We've heard about it earlier, but James Cameron's Avatar is now officially returning to theaters on August 27th, 2010. Not content with an astonishing $2.7 billion at the box office already, Cameron is determined to squeeze as much money as humanly possible out of audiences for his first film in 12 years.

Avatar will return exclusively to 3D and IMAX theaters, something which might lead you to wonder why it's not also returning to regular old 2D theaters (remember those?). However, the big draw for Avatar was the revolutionary 3D and that's where most of that $2.7 billion was made.

Here's the official information from 20th Century Fox (thanks to /Film):

On August 27, return to Pandora and re-experience James Cameron’s History-Making Epic film, with more than Eight Minutes of Never Before Seen Footage- exclusively in Digital 3D and IMAX® 3D. Since - and largely as of result of - AVATAR’s release last December, the number of available digital 3D screens has exploded, and moviegoers who missed experiencing the film in 3D, as well as fans that want to return to Pandora again, will now have that opportunity.

The Oscar® and Golden Globe® winning epic is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in over $2.7 billion in worldwide box office. It is also the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time.

International Re-release Schedule

  • BELGIUM 8 SEPTEMBER 2010
  • RUSSIA 26 AUGUST 2010
  • SPAIN 17 SEPTEMBER 2010
  • UK 27 AUGUST 2010
  • AUSTRALIA 26 AUGUST 2010
  • INDIA 27 AUGUST 2010
  • JAPAN 16 OCTOBER 2010
  • SOUTH KOREA 16 SEPTEMBER 2010
  • MEXICO 15 OCTOBER 2010
  • ARGENTINA 16 SEPTEMBER 201

We last heard about Avatar's re-release when Cameron talked about it a couple of months ago. However, at that point Cameron said it'd have SIX minutes of additional footage, so it appears a couple of extra minutes have been added. Just what this new footage will be remains to be seen, although Cameron has said it required significant additional effects work by WETA. Not a bad thing to hear, I think you'll agree.

Avatar 2 & 3 May Shoot Back-to-Back

I know there are a lot of people out there who weren't as enamored with Avatar as most were (although the box office receipts suggest they saw it more than once), with most haters citing the "generic story" as one of the problems they had with it. However, I'm one of those people who was in awe of the film, particularly the stunning visuals and exciting action. As for the story, well I can't say I totally disagree that it's a bit like "Dances with Wolves in space" but people I always thought people were being a bit too harsh on it (and fellow Screen Rant writer Kofi Outlaw agreed with me)

As for Avatar's re-release, I probably won't end up seeing it again since I saw it twice in theaters when it first came out and own it at home. Having said that, with it coming right at the end of the summer movie season when every other blockbuster has come and gone, I might just see it again to cap off summer 2010.

Will you be seeing Avatar when it gets released again this Fall? Does the eight extra minutes of footage sway you?

As stated, Avatar will be re-released in 3D and IMAX 3D theaters on August 27th, 2010.

Source: 20th Century Fox (via /Film)