sincerely hope this can be the start of a wonderful collaboration that sets a new paradigm for the cinematic experience around the world," he added.

The Way of Water is the first in a series of four planned sequels to the 2009 overwhelming hit Avatar, with the second movie scheduled to open in North America on Dec 16.