Is 'Independence Day''s Failure a Warning for 'Avatar' Sequels?

American audiences showed last weekend that they're not all that interested in Independence Day: Resurgence, a sequel to a 20-year-old sci-fi hit. Does that spell trouble for Avatar 2, an upcoming sequel to a movie that will be nearly 10 years old when its successor finally hits theaters in 2018? It could be that Independence Day's failure to recapture the elusive magic that made the first film a hit is a foreshadowing of the reaction the Avatar sequel will get in a couple of years.

Independence Day: Resurgence took to the screen minus the original film's star, Will Smith, but even with the presence of Smith - who hasn't been able to live up lately to his box-office heyday, either - the ID sequel was unlikely to resonate with 2016 audiences. The kind of effects-heavy apocalyptic destruction that was revolutionary in the original film is now the standard stuff of Hollywood action blockbusters, and beyond explosions and battle scenes, Independence Day doesn't have much to offer.

Avatar could face similar hurdles in 2018. The original film has not aged particularly well and has not become much of an enduring pop cultural touchstone in the years since its release. It's entirely possible that audiences faced with a sequel might not be able to remember why they liked the original so much.

Independence Day director Roland Emmerich already has a second sequel to ID in the works, but those premature plans now don't seem like such a great idea. James Cameron's plans for an Avatar franchise are even grander, encompassing four planned sequels, the stumble of Resurgence makes an already shaky plan seem all that much more unwise.