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It's no Taylor Lautner story, but I'm told by 20th Century Fox sources that its Avatar will likely be the #2 movie of all time as soon as tonight. Its grosses, helped by higher 3D ticket prices, are overtaking 2D Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King ($1,119,110,941), but is still behind #1, James Cameron's earlier 2D epic Titanic ($1,842,879,955). Its new domestic total, including Wednesday's grosses, is $374,436,685. And it's taken only 20 days! I'll have Avatar's latest worldwide gross in the morning.
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That’s both amazing and disgusting. Avatar was amazing visually, but the way Cameron boasted leading up to te realease leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Who cares if he separated his shoulder slapping himself on the back for the achievement upon its release. He backed up his self-congratulation with stellar execution. He’s got a body of work that most assuredly warrants boastfulness.
Mr. Cameron has never been shy about promoting his films, and why should he be? He’s a director who has succeeded in creating a film that realizes a vision he’s had for 15 years and has co-created a new process for shooting 3D in the process. And, the fact that this film, like TITANIC, went over-budget gives him an extra incentive to try to get people into the theaters to see it. (If you look back, you’ll find that the further TITANIC — the #1 film in this category — went over-budget, the louder his pre-release boasting got on that film as well.)
From my perspective, Mr. Cameron is neither very nice nor very humble when it comes to creating and promoting his work. (In fact, during production, he has done things that many people would consider to be downright cruel.) That said, once he undertakes to create a picture, compromise is not an option, and he will do whatever it takes to see his vision come to fruition. For him (and for many other directors with his passion), that is the only thing that really matters.
He accomplished a stellar movie, of course he was confident, would you go see movie that the director didn’t even love. After making that masterpiece he’s allowed some self congratulations.
Pathetic touchiness. I hate humans.
Cameron always just seems confident in his ability to do something decent. Anyway, who cares even if he was bragging. His movie is unbelievable and you are still a loser.
Will be a $2bill flick when all said & done… Stars aligned for Cameron, again! Still haven’t seen it yet lol rather dl blu ray flix and old Johnny To & Ringo Lam flix lol
This movie was an experience not just a movie. Jim Cameron deserves all the success he can get because he is thinking outside the box AND he has the balls to try to realize his dreams. Innovative, smart, cocky, hardworking-great combination obviously!
It’s simple: this was your first 3d movie.
It’s not simple. I’ve seen dozens of recent 3D movies, and Cameron used it to far greater effect than other filmmakers have. “Avatar” is an immersive experience, and Cameron’s achievement deserves the accolades it’s getting. Whenever there’s something that too many people have a high opinion of, there are always those like yourself who feel a compulsion to belittle it. It’s not a healthy or productive compulsion.
Alek, sori but name one film that was like this one? This wasn’t just your average poke-your-eye 3D flick…have u even seen it?
Do any of you speak English?
What Alek said was “This was your first 3D movie”
He wasn’t belittling it, on the contrary…
What he meant was that this movie IS 3D, all those others are gimmick 2D pictures with 3D elements.
So this was really the FIRST 3D movie ever made.
Drop the condescending comments, pal. Everyone else was right in their interpretation — you’re the one misinterpreting alex’s intentions. Geesh.
Watched Avatar this week in IMAX 3D theatre. I am a big fan of action/special effects movies so have watched 2012 and the like. Avatar is way ahead of anything else that I have ever watched and Cameron deserves the right to brag and be praised. As noted by another submission, this is a full 3D movies not a 2D with bits of 3D.
No, do YOU speak English? He states, and I quote, “this was YOUR first 3d movie,” directing the statement toward the reader, implying the people who really like the movie only did so because of experiencing 3d technology for the first time.
You took his words and tried to twist the meaning to a more even keeled response that he meant this was the first “true” 3d filmed movie, which was not in the original author’s intent.
I have a feeling you were king of the high school debate team, when you could simply take what someone else had said and through smoke and mirrors and a self righteous indignation, mold it into something fitting your needs. That might have worked with high school kids in over their heads, don’t try to run that past here.
While I have enjoyed almost every single film from Cameron I still find some of the praise absolutely ridiculous. Seeing comments claiming this film should win and Oscar for Best Picture, or Director is BS. From a tech standpoint the film delivered on the hype, where it fell short was in the plot. Avatar is nothing more then a good theater film, and the entertainment offered will NOT survive the transition to home viewing.
I don’t understand those who complain about Avatar’s plot. While there are no major surprises, it’s a very strong classic tale. Have we become so ADHD that a film needs some surprise twist in order to qualify as a good story? Sorry, but no. The film is well-written, has strong themes, and is extremely tight and effective.
Not only WILL this survive the transition to home viewing, it will lead the way in revolutionizing the home viewing technology, because audiences will demand a more effective way to experience it at home. Some of you need to go watch that film again, because you’re missing a watershed moment of cinema.
I don’t think that there’s any qualifications or equivocations needed anymore: no matter how you slice it, Avatar is truly a smash hit (and, more importantly, it’s a true smash that people actually like, not a phony media driven “hit”.)
However, there is a significant factor which mitigates its box office a little bit, and that’s the fact that, here in the U.S., 75% of its tickets are being sold at inflated 3D ticket costs. So, I came up with a formula which accounts for this and approximates – pretty accurately, I think – how much Avatar would make (this only applies to American figures) if all the tickets were in 2D:
Premises and assumptions for the formula.
1) 75% of tickets sold are in 3D
2) 3D tickets cost 30% more than regular tickets
2) IMAX tickets cost 50% more than regular tickets
The formula then is this (USBO stands for United States Box Office):
((USBO – IMAX) x .25) + (IMAX / 1.5) +
(((USBO – IMAX) x .75) / 1.3)
Note, though, that Avatar is making a ton more money overseas than here in the U.S….and that’s almost all 2D! So, clearly, the 3D is not to credit for the movie’s triumph. (It’s kinda appropriate that it’s making more money overseas, considering that virtually everything about it is foreign: it’s writer, director, financiers, effects crew, etc., etc.)
” think – how much Avatar would make (this only applies to American figures) if all the tickets were in 2D:”
Sorry that simply is not true. With lower prices attendance would be MUCH MUCH higher. There is no way of knowing whether total gross would go down, or up or stay about the same.
The way you calculate it there is no reason why any product doesn’t just increase price by 30-50% since demand will stay the same. This is of course false!
There is NO marketing research saying that people are buying less tickets because of the higher 3D prices. In fact, the lure of the 3D being so revolutionary is the main pull getting people outside of the standard demo to go experience the movie. It’s also obviously causing many people who don’t care for the film from a story perspective (like me) to see the movie and perhaps even see it again.
Besides, your entire theory is flawed. It IS available in 2D. Nobody is being stopped from buying cheaper tickets. By and large, the audience just obviously prefers this film in 3D.
If it wasn’t in 3D, attendance would be down by half, the whole lure of this movie was its revolutionary 3D visuals overcoming a shitty script
I dont believe that for a second. I myself and many others I know didn’t like it because it was 3D, we liked the movie itself, I and many others even prefer 2D over 3D. So I bet it would stay the same. People would still see this movie if it was 3D. In my opinion, the 3D part of it is NOTHING compared to the movie itself.
Very perceptive comment. Brilliant in fact, aside from the potty mouth language. And I bet if he’d shot it as a silent film in black and white, the grosses would be even lower.
I’m in Germany and over here it’s also mostly 3D-tickets that are sold, which also cost about 30% more than regular tickets. So are you sure that it’s mostly 2D overseas?
The little formula that I jerry-rigged there only applies to the U.S. I’m not “sure” what the percentage of 3D screenings are outside North America….but it’s a safe bet that it’s a heck of a lot less than the the 3/4 here.
Just a few weeks before Avatar was released, Cameron said, “Probably, globally, two-thirds of the people who see this movie will see it in 2D.” I’m sure that his estimate was about accurate because he’s very, very knowledgeable about the state of the 3D industry.
(From what I know, Germany is very developed with a robust economy. But think about all the countries in southern Europe, central Asia, South America, Central America, Africa, etc.: most of those countries are comparatively poor, and that’s probably the bulk of what Cameron was talking about.)
But I can’t find precise figures for overseas, so it’s kind of a moot point. (The 75% for the U.S. came from BoxOfficeMojo.com.)
Oh yeah, all those little countries in Southern Europe, like Italy, right? Dude, go back to school, really. Even here in eastern Europe half the screens Avatar is on are 3D. 7% of all tickets sold were from IMAX.
We might not have as many 3D screens as you guys but we are growing fast, faster then you guys at least.
Alex,
Sorry that you have to deal with this dumb American and his un-informed comments. I promise you that most of us are not this way and look at the facts. We don’t make up stuff like he does to try to prove his point of view.
By the way, I have been doing research and trying to figure out how much money Avatar is making by country overseas. Can you maybe give me some information on how much Avatar has made in Italy?
Actually, Italy IS a little country- both in terms of geography and population. Now that doesn’t mean that Italy doesn’t have 3D (I’ll defer to your expert opinion on that). But Italy is really a minor country. It contains less than 0.9% of the world’s population- smaller than the Congo or Ethiopia.
I’m based out of India, which is definitely one of the poorer countries, and 90% of the theaters here are screening it in 3D (never mind bad prints and 3D glasses that are, well, not really 3D glasses). More importantly, the 3D tickets out here cost nearly double what a general 2D movie costs (USD 10 approx)
Whatever he might have said, Cameron’s not stupid – he knew the only reason Avatar would work is because of the visuals – which are, admittedly, astounding – and he’s ensured that he rolls out as many 3D prints as possible, domestically AND internationally. My guesstimate is, approx. 75-80% of the people that have seen this movie have seen it in 3D, regardless of geography.
If you are talking about third world countries, the answer is: YES.
60% of the total gross worldwide is coming from those countries and they don’t have 3d Imax or too many Real 3d screens.
yeah. i am in romania right now and avatar is mostly on 3D here and hungary, i have no idea how you guessed there is mostly 2D overseas?
yeah, you said right. mostly 3D here in Hungary as well. and the theaters are packed like crazy. I mean wow, really the only time I’ve seen this histeria before was when Titanic were screened.
JC’s name sold this picture. he deserves every success.
Wow! What a waste of time it was to go to your link and read all the mumbo-jumbo about “military subsidized hits” and then comparing Avatar’s success to a politician!
I have to admit, I didn’t read the whole article. Too boring. The main reason I did go to the link is to see the total that your “formula” came up with for the “adjusted gross” if you don’t take 3D prices into account and figure out how many people actually bought tickets to see Avatar.
I guess that part makes for interesting yet irrelevant trivia…But IT DOESN’T MATTER AT ALL!
I guess I have to teach you the same way I did with “helenofpeel” about the importance of money made, rather than the importance of tickets sold.
Any company or project has investors only interested in one thing: Money!
I used this example before, and I will use it again. Because I think it is the easiest way for you guys to understand:
A car company can state that it sold a thousand cars, which might sound good to it’s investors, but the question is, “Which model did you sell?” and more importantly “How much money did you bring in?”
That’s why companies come out with “quarterly earnings”, not “quarterly units sold”. Sure, in the report of quarterly earnings they might disclose how many units were sold, but the only thing that matters is the money and it will always be the only thing that matters.
AND THAT GOES FOR ANY COMPANY!
People like to argue that movies in the past sold more tickets so that’s why we should only look at the amount of tickets sold today.
But I bet you that when “Gone With The Wind” sold it’s reported 200 million tickets, the studio still only cared about the money that the movie made.
Do you think that 20th Centure Fox goes to the bank and tells them: “I would like to deposit the 50 million tickets sold by Avatar into the account.” The teller will just look at them and think, what the hell are they talking about?
Ok, I simplified it to make my argument, but how else are you going to understand? Money is the only thing that matters!
Technically, business are interested in profits, not money.
But I’m not a company, and I’m definitely not a movie studio….so I’m interested in a movie’s popularity, not its profits. If people cared about movie studios’ profits, then USA Today would print their quarterly balance sheets. They don’t. The reason that the public – most people, anyway – care about box office has nothing to do with interest and everything to do with gauging if, and how much, their fellow citizens enjoy a movie.
So, you might be interested in News Corp’s income statements and Avatar’s impact on them, but most people are interested in….Avatar.
“Technically, business are interested in profits, not money.”
I’m sorry. I must be confused. What is this thing you call “profits”? Aren’t “profits” people that profisize the future? Oh no, that’s “prophets”. LOL
I will have to do some IN-DEPTH research, but I believe profits come from THE AMOUNT OF MONEY A STUDIO SPENDS, and THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THE STUDIO MAKES. When I find out the answer, I will get back to you on that one…HAHAHA
Give up on the “amount of tickets sold” idea. You know it’s just ridiculous. Maybe you thought you came up with the next “big thing” with your special “jerry-rigged” calculation that you thought would impress people.
Oh, and by the way, we know exactly how much our “fellow citizen’s enjoy” Avatar. You can tell by the 1.8% drop on its second weekend and the 9.4% drop on its third weekend. You might be new to box office trends, but usually movies drop at least 30% from weekend to weekend. Also, if a movie opens pretty big, the second weekend drop is usually 40% or more. Avatar dropped 1.8%!
And if you want to use the idiotic idea of Liz, you can say that it’s only because of its weekends falling on holidays. Well, Sherlock Holmes’ second weekend fell on a holiday and it still dropped 41%!
So, if you want to gauge what fellow citizens think of any movie, just look at the drop from weekend to weekend…A lower drop means that the movie is getting good word of mouth…Do you understand or do you want me to explain it a different way?
But, thank you for playing…Next!
At my theater in Woodland Hills, CA, the IMAX was ONLY $1 more and the 3D was the same price as the other movies on the board….
Idiots…
Where you getting these numbers?
* 3D tickets cost 30% more than regular tickets
* IMAX tickets cost 50% more than regular tickets
The 30% figure came from Cameron himself.
And as long as you’ve set the precedent that random examples establish the entire trend, then I’ll say mine: I go to weekday showings to save money. All tickets are $5….except RealD 3D movies, which are $8. So that’s a 60% increase! But wait, there’s more: IMAX 3D tickets at this same theater are $14.25, no matter the day or time. So that’s a 285% increase!
If you want to get a definitive number or just an estimate that you think is more accurate, run along and do the work. I’ll modify the formula if you come up with something. Thanks.
Where I live the daytime tickets cost $7.75 with an additional $2 for 3D glasses (a 25.8% increase) for a total of $9.75.
Showtimes after 4PM cost $10.50 with the additional $2 for the glasses (a 19% increase) for a total of $12.75.
So, now the question is, how many people go to see the movie before 4PM and how many goes to see it after 4PM.
You say that you go to the weekday showings to save money. So how do we know how many people are doing the same thing you are doing? Maybe Avatar is suffering because people like you go see it in the morning instead of at night!
If people only go to see it before 4PM in my area, that means that they spend $9.75 a ticket (including 3D glasses), which is less than people spend when they see a regular movie after 4PM at $10.50 a ticket! Avatar is losing $0.75 per ticket, because people would rather see it before 4PM when it’s cheaper!
Oh no, you have to totally change your formula now! People are actually spending an average of 75 cents less than they would if it wasn’t in 3D.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…And that’s why your formula means nothing! Anyone can just come up with their “perspective” of it all.
We all know that it’s more expensive to go see Avatar, but people don’t really seem to care…They still pay it. The movie is still raking in the cash, setting records! Everything else is just trivial!
Charl:
The formula was presented with very clear, unmistakable modesty, and all the things that you’re rabidly complaining about – in multiple posts now – were acknowledged in both my blog entry and in my post here.
Yes, the figures are ballpark estimates. Because they’re estimates and because I don’t have access to average 3D ticket costs, the formula absolutely needs to be taken with a big grain of salt.
Like I said before, if you want to do your own work and find precise figures that we could plug into it, I’ll happily modify the formula. Or perhaps we’d even find that my estimates were accurate. Until you actually do work instead of just complaining and offering potential problems, we don’t know.
You concluded your post with, “The movie is still raking in the cash, setting records. Everything else is trivial.” First, thanks for breaking that news to us all! We were all thinking that Avatar was a flop ’til you came along and set the record straight. Secondly, I don’t think that knowledge is “trivial.” I think that it’s important and, for me anyway, it’s also fun.
It’s just a harmless search for greater clarity and knowledge. I have no clue why you seem to be so offended by it.
JamesCameronBlogspot,
You state “Like I said before, if you want to do your own work and find precise figures that we could plug into it, I’ll happily modify the formula. Or perhaps we’d even find that my estimates were accurate. Until you actually do work instead of just complaining and offering potential problems, we don’t know.”
Let me ask you: Why do I have to do the work to help you with a formula that is absolutely pointless? The only thing that I care about is the facts, not some silly little formula! And that goes for just about anybody commenting on this site.
I’m not offended by your search for greater clarity and knowledge, just don’t waste our time by commenting over and over about a formula that is trivial.
You think it’s important…Why is it important? Tell me. Why do you continue to force this formula on us? How is this going to help anyone on this site? What is its importance to anything in the movie industry?
You say that your formula is only “estimates”. Then why even come up with a “formula”?
We don’t need estimates, we need facts! And the facts come from the money the movie has made in theaters. That’s all the facts that we need!
Let me ask you something else: Are people today talking about Titanic selling 128 million tickets domestically, or do they talk about Titanic making $600 million?
THAT is why your little formula is TRIVIAL.
I really don’t know what to tell you. You don’t like the idea of noting that 3D tickets cost more money. Okay. So then you don’t have to think about it. I think it’s relevant, and so I will think about it. Different strokes for different folks.
For the record, all the “estimates” were thoroughly substantiated – citing estimates from the studio, BoxOfficeMojo, and Cameron himself.
i get what you’re saying, but this “analysis” is useless and opens a can of worms. different theathers charge different amounts, and if you want to go the inflation route, then let’s talk about “gone with the wind”
part of the reason the film cost so much was the 3d, which is also its lure.
hp has 3d imax (granted not as high a % of the gross) but there weren’t as many detractors. also, there should be a premium for a 3d imax film, and there should be a higher charge.
the fact is, people are seeing it in droves and they continue to. studios love bragging about records, so i guess we will have to deal.
I am from Austria, and I have seen Avatar twice. Both times on Imax 3D. Tickets were expensive (15€ if you care to know), but it was worth it.
The point is: I assure you, if its true that Avatar makes more Money here than in the US, than it’s just because of 3D.
Nobody here watches Avatar in 2D.
[Off topic: I always find it funny how Americans think about Europe beeing one big thing, like their country. But we (Europe) have so many different countries, languages, looks, mentalities, etc etc., you can't really talk of one "Europe". It would be like comparing the USA to Mexico or Brasil, because, hell, it's all America somehow
]
Anyway: Greetings from the snow-plagued Vienna
So Whiskey, are you prepared to admit it is profitable yet?
We haven’t heard from Whiskey in a while! Hahaha
You have to realize that it’s very difficult if you have been proven wrong the way that Whiskey has been proven wrong.
Whiskey is probably going into hiding until the next big movie comes out so that he can try to pick it apart. LOL
Can we have a little inflation adjustment please?
Not to mention adjustment for all the extra cost for IMAX tickets. (Titanic tickets cost what, $7.50 back in the day? IMAX tickets are twice that, without any inflation adjustment. I think I know which movie more people actually saw.
IMAX prices, 3D prices, inflation — plus the fact its 2nd and 3rd weekends coincided with Christmas and New Year’s, preventing the usual week-to-week declines. Return of the King didn’t get a sweet deal like that one.
And yes, everyone who’s raved about this has focused on the 3D “experience” and insisted it’s the “only way” to see the film. Not a word about plot or characters. In other words, it’s a cinematic amusement park ride.
Of course, Titanic was rubbish too, and that didn’t hurt it at Oscar time — along with other overrated tripe like Forrest Gump, A Beautiful Mind and Shakespeare in Love. Blecch.
Oh Liz,
Check your facts a little more closely before you comment. You just sound clueless.
Return Of The King came out on December 17th – A Wednesday (Avatar December 18th). True, Return Of The King’s Christmas and New Year’s fell on Thursdays, but most people had the Friday off after each of those holidays. It was pretty much a 4 day weekend for everyone.
If you want to compare, Titanic came out on December 19th (A Friday) and its Christmas and New Year’s also fell on a Thursday just like Return Of The King. Yet, Titanic’s second weekend rose by 23% and third weekend only dropped 6% (Return Of The King dropped 30% and 44% on the same weekends, just a different year).
So, Return Of The King had the same opportunities as Avatar and Titanic, but those two movies just had much better holds.
Another reason you have for Avatar not dropping that much from weekend to weekend is the 3D and IMAX. Avatar’s prices remained the same whether it was the 1st weekend or the 3rd weekend. Ticket inflation didn’t go up in three weeks!
Also, to further prove my point, just look at the numbers for Sherlock Holmes and Alvin this past holiday season. They both had the assistance of New Year’s falling on their second weekend, yet Sherlock dropped 41% and Alvin dropped 28% (Avatar dropped only 9% on the same New Year’s weekend).
Do a little research before you make un-informed comments.
I thought the story kicked ass. I thought the whole movie kicked ass, the 3d was just the icing on the cake.
Let me help you with your request for “inflation adjustment”. Just go to boxofficemojo.com. You can find it there.
Take the plot from various movies, film in secret and convince audiences to pay higher prices to see this “gamechanger”, he deserves the potential $2 billion in revenue.
This is just going to make more studios do their blockbusters in 3-D which means the movie goer will have to spend more money, which doesn’t sound appealing. 3-D adds a nice pop to the film but its not worth the extra money.
Thankfully cable television and some network shows provide entertainment far better than what is hitting the theatres. Sure something on the scale of big budget films are rare on TV but for quality dramas and comedies nothing beats television this past decade.
The film cost a huge amount of money to produce, why shouldn’t the studio charge more? The difference is insignificant for something that transcends a normal theatrical experience. It’s like Broadway vs Off- Broadway. Cameron has made a movie that is a theatrical experience rather than something that could be seen on your cell phone. This kind of experience has been sorely lacking for too long and capable filmmakers like Spielberg, Lucas, and even Michael Bay haven’t been able to break through that wall, no matter how they tried. Cameron is a visionary equal to D. W. Griffith, someone who has changed cinema.
studios don’t set the prices in theaters, exhibitors do. However, Fox does have to pay for the prints and do you know how much an Imax 3D print is?
I couldn’t agree more, minus Michael Bay. I’ve made some pretty bold claims about Cameron, waiting years for Avatar to come out, and now here’s my next claim: 30 years from now when he’s kicked the can, and made another ten movies surpassing this caliber, he’ll go down in history as the greatest film maker of all time. Sure Speilbergs responsible for a lot content, but Cameron operates on a higher level.
I concur.
Five years from now, all TV will be for pay.
Oh yeah,there may be tv bands that run local yokal programming, but all the good stuff will be for pay. The cable systems will tighten the noose around the viewers until they fight back. Which we all know will be never. The TV mob will just watch Hulu and YouTube.$200 bucks a month for cable? Hardy, Har, Har.
Well, maybe for the ESPN/HOOTERS channel.
James Cameron : Return of the Real King.
Oh gawd. We’re never going to hear the end of this one.
“I am the King of the Universe!”
Hahaha…I bet that’s what he’s going to say if he wins Best Director or Best Picture! LOL
But, he won’t. I know some people on this site have commented on Avatar winning Best Picture and Best Director, but there is no way that’s going to happen.
I think he deserves it, but I’m afraid he might not. They have a tendency to pic small, dramatically polished films.
HelenofPeel, Good call!
Charl, I don’t know about the Best Director and Best Picture awards, but I’m wondering what will happen at this year’s Academy Awards VFX Bake-Off (during which the VFX branch of the Academy determines which 3 films out of the 7 on the preliminary list will be on the Academy ballot for the VFX award).
In the normal course, there is limited amount of time for the VFX candidates for each film to discuss why their film should win. When the time is up, a red light bulb on a stand in front of the podium comes on. However, before Jim started to speak at the VFX Bake-Off that included TITANIC, he unscrewed the red light bulb saying something like (and my apologies for not having the actual quote): “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the course of making this film, it’s that you should always take the time you need to do the job you want to do.” He then proceeded to speak for longer than the allotted time.
According to Academy representatives, the red light is now epoxied in … but, knowing Jim, he might just bring a little black flameproof hood and cover the light.
I would like to see these figures adjusted to real dollars against seats sold to get a more accurate list!
Money probably is the root of all evil. But I’m thinking it’s also the root of ennuie. So Avatar made amazing bucks. So?
What would be amazing to you then? I believe this topic is on the business of Avatar and wouldn’t you agree #2 all time in 20 days is pretty amazing?
It’s a flop, I tell you! F-L-O-P. 100% pure unprofitability. Scribbling the word ‘FLOP’ onto the walls of my padded room with black crayon will embolden my case, if only in my pristine mind. Wake up and smell the roses people, this is Pluto Nash redux!
Agreed, Vodka. Everybody KNOWS a good film is one that makes lots and lots of money! That unforgettable cinematic masterpiece Transformers 2, for instance. With more than 400 million dollars domestic, it is surely Oscar-bound!
Oh Liz,
You agree with Vodka? Are you also in a “padded room”? I guess that would explain on the nonsense…
Vodka, any relation to Whiskey? Must come from the same hole in the ground….
Any relation to Whiskey?
This is just going to make more studios do their blockbusters in 3-D which means the movie goer will have to spend more money, which doesn’t sound appealing
—————————————–
Nobody forces people to see Avatar in 3D. It’s as much an experience in 2D too. the fact is, people choose to see it in 3d, not that they are forced to see it in 3d… People also choose to see it in IMAX…
If in future filmmakers make 3d movies and you see that 3d adds nothing to them and don’t want to pay more for the ticket, you can just decide no to go = filmmakers will suffer losses, go back to 2d format…
I worked on ‘Terminator 2′ and ‘Titanic’ and have to say this about James – he expects too much – and that, ladies and gentlemen is exactly why he is now the envy of everyone. When the ink dries, be it black or red, it only matters that the art and effort was beyond outrageous. I’m very, very happy for the outrageousness of James Cameron.
Wow. Your lucky to have worked with him. he remind me of that tough boss that pisses you off, but would later find out he helped develop you into a better worker.
I woke up at 2:55am in LA and went straight to deadline. All I saw was AVATAR EVERYWHERE…Great way to start off 2010 Nikki with some of that $150mm marketing budget.AVATAR’S going to $2 Billion…Yeah Cameron!!!!
–Rupert I’ll take my check now..:)
Just for the record….Avatar is more an independent movie than a Fox movie. According to the New York Times (a dubious source, but this is a clear statement of material fact that I don’t think even they could lie about), 60% of it was financed by private investors.
So, if somebody is making a payoff, it wouldn’t be Rupert Murdoch. And if somebody deserves praise….it ain’t Fox, who expressly rejected the movie and refused to finance it ’til Cameron & Co. found the private investors and they had the threat of going to Disney.
Avatar is, very literally, an independent foreign movie. Almost nothing about it is American.
20th Century Fox is still going to make money off this movie, right? No matter how much they put into it or what their take is in the end. They make money.
Even if an investor just put 1% into the movie, they are still going to make money.
Plus, having the luxury of people seeing this movie and all the trailers of upcoming movies will help 20th Century Fox make even more money in the future.
Don’t pretend like Rupert Murdoch isn’t making money off your dumb ass.
Man… if only more independent foreign movies had $150 million dollar studio backed marketing campaigns…
Actually, according to that same ‘New York Times’ article, Fox can’t even be praised for the marketing, ’cause they skimped out on that, too; spending about 2/3 of what they did on an average blockbuster.
But, yeah, marketing and advertising are pretty much all that Americans can do anymore, and all they did do on Avatar.
It’s funny, ’cause when Titanic came out in ‘97, Cameron intentionally showed more loyalty to Fox (the international distributor) over Paramount (U.S.) because Fox had put down a lot more money. (Sumner Redstone had even mocked Avatar publicly while it was in production.) The most pointed example of this was the movie’s premiere: Cameron agreed to participate in undercutting Paramount’s U.S. premiere by having the first premiere be in Tokyo, weeks before its U.S. premiere. There’s the real possibility that the reason Avatar had its own premiere in London, and why its major press junkets were overseas, was to again recognize the investment of the movie’s major financiers.
And yet every single investor in Avatar will make money…Leaving your argument pointless.
This is my favorite movie of all time, seen it 4 times so far. James Cameron deserves every cent he earns and then some. I hope it overtakes Titanic
Avatar is still playing here at the local cinema. I talked to one my friends and he’s going to see it the movie at the stadium cinema in Pearl. But the reason for its success has been the internet PR it has recieved.
That and word of mouth. Everyone I talk to, and some point in time , the topic of Avatar comes up.
Oh, this disappoints me from someone I enjoy reading truth from all the time.
Tickets being what they are *of course* new films are going to break records and go higher than ever before.
Let me add the to the chorus of “inflation-adjust” please. Sloppy, sloppy.
Seems like he’s in a no win with many people. If he’d been modest about the film, someone would be complaining too. At least he made another event movie and is keeping our field moving forward with this suck economy and people are still shelling out money for it.
It just keeps us moving forward creatively so I give him the kudos for that.
Curt Johnson
Avatar- its great feyritail!!! (I looked a film 4 times in 3d!)
LOL! The new year is still giving birth to trolls. Don’t they have anything better to do?
JamesCameronBlogspot, while a true fan, is an idiot when it comes to film finance and distribution. First of all, almost everyone, including the mainstream press, overstate the importance of Imax, it accounts for less than 200 theaters and only about 14% of Avatar’s box office. Second, this revolutionary 3D is the reason many people are seeing the movie, so trying to parse out 2D in 1997 vs 3D in 2010 is stupid, this is a revolution and from here on out, people will use this as a baseline, ticket prices aren’t going down. And to call it a foreign, or independently financed film is ridiculous: Cameron doesn’t have one cent in the production, big deal Fox shared costs with longtime financing partners (Dune finances much of Fox”s slate), every studio does that. Fox is the one that took the risk, oversaw the production, kept Cameron in check when it looked like it was going wildly over budget or he was having doubts. News Corp is an evil empire, but you can’t slam Fox for putting a whole lot of skin in this game. I could go on, but I’m bored now…
FromTheInside:
Thanks for calling me a true fan.
IMAX’s proportion of the revenues for Avatar are directly reflected in the formula that I rigged. The whole idea was to level off the cost of all 3D tickets (be they IMAX, RealD, or one of the other systems), and so their percentage is directly reflected in the formula.
So it doesn’t matter at all how much people talk about IMAX or anything. The formula isn’t about media coverage. It’s mathematical.
Next, you said that Avatar is popular BECAUSE it’s in 3D. Well, first off, I disagree with that, because it’s an even bigger hit overseas where, by James Cameron’s estimates, only 1/3 of showings are in 3D. Therefore, it’s obviously a popular movie regardless of its format.
But actually, this complaint means you should be happy with the formula: the whole idea was to discount the 3D revenues and just focus on the gate admissions.
Lastly, you talked about Avatar’s other investors. Really, we don’t know what went on behind the scenes, but we do know (1) Fox initially rejected the movie, and (2) 60% of it is independent. Those are statements of fact. Whatever conclusion – or other statements of fact (rather than speculation) – you want to draw from them are up to you.
Not trying to be deliberately obtuse, but here’s a question: is the development cost of the Fusion camera part of Avatar’s overall “budget numbers”?
If so, more revenue for this film should be counted since future rentals of the camera to other films will represent another revenue stream outside of ticket sales, correct?
You are correct except that Cameron himself, and not FOX, owns the rights to that camera system. FOX owns the movie and makes money from the film.
But generally I agree that the total should be included as it is a separate revenue stream which was developed with money from the initial investment (original budget of the film).
Probably not. I don’t know what development costs of the Fusion Camera System, if any, were passed on to the financiers. But, it is highly unlikely that the ownership rights in the system would be something that Fox or any other financier would have a piece of. Though the system was created, in large part, so that it could be used for the film, the system was developed by Vince Pace and Jim Cameron independent of the film (and requires two Sony cameras that are specifically modified for use in the system, not cameras that were developed from scratch by Pace/Cameron). So, revenues from future licensing or rentals of the system would not be considered part of the revenue stream from the film.
Although it won’t count towards the revenue for this film, it will cerainly make James Cameron a lot more money…LOL
This movie was amazing. I think it deserves more awards and income than Titanic – I still don’t get it, what was so special in that film about a sinking ship.
In my country the 3D tickets cost 300 HUF (1,5USD) more than a normal 2D ticket, that’s not much. And there are very few IMAX cinemas in the world, so don’t consider that a large boost of income.
If the Avatar takes over Titanic with a few million bucks, your yapping about 3D prizes may be acceptable, but what if it gets 3 billion totally?
This is the best film of this decade, and if there has to be a movie that gets more than 11 Oscars, this is it.
Am I the only person that saw this in 3D without paying extra? My itty bitty six-screen theater upgraded to digital screens years ago and I’m assuming upgraded more recently to 3D projectors. I saw Avatar twice in 3D (but not IMAX), the first time for $5 on “$5 Wednesday” and for $6 at the regular matinee price. It seems to me that there are places out there that aren’t charging more for the glasses — and they’re probably the ones getting the repeat business.
I’m a brit – I saw it in 3d in the UK and (like 99% of the planet) was blown away by the visual extravagance and sheer scale of the movie. I was also impressed that, given the current political scene, Cameron had the guts to carry out such a negative portrayal of American military might.
Um, hello? Since when has it required “guts” to portray the US military in a negative light? Portraying it in a *positive* light would be the really gutsy move. But also politically incorrect. Cameron, like everyone else in Hollywood, prefers to play it safe.
Liz, you’re the deluded one living in a bubble.
Travel a bit. Only in the US is the US military/mercenary seen in a favourable way. Dissenting views in US are shouted down by folks like you, but truth will prevail.
This portrayal is a factor why overseas grosses are so huge for Avatar. It’s a reason why Avatar is great.
Only their butt-boy Michael Bay would be allowed to make war movies if the Pentagon had its way.
Um, ever seen G. I. Joe, or Transformers 2. Two crap blockbusters portraying the military in a positive light. I wouldn’t call it gutsy, so much as highly commendable that someone is exposing the American Military as the bad guys they are, on such a large scale.
Thank you James Cameron. The American right wing are true F*ck ups.
I’m not so sure this was the intent; the RDA security forces weren’t registered military, but rather private mercenaries (who are usually depicted as psychopathic nutballs in films to begin with). I think Avatar has more to say about real-world mercenary groups like Blackwater and the the misuse of weapons technology rather than singling out any particular standing military, but that’s just my perspective.
You never saw Saving Private Ryan?
What!?! WE WERE SOLDIERS, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, BLACK HAWK DOWN, TEARS OF THE SUN, American military is always portrayed positively now. And it’s no accident. We’ve come a long way since PLATOON and CASUALTIES OF WAR.
Most people found AVATAR a very entertaining movie. I sure did. And the only thing stronger than the marketing has been the word of mouth. Obviously there was some cheese and contrivity, but it was the most unbelievable spectacle I’ve ever seen, and a great time at the movies. For most of us, it was enough. But whatever, to each his own.
They were mercenaries employed by a megacorporation, not US soldiers. And, as such, were cast in far too positive a light if anything.
Technically he wasn’t portraying the American Military, he was portraying ex-military working for big business.
I was very excited to see this movie. I even bought popcorn and a drink with some Malteasers.
Overall it was a good movie. I enjoyed it, I wasnt bored. It had some very cool moments, (the 3D wasnt necessary in my opinion, 2D would have been just fine. )
Obviously the CGI is very crisp and I liked the creature designs. Didnt like the mechs so much, they seemed outdated or unoriginal…
But it didnt live up to the hype. I left there with a hollow feeling like, “Well, ok, that was that. I guess”
I wasnt “blown away”. I was expecting Avatar to really knock me out but instead it just kind of sparred with me a little bit then said, Ok , its time to go home.
District 9 was way better.
I have to agree with you. Yes, the effects were amazing, but somehow I was still a little disappointed.
But that hasn’t stopped me and my girlfriend from trying and failing 3 times to see it on IMAX…Hahaha Always sold out!
Oh, yes, District 9 was better. I’m still holding on to the slim hope that District 9 will get nominated now that Oscar has 10 Best Picture nominations this year.
Maybe with the low box office returns and surprisingly low critic’s reviews, Nine will not get nominated.
So to get back to the original topic, I was following this movie way back when it was in nobodies radar and at time I felt like the only one that really liked the trailers. yea I said that. They were the ultimate teasers and Im soo glad they were because no one had any idea what they were in for. Kudos to Mr. Cameron for making a great movie. Off note I watched the Abyss last night. Crazy that its 20 plus years old and still rocks (the full 3 hour version I mean).
Threesheds, I’m in Canada and totally agree, no need to say more about all this bla bla bla. Visual extravagance and guts to depict americans as bad boys. Wonderful movie making
I’m I the only one out there who hasn’t seen this flick yet? Having a hard time getting motivated. I’m afraid I’ll walk out blown away, and an hour later get depressed by a cliche’ plot and bad dialogue. Someone tell me I’m wrong.
No, I haven’t seen it. Not going to see it, for my own reasons.
Been so overhyped, oversold, over-reported that I just don’t want to spend any more time on it.
Hey, haven’t heard from you in a while helenofpeel!
It’s humorous how you’ve been reduced to just picking on the movie now instead of trying to convince everyone that it’s a failure.
To “Avatarless”, yes, the plot has been done before. It’s the old “good vs. evil” story with better special effects.
But how many movies a year do this anyway?
Walking out of the movie theater I was a little disappointed. But I still really enjoyed the movie.
Let’s face it, you will eventually see the movie, whether it’s in the theater or on DVD. But let me just say that the DVD experience won’t be close to what you will see on the big screen. I’m going to buy it on Blu-Ray when it comes out, and the truth is that I might be even a little more disappointed when I see it in that format.
But it’s all up to you. Yes, the plot is cliched and there are some scenes of dialogue that are bad (although not as bad as I thought it would be with what I heard before seeing the movie).
If you are all about the story and the plot of a movie, then don’t go see Avatar. If you want to see amazing effects, then you might want to see it in theaters.
I’m not going to tell you that you HAVE TO see the movie, because as far as I’m concerned, a sci-fi movie with better acting and story is out on DVD now, and that movie is “District 9″!
James Cameron is the Shakespeare of Cinema. His work will be copied for centuries to come. Everyone else is jealous. Pay homage to the man. The KING OF THE UNIVERSE!
Congrats to the people who worked on this film! It was such a well-executed, stunning and unforgettable film, full of visual wonders and exhilarating moments. I loved it.
AMount taken in aside, obviously its the inflated ticket sales and the general inflation. I think it’s sad that some people are calling this the new ‘Star Wars’. Star Wars was Star Wars. They called Matrix the new Star Wars 10 years ago and it wasn’t either. Sure, the economy is bad and the government is involved in a war of words with Iran, but it’s not the 70s and Cameron is not Lucas. Hell, Lucas isn’t even Lucas anymore. People want it so badly they label it that way.
Just saying.
Very funny that just 3 weeks ago analysts/critics/people were saying it’s gonna flop, it’d gross less than $200 million domestic and $500 million world wide. It will never surpass TDK let alone Titanic blah blah blah. And best of all, most people said the flop is due to the high 3D ticket prices that nobody will buy it.
Now that it’s a sure thing that TDK is going down and Titanic is in danger, a sudden change of tune about inflation, unfair comparison because of higher 3D prices blah blah blah…
What a bunch of ANALysts
So true!
Right from the start, people were picking this movie apart. Then once the movie started making money (and holding amazingly well during the weekdays leading up to Christmas weekend), they were still saying the movie won’t make more than $250 million.
Then when the movie only dropped 1.8% in it’s second weekend, they started making up numbers to fit their argument.
Now the “nay-sayers” are coming up with other “innovative” ways to show that, although Avatar is a huge success, it’s not the success that people think it is.
I have to say I don’t like your play on words with “ANALysts”, but it does remind me of something very funny from that great TV show “Arrested Development”. Tobias (David Cross’ character) talks in one scene about how he combined “analyst” and “therapist”. His business card that he created said that his title was “ANALRAPIST”! HAHAHAHA That show was one of the best!
I just wanna add a little tiny perspective on these big, bold $$$ we’re seeing reported over and over…
According to boxofficemojo.com, the box office leader for gross ticket sales adjusted for price inflation is:
1. Gone with the Wind at $1.48 Billion
2. Star Wars at $1.3 Billion
3. Sound of Music at $1.2 Billion
…
And #87 is Avatar at $381 Million
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm
However, since adjusted price inflation records doesn’t seem available (nor easy to calculate) for Domestic and International ticket sales, all that is available is All Time Worldwide:
1. Titanic at $1.8 Billion
2. Avatar at $1.1 Billion
Either way, it appears that while Avatar is a hit domestically, it is NOT that big a hit domestically, compared to other movies. It has done as well as the JJ Abrams reboot of Star Trek, and that is no mean feat.
But Internationally, the movie is a mega-hit and this seems to be driving its success. It’s the International numbers that are really pushing up this movies gross $$$.
Just food for thought. Either way it’s done really well.
…or one other dumb thought… could the International numbers be fudged? Just wondering… It would take longer to check them out and verify… Naw, just paranoia on my part…
“Could the international numbers be fudged?” you asked.
Ummm, yeah, I guess, in the sense that anything is possible. For that matter, the U.S. figures could be “fudged”, too. For that matter, the numbers for EVERY movie could be.
….But it’s insulting to make accusations of fraud and deceit (and indeed it would be fraud, as News Corp. the film’s financiers’ investors would be defrauding their own investors) when there is zero evidence of it whatsoever (and, I think, zero provocation to even think so).
The two big “nay-sayers” squaring off! Hahaha
Now we just need to get Whiskey involved! LOL
@Avatarless: You’re wrong. Your depressing yourself more with your anticipation of being depressed than you ever will be by the movie. It’s an excirting, visually stunning fantasy adventure like Seventh Voyage of Sinbad or Jason and the Argonauts, but with better effects, acting, editing and pacing. People are taking the ’story’ problems way too seriously.
I’m in South Africa and Avatar has been shown in 80% of the country in 3D, so its safe to say that people should check their facts. I went to see the movie for the amazing visual effects but left feeling that the ticket price was worth it because of the strong storyline. Kudo’s to James Cameron, however arrogant he may be
Also, all IMA 3D shows are sold out at my local theatre (in Toronto) including modweek shows at 12 Noon, 3:30 PM etc and lines form an hour before opening. This movie has lots of legs left and will top $2bn in takings.
The story line for the movie sucked royally!!! It has been done before, nothing new, however, visually this was the best I have ever seen. Word of mouth is going to push this movie to Titanic levels.
All this arguing over whether or not Avatar is worth the money it made is getting really old.
People have different opinions on different movies. Some connect with one more, while others do not. These arguments you guys are having are merely just opinions being spat at eachother. You aren’t going to get someone to change their opinion through argument.
And to all the number pushers on here: If you are going to state numbers and statistics as fact, make sure you have the ENTIRE picture when you do. If you are simply stating that Avatar is amazing because it’s number two on the highest grossing list, you are being pretty dumb. There are dozens – if not hundreds – of factors that make the situation surrounding each movie different from one another. I may not go so far as to say you are comparing apples to oranges, but you’re getting pretty close.
Let’s see some examples when you play the numbers game:
By looking at the unadjusted highest grossing list, you are merely seeing the total money earned. But due to inflation over time (and now 3D surcharges), the cost per ticket has gone up over the years. So what happens then is a list of adjusted grossing is created, but even that is not 100% accurate. People argue that higher ticket costs will make more people shy away from theaters than in the past, thus making it harder for newer movies to sell more tickets. They may lay this same theory on 3D surcharges as well. But then others bring up that the hype surrounding 3D may actually draw more people in, since that is an experience one will not have by waiting for the DVD/Bluray release. In the end, we will never know for sure unless the entire world population was surveyed one person at a time. Personally, I find the list of movies ranked by number of tickets sold to be most accurate – but it still has it’s flaws. Films in the early decades may have had a larger draw into theaters since movies were not really distributed into homes, so most times it was the only chance people had to see it. Essentially, one can continue peeling back layers – and while getting more accurate each time – will never be able to reach a 100% accurate answer. What about looking at the economic situation at the time of each films release? Or how many theaters were available to show each movie in? I can go on and on forever.
In the end, while numbers can give one an idea, they are shown with some very large assumptions hidden in the background. I find it best just to rely on personal opinion and respect that others may have differing opinions of their own.
In case you all are wondering, I found Avatar to be very enjoyable. So much to the point that I saw the film twice. However, does this mean I liked it more than, say “Return of the King”? Hell no! Who cares if Avatar grossed higher than RotK? I have my own ranking of movies in my mind, and that is the only one important to me.
I know this will fall on deaf ears, but you guys need to just relax and stop bashing eachother’s opinions. It won’t change anything. Did I enjoy Avatar? Yes. Did I find it’s story revolutionary? No. But who cares?
Great comment!
Yes, all we can go by is how much money Avatar is making now. Everyone knows no movie will ever have the same attendance Gone With The Wind had. That was 70 years ago. There was no TV…No home entertainment systems…No internet. There is simply no comparing it to movies today or even movies 20 years from now. No movie will ever come close to selling the estimated 200 million tickets Gone With The Wind sold.
In fact, taking inflation into account, Avatar won’t even come close to Titanic’s number (which would be over $900 million domestically with today’s prices).
People on here keep assuming that I love Avatar because I talk so “highly” about its box office performance. All I’m doing is just looking at the box office and the trends and analysing that.
Hey, I was even wrong with my initial analysis of the numbers. After the first 7 days in theaters, I predicted that Avatar would end up with around $410 million domestically and $1.25-$1.3 billion worldwide…I did, however, state that the movie could do better if word of mouth was even better than I expected. But back when I predicted that, a lot of people still thought Avatar would only make $250 million domestically…hahaha
“District 9″, I believe, is a much better movie overall. Avatar probably wouldn’t even make it into my Top 100 list of all time.
My favorite movies are movies like The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2 (the two best movies of all time)…The Empire Strikes Back…Pulp Fiction…Sixth Sense…Unforgiven…Boogie Nights…And foreign movies like City Of God and Seven Samurai. (Damn, am I opening myself up for criticism now, or what! hahaha But that’s what I believe). Oh, and also Memento, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind…Shawshank Redemption! I haven’t ever really come up with a Top 10 list. There might be some that I’m not remembering now. All I know is that Avatar wouldn’t come even close to my top movies of all time!
What do my favorite movies have in common with Avatar? Pretty much nothing. I guess The Empire Strikes Back has the sci-fi story and special effects, but the plot is far superior than that of Avatar. What are the things that my top 10 has in common with each other? Well, for the most part, great scripts, great story, great characters, great dialogue, and the occassional nice little twist (or one hell of a twist like Sixth Sense and The Empire Strikes Back).
So, I don’t LOVE Avatar. Just as you stated “Magic815″, I enjoyed it. I have only seen it once, but want to see it on IMAX too. I might even go for a third time before it leaves theaters, because I know Blu-Ray will do it no justice at all.
Oh, and by the way, I know I’m not going to change somebody’s opinion by arguing. But I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy it…Hahaha…Although, I don’t think of it as arguing. It’s more of debating than arguing. I’ve had people swear at me and stuff like that, but that’s just all part of the “debating”…It’s a good time for all!
Anyway, I should know better than to name my favorite movies. Let the negative comments commence…Or should I say, let the debating begin…LOL
This was definately the greatest movie I have ever seen. I highly reccommend seeing it in 3D. I have seen it 4 times already and I plan on going back. It isn’t just the animations that are fantastic, but the story line is amazing also. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone..SO GO SEE IT!!
It is quite frankly disgusting that such an awful film is making so much money. The possibility that the record set by this film might live forever is horrifying. At least Titanic had a smidgen of dignity and didn’t hammer us over the head with its message.
For the guy in California who called everyone else idiots because his imax is only $1 more and 3d is the same cost…thats because you live in California…ticket prices are already ridiculously high like everything else because you live in little-Russia…you know, the state that controls every move its citizens make with an iron fist?
For most of the country, the ticket price hikes are significant…3d can be as much as 3 or 4 bucks more than a regular ticket where the studios can get away with it…which can be significantly more than a 30% increase…balancing out those areas where it might not be as high as 30%.
Revenue comparisons do not in any real way rate a film’s popularity…as prices go up, of course newer films will bring in more money. This of course might make that film more important to the studio, but since all prices are increasing, everything balances out. Ok, so Gone With the Wind didn’t GROSS as much as Avatar…but it didn’t gross as much as Meet the Morgans either…and I guarantee you no comparison of their relative popularity would be made at the studio level.
Ticket sales on the other hand tell the entire story…as prices go up, people are theoretically making more money as well…and will be just as likely to go to the movies despite higher ticket costs. The popularity of moviegoing has declined of course, but the number of people having access to movies has increased…so the two probably cancel out pretty well. If raw ticket sales still aren’t good enough for you, you could instead analyze a film’s percentage of the total tickets sold for a period of time…but even that relys just as much on what else was playing opposite the film.
Bottom Line…the whole argument is pointless…is Avatar doing extremely well? Sure…does that mean it is the greatest movie ever? Certainly not…its been extremely well hyped…look at Titanic.
How many folks would list Titanic as one of the best ten films ever made? My guess is not too many…but it is the #1 grosser of all time? Why? Excellent marketing around a good…but not amazing…product.
Avatar is a decent movie with the greatest visuals of all time. It shouldn’t even be called a movie though, maybe a ride or some new word that doesn’t exist yet.
A couple of years from now few will remember even watching the other movies from 2009. Decades from now few will have forgotten this monumental movie and how they felt when they first laid eyes on it.
It was an experience that dosent come around often, especially in movies, and that is a first with a good impression. It will be remembered fondly as star wars was in 77. An innovation in movies, a new direction, and a fantastic experience.
as if the plot of district 9 wasn’t cliche and predictable? lol at least avatar gets its message across clearly from start to finish…district 9 completely falls apart, forgetting, or choosing to drop, its entire message, by the third act…
I am german, so please excuse my awful english. The word one of you was asking for in my opinion is “fantorgasmic”.
Thank you, Jim. You (and all involved people) created a great peace of art, adventure, spirituality, love AND commercial success. This movie gave ME all and much more I expected from what a movie should do. It´s just a phenomenal experience.
I saw it first on the wednesday preview December, 16th last year. And like with all alltime B.O. movies (starting 1977 with Star Wars) I knew it will become No 1 (after 3rd week of February – so within 63 days, I guess). I “forecasted” when it will overrun TDK and that it will be No. 2 WW last wednesday. It did.
I read so many stupid comments and critics about the movies “story” – and I can not understand what people where talking about. What story is more more true and important then that ravenousness uses any given power to destroy all values?
That THIS story was already told is true. It can not be told often enough. Anyway – the way Camerons “Avatar” tells it is just brilliant. I rarely watched so many visitors leaving the cinemas (saw it already twice and will have my next ride on tuesday – 3D this time) so quiet and reflective …
… where the hell do some of you oversea guys live? Over 70% of sales here in germany are done in 3D …
– at 20$ a medial ticket in 3D (including glasses, one has to rent) next to 10-15$ for the (imo not less amazing) 2D-Version.
Have a great day.
Ralph
yyy… Too hecoideology in that movie. It was nice to watch though the story was not good and it was too long.
1. Just because a story has been done before, this does not make it “terrible”, nor “bad”, nor even “so-so”. So what if Dances With Wolves, Fern Gully, any number of other movies / real life situations tell basically the same mythological arc? A good story remains a good story for as long as it can bear it’s message, and given the current world we live in, the story of Avatar is one that millions have clearly STILL NOT LEARNED FROM.
2. To those who state that they “cannot bring themselves to see Avatar”, etc, GET OVER YOURSELVES. You wanted the movie to fail, you wanted the movie to suck (who knows why), but the facts are that THE MOVIE IS FANTASTIC and is making more money than any movie ever. You don’t have to see it if you want to live in your goddamn Notes From Underground cloud of self-delusion and spite, but please don’t go around filling other’s appreciation for Mr. Cameron’s work with your unbearable bile.
3. There were a number of bad points in the script. “Eyes for Jujubees”, “Stone cold aerial hunter”, and “unobtanium” stand out. But these points were minor, and the script and plot on the whole elicited any number of diverse emotional responses from both myself, my friends, and the rest of the theater. I felt genuine involvement and care for characters like Grace, Ney’tiri, Moat, and Jake. I’ve seen movies that are ALL EFFECTS… Transformers 2, G.I. Joe, 2012… and while Avatar’s effects are massive, Avatar is in a class all it’s own in terms of story, thoughtfulness, quality, and characters when compared to these other blockbusters.
I couldn’t agree more…
The fact is, movie-making is a business. The only true, objective way to classify movies is by how much money they make. Not by how many tickets sold, or the price of the tickets, because then we get into these silly arguments over variable 3D price adjustments and daytime movie prices, as well as worldwide use of 3D in theaters (although this doesn’t seem to be as variable as initially implied). Thus, Avatar is truly the number 2 movie of all time, and Titanic is the number 1. Say what you will about the storyline of the movie being to simple and it being merely a visual spectacle, you cannot argue with numbers and there is no more objective way to rank movies than with global gross.
Furthermore, how can anyone use holiday weekends as a detraction from its success? Yes, more people are available to see the movie on these weekends which certainly boosted ticket sales. How is that anything more than a strategic move by Cameron, releasing his movie at a time where its first 2 weekends were holidays? If anything he should be commended for having the intelligence that the guys behind LOTR: ROTK and TDK clearly did not have when they released their big films. Every dollar made by this movie is a dollar rightfully earned. If people are willing to pay 50% more for an IMAX viewing of Avatar, then Cameron has done well enough to convince people that it is worth it (which it is).
I really just don’t see how you can argue with the success of this movie, as success cannot be measured in a better way than the money that it makes.
Adjusted for inflation, the worldwide gross for Titanic is $2,462,548,422.21.
I just saw Avatar. I predict that it will not reach these numbers as it won’t have the repeat viewership that Titanic had (due to its teenage girl Leo fans). Frankly, I found it to be weak, although certainly better than that Transformers crap.
this is my favorite movie
Am I perhaps the only person who has seen this movie … three times I might add, first time in Imax 3D, second time “Real 3D” and third time regular old 2D … and LOVED it just for the pure escape and THRILL it offered me?!
I didn’t go thinking “rascists!” or “environmentalists!” “murderers!” “miltary machine!” …
I went and had a hell of day! Pure escapism and enjoyment! Very emotional reactions for me personally on many levels. (My only brother was killed in a skydiving accident a year ago … not his fault … the scene with Tsu’tey falling to Pandora from the cargo ramp of the plane took my breath away!) I love the Matrix, World of Warcraft, Dances With Wolves, Top Gun, Microsoft’s Mech Warrior computer games … it was all brought to life phenomenally!
I enjoyed the movie for what it IS … a movie, not a statement. Others may take from it what they will. I was happy to see it three times, and want to see it again in Imax 3D once more.
I have not enjoyed myself a movie like I have seeing “Avatar” in YEARS!
Peace, out!
all i can say is that i love the movie – love the story, the actors, the SFX – i love almost everything about it. i don’t care what other people say. i watched the movie to be entertained not to criticize.
—Do you think the five times corrupt, aging —FAST
Cameron will FINALLY come clean about he and Hollywood’s
decades of suck-up ‘involvement’ with the most awesomely
genocidal regime in history —across the Pacific?
I mean, now that he’s made a few billion —and has nothing
to fear. —Ya’ think?
BEST MOVIE IN THE WORLD I THINK IS AVATAR!!! THE TITANIC IS PROB. SECOND ITS SO SAD:( BUT I LOVE IT TOO #2 FAVORITE MOVIE=TITANIC:) ILY JAMES CAMERON KEEP UP DA GOOD WORK:)