“Avatar” is split between a few different owners, depending on which “Avatar” you mean and which rights you care about.

James Cameron’s “Avatar” (blue aliens)

For the sci‑fi film franchise that started with Avatar (2009):

  • The core intellectual property and creative control sit with James Cameron’s company Lightstorm Entertainment , which holds the production and IP rights to the world, characters, and stories.
  • Disney, through its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, owns the finished movies and handles financing, distribution (cinemas, home media, streaming), and major licensing like theme‑park attractions and some merchandise.
  • In practice, this means Cameron/Lightstorm decide what Avatar stories get made, while Disney controls how the already‑made films are commercially exploited and shown to audiences.

So if the question is “who owns Avatar ” in the movie sense:

  • Creative/IP ownership: largely James Cameron via Lightstorm Entertainment.
  • Movie and distribution rights: Disney (via 20th Century Fox) for the films that exist and the deals around them.

Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender”

There’s also the animated universe (Avatar: The Last Airbender , The Legend of Korra):

  • Nickelodeon (under Paramount/Viacom) owns the rights and the property for this Avatar franchise.
  • The show was created after Nickelodeon requested a concept from the creators, and the IP has been tied to Nickelodeon from the start rather than owned independently by the creators.

So if the question is about the animated “Avatar” with bending:

  • Nickelodeon/Viacom is the owner of that franchise’s IP.

Quick HTML table view

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Avatar version</th>
      <th>Core IP / creative owner</th>
      <th>Company that exploits the finished shows/films</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>James Cameron’s Avatar (movies)</td>
      <td>Lightstorm Entertainment / James Cameron [web:1][web:9]</td>
      <td>Disney (via 20th Century Fox) – distribution, financing, major licensing [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Avatar: The Last Airbender / Korra</td>
      <td>Nickelodeon / Viacom [web:7]</td>
      <td>Nickelodeon / Paramount platforms and partners [web:7]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.