The Last Airbender (film)

This article is about the 2010 film. For other uses, see The Last Airbender (disambiguation).

The Last Airbender
Theatrical release poster
Directed byM. Night Shyamalan
Written byM. Night Shyamalan
Based on
Avatar: The Last Airbender
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Lesnie
Edited byConrad Buff
Music byJames Newton Howard
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • June 30, 2010 (2010-06-30) (Alice Tully Hall)
  • July 1, 2010 (2010-07-01) (United States)[1]
Running time
103 minutes[2][3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150 million[4][5]
Box office$319.7 million[5][6]

The Last Airbender is a 2010 American action adventure fantasy film written, co-produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.[7][6][1][8] Based on the first season of the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–08), the film stars Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi, and Cliff Curtis.[9] The plot follows Aang, a young Avatar who must master all four elements of air, water, fire, and earth and restore balance to the world while stopping the Fire Nation from conquering the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom.

Development for the film began in January 2007, and the casting and pre-production process happened during 2008. Principal photography began on March 2009 and ended on September, with a preliminary schedule held in Greenland for two weeks, and the rest of the film being shot in major locations across Pennsylvania, United States. Post-production began in August and took several months due to extensive visual effects. The name Avatar was dropped from the title to avoid confusion with James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar.

The Last Airbender premiered at the Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 30, 2010, and was theatrically released in United States the following day by Paramount Pictures. The film was panned by critics and fans, with several publications calling it one of the worst films of all time. Produced on a $150 million budget, the film grossed $319.7 million worldwide. The Last Airbender was originally envisioned as the first of a trilogy of films based on the three seasons of the series, but due to its disappointing box office performance and negative reviews, the planned trilogy was ultimately scrapped.

  1. ^ a b DiOrio, Carl (June 16, 2010). "Last Airbender release moved up one day". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  2. ^ "The Last Airbender | Movie". Moviefone.com. June 24, 2010. Archived from the original on July 2, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  3. ^ "THE LAST AIRBENDER (12A)". Paramount Pictures. British Board of Film Classification. June 21, 2010. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference budget was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference thenumbers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "The Last Airbender (2010)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Sarafin, Jarrod (June 10, 2008). "Paramount and M.Night Shyamalan Previews Last Airbender". Mania Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 30, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  9. ^ Marnell, Blair. "'Last Airbender' Star Noah Ringer Joins 'Cowboys And Aliens' Cast." Archived September 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine MTV. April 19, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2022.