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UPDATES ‘Avatar’ Crossed $800M Worldwide Thursday
SUNDAY AM UPDATE: Official numbers show Avatar‘s projected North American cume, after only 17 days in release from 20th Century Fox, will be $352.1 million. And with an international cume of $670.2 million, its worldwide box office figure should be $1.02 billion coming out of this weekend. Yikes! Then again, James Cameron’s big budget technopic was helped by higher 3D ticket prices. It had an amazing 3rd weekend hold of 10%, reflecting word of mouth. And the film already is the second highest grossing film released in 2009. Hollywood.com says the IMAX showings were off the chart with a global cume of $66.4 million — the highest ever for an initial IMAX release. As a Fox exec just gushed to me: “Mr. Cameron was king of the world but now has dominion over the universe. And he will own the top two slots on the worldwide all-time box office list!” Meanwhile, Warner Bros’ Sherlock Holmes will have a domestic cume of $140.6M in 10 days, while Fox’s Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel should see $157.3M after 12 days in theaters.
Here’s the Top 10:
1. AVATAR (Fox) [3,461 runs] Week 3 – Cume $352.1M
Friday $25M, Saturday $25.8M, Weekend $68.3M
2. SHERLOCK HOLMES (Warner Bros) [3,626] Week 2 – Cume $140.6M
Friday $14.8M, Saturday $14.4M, Weekend $38.3M
3. ALVIN SQUEAKQUEL (Fox) [3,747] Week 2 – Cume $157.3M
Friday $13M, Saturday $14.3M, Weekend $36.6M
4. IT’S COMPLICATED (Universal) [2,897] Week 1 – Cume $59.1M
Friday $7.1M, Saturday $7.6M, Weekend $18.7M
5. THE BLIND SIDE (Warner Bros) [2,926] Week 7 – Cume $209M
Friday $4.5M, Saturday $4.9M, Weekend $12.6M
6. UP IN THE AIR (Paramount) [1,895] Week 5 – Cume $45M
Friday $4M, Saturday $4.4M, Weekend $11.3M
7. PRINCESS & THE FROG (Disney) [3,328] Week 6 – Cume $86M
Friday $3.7M, Saturday $4M, Weekend $10M
8. MORGANS? (Sony) [2,718] Week 3 – Cume $25.6M
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $2M, Weekend $5.2M
9. NINE (The Weinstein Co) [1,412] Week 3 – Cume $14M
Friday $1.45M, Saturday $1.5M, Weekend $4.2M
10. INVICTUS (Warner Bros) [2,160] Week 4 – Cume $30.7M
Friday $1.47M, Saturday $1.6M, Weekend $4.1M
—
Limited Runs
3 IDIOTS (Big Picture) [119] Week 2 – Cume $4.8M
Friday $633K, Saturday $550K, Weekend $1.5M
BROTHERS (Relativity/Lionsgate) [858] Week 5 – Cume $27.5M
Friday $480K, Saturday $500K, Weekend $1.2M
THE YOUNG VICTORIA (Apparition) [165] Week 3 – Cume $2.5M
Friday $315K, Saturday $360K, Weekend $935K
PRECIOUS (Lionsgate) [629] Week 9 – Cume $43.5M
Friday $340K, Saturday $380K, Weekend $950K
THE ROAD (Weinstein Co) [306] Week 6 – Cume $6.7M
Friday $211K, Saturday $205K, Weekend $560K
A SINGLE MAN (Weinstein Co) [46] Week 4 – Cume $1.7M
Friday $177K, Saturday $189K, Weekend $508K
IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS (Sony Classics) [48] Wk 2 – Cume $1M
Friday $144K, Saturday $132K, Weekend $372K
BROKEN EMBRACES (Sony Classics) [71] Week 7 – Cume $1.9M
Friday $149K, Saturday $163K, Weekend $435K
CRAZY HEART (Fox Searchlight) [12] Week 3 – Cume $716K
Friday $83K, Saturday $88K, Weekend $235K
THE LOVELY BONES (Paramount) [3] Week 4 – Cume $383K
Friday $27K, Saturday $24K, Weekend $65K
THE WHITE RIBBON (Sony Classics) [3] NEW – Cume $86K
Friday $22K, Saturday $21K, Weekend $60K
THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND (Paladin) [6] NEW – Cume $30K
Friday $6K, Saturday $9K, Weekend $23K
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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So I guess Up in the Air is the new punching bag in these comments now that Avatar has silenced its haters. I agree the film isn’t quite as good as critics claim, but I don’t get the urgency of people here to rush to the judgment that it’s flopping. We’re only a week into its expansion and it’s sure to get an Oscar nom awareness boost. People whine all the time about how smart films for adults never get made anymore, and now that one’s here, people are holding it to the same financial performance standards of one-weekend releases that pander to the unintelligent.
I don’t get the hate on UP IN THE AIR either (unless it’s coming from the Clooney-bashing Drudgebots). It’s a smart, complex film with terrific performances by Clooney, Farmiga and Kendrick, with subject matter that couldn’t be more timely. And considering both its budget and theater count, it’s doing just fine so far. Presumably its haters would prefer that no more ambitious movies for adults be made any more, and doom us to nothing but ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS sequels and empty special FX spectacles (though I suppose I should note I don’t count AVATAR as such, and very much enjoyed that too).
I just hope at the very least, Avatar makes enough to ease into the #2 all-time spot. That would send the obnoxious Dark Knight fanboys into a tizzy. I’ve noticed that Batman and Star Wars fans have been much more critical towards it, presumably because they feel insecure about the very real possibility of their beloved properties being overshadowed financially and culturally by it.
The last time a movie was this big…well, was “The Dark Knight.”
A lot of people posting don’t seem to know what they’re talking about – both are unique, for different reasons. TDK was one of the best movies of the last 10 years (that and “The Departed”) and was just as big an event with repeat viewing. It didn’t have the extra cost of 3D glasses, and it wasn’t that big internationally. Most of the big all-time gross movies have HUGE international numbers – Star Wars Ep 1 (Phantom Menace) is the only movie besides TDK to have less than 60% come from the international b.o.
Nothing against Avatar – I don’t think the success of movies has to be mutually exclusive (or their quality). TDK was a sequel, sure, but non-3D with less than 50% from international box office.
Avatar may not be the best movie ever (in my opinion, TDK had better writing and acting) but it is a worldwide phenomenon. TDK was also more front-loaded, because people knew what to expect and it was a sequel. But it also had great legs (Avatar’s only mildly outpacing it domestically).
I don’t think people should feel like successful movies are diametrically opposed – unless it’s Transformers 2 or Twilight vs. Dark Knight or Avatar – because those are just bad movies that do well. The Dark Knight was (by comparison) a conventional movie done incredibly well (except for the use of IMAX cameras) whereas Avatar is a brand-new style and technology that lacks a little in story and acting.
Kudos to Jim Cameron – without innovators like him, we’d be watching Transformers 15 in thirty years.
Goldman’s Dictum might not be altogether true — “In Hollywood, nobody knows anything.” emphasis on the “knows,” but it certainly seems to be the case that when it comes to predictions about box office, the number of working crystal balls in the town, and those who can scry worth sour owl poot using ‘em, seems to be vanishingly small, hey?
Like Avatar or not — happens as a sci fi geek and writer I loved it — all those folks who were sneering and saying only the sci fi geeks would be going to see it seem to have been, like Rick talking about the waters in Casablanca, misinformed.
Either that or sci fi geekdom suddenly got logarithmically larger in a real hurry.
You know what they say: Monster box office is the best revenge …
Avatar has a promotion deal with (I think it’s samsung) for the blue-raid3d release with their new 3d tv sets.
yeah titanic was a true work of art too, wasn’t it?
no one ever knows when a monster hit is going to happen, usually because the script has to be so dumb there’s no telling who will see it
On a technical level it was a staggering work of art. Feeling uncomfortable about the story’s romance, emotion, and affirmation of life shouldn’t prevent you from acknowledging how masterfully made it was.
“On a technical level…”
Makes utterly no sense, art does not happen because you spent a huge amount of money on a new camera. It’s what you do with that technology that matters, but perhaps you were one of those who were radically impressed with Jar Jar, one of the great artistic movie characters in film.
Cameron uses his technology to tell nauseatingly adolescent love stories (Titanic) and inane white man goes native libarts drivel (Avatar)…sorry I’m not sensitive enough to see how these two incredibly crappy, immature movies are better than the work of people like Kubrick, Scorcese, Coppola, Hitchcock, Wilder, etc. Because those are the artists I admire, smartass, so you can cram your uncomfortable thoughts up your ass where I’m sure there’s plenty of room after this last weekend.
You forgot to somehow blame Obama.
Also, your mention of Kubrick is timely: Kubrick created the special effects for 2001 (which some people think is drivel, and I am not one) and designed and built his own lenses to shoot by candlelight in Barry Lyndon – which can also be argued to be a snooze fest by some.
So, no, despite your retreat to name calling, you can in fact separate the story from the technical achievements of director’s who sense a technology gap and build and devise a new system for themselves to fill that gap.
But you’d rather ignore any attempt at said separation and call people names. Well done!
The nerve of Waiting for the collapse to judge art based purley on what, maturity of the storytelling? I think “art” is a bit more complicated and has room for staggering vision like I just saw in Avatar. Jar Jar Binks?! You have not seen Avatar obviously if you think anything in it remotely resembles Jar Jar. It is art on many different levels – and you just sound bitter and angry. Somebody having problems selling their stories on “real” people? Got a real beginning, middle and end? Protagonist, antagonist, climax – great three act structure? Nobody buying it huh? Can’t imagine…
what a jackass…your examples prove my point…many technical innovations have come and gone, the only important ones are the ones used well (as on 2001…the lighting innovations in BL don’t make it a great work of art, as even you seem prepared to acknowledge)
yes, if you respond with jackass points, I will call you a jackass…sadly, this doesn’t mean you’re brilliant
there is no art in Cameron’s gaudy CGI world or his blue furry love scenes or his risibly dumb Titanic love scenes…but the world is filled with McDonald’s outlets so it makes perfect sense that these two movies would be extremely popular (perhaps you regard the special sauce as one of the great technical achievements in cuisine)
also let me know what a defense of great film art has to do with Obama, I’m sure that wasn’t just some idiotic partisan non sequitur was it? I thought the official story was that Avatar wasn’t anti-American left-wing etc, maybe you should consult your talking points
Well, unfortunately as has become rather common on this site, those who resort to name calling when they don’t agree with opinions (as opposed to provable fact) are typically here courtesy of drudge. If you aren’t in that category, you’re certainly eligible for honorary membership because instead of actual debate you’d rather sit in your internet stroke chair and speak to people in a manner you DO NOT possess that balls to in the real world, hence the Obama comment.
And your reading comprehension is staggeringly low: Barry Lyndon is undoubtedly a unique piece of cinematic art form precisely BECAUSE it was shot by candlelight. Now, just because you can’t wrap your head around that statement doesn’t mean it’s incorrect but rather an it is opinion many would share but you might not. And simply because some might find it a colossal snooze fest doesn’t detract from its artistic accomplishments – just like Avatar. which has pushed realistic CGI into a new realm. It is an artistic accomplishment for that very reason. If you don’t agree with me fine, but I submit you are being either deliberately obtuse or simply haven’t seen it.
But that type of discretion is clearly beyond your black and white view of all thing “artistically cinematic” or whatever it is you’re trying to argue.
as a self proclaimed sci-fi geek i’m forced to tell you that something growing logarithmically is growing incredibly slowly. you mean growing exponentially or on a logarithmic scale but not growing logarithmically.
Has anybody noticed how similar Avatar is to Merian Cooper’s project War Eagles that he pitched to MGM? The storylines are incredibly similar.
umm…. so where are all the commenters from like 3 weeks ago who didn’t even think Avatar would make this much during its entire run? crickets chirping…
Two and a half weeks ago the same argument was going on if Avatar would even break $100mil. Now it’s about $500, $700 or more in North America. Wow, what changed?
Looks like Avatar will end up #2 all time in worldwide grosses(it shot most of its load worldwide and of course won’t approach the 1.2 billion Titanic did, and most worldwide are seeing it in 2D.). It should have strong legs because it was released late Christmas season so it’s not like in the summer where another 150 million dollar blockbuster is coming soon. So it will keep all its 3D theaters and take advantage of those high ticket prices, so it definitely can pass the 600 million mark domestically and also get a bump during the academy award weeks.
What an ignorant :/
Belive me, most of the world will see it in 3D or Imax.
Europe has higher percentage of 3D cinemas than US.
I like how Frogs and/or eastern euros, always like to say higher percentage.(you use the same BS for carbon usage). Well no matter how you spin it, percentage or total number. The fact is they have less 3D screens showing Avatar than the US. And Avatar is playing on a majority of 2D screens overseas. Outside of the US, Avatar is playing on 14,604 screens, 3671 of them are 3D. That’s a much lower percentage of 3D screens to 2D screens in the great United States.
Also in IMAX Avatar is playing on 179 theaters and 70 IMAX screens internationally.
Again I stated overseas, that means outside of the US. I’m lumping Europe with Asia and Africa, aka non-Super power countries.
Nine is a very cool movie, there no political BS, no hating on christians. none of that typical leftie hollywood crap! just one guys search for himself! good stuff!
…just women crawling around on the floor in their underwear and treated like objects just what christians like.
Literal LOL. Peggy +10!
I see Avatar critics are still sticking their heads in the sand. Avatar will “barely reach the black”? lol. It will make over half a billion in profit from its theatrical run alone. Last week said it was a lock for #1 domestic of 2009 and #2 worldwide of all-time. The Avatar critics said it couldn’t happen. Now I will say Avatar is a lock for at least $500 million domestic and $1.4 billion worldwide.
I’m hardly an Avatar hater (I loved it), but reality will set in with this movie. It will have a huge drop off into January. The Holiday Season is a busy time for film and most people have already seen it. It better rake in all the money by this Sunday because movie attendance will dwindle. If I am wrong, then Avatar will be an unstoppable train!
I don’t foresee that dramatic of a dropoff. I have no reason to expect it to suddenly mirror the trends of the modern blockbuster business model that it’s bucked until this point. Its only competition until Alice in Wonderland in March will be Shutter Island, which will skew much older than the age ranges that will likely continue to funnel steady repeat business toward Avatar. Lots of people weren’t able to see it in IMAX over the holidays because of the overwhelming crowds. Even the haters of the film are probably going to see it more than once just to replicate the visual experience. The cliche about the sky being the limit truly applies.
It was a major coup for Fox to push it back from May, where it was originally slated to open, because the stiff summer competition probably would’ve been the difference between making it the merely the biggest of the year instead of potentially all-time. Everything else that came after it would’ve seemed trite, though. The Summer ’10 crop has its work cut out for it. The game has been changed, so the wanna-be Camerons out there better study up on the rule book. The Ooh and Aah bar has been raised to a very high level.
Sorry. Went to the City Center 15 in White Plains yesterday at 7PM. When I went to the kiosk, ALL of the showings for “Avatar” were sold out for the rest of the night. I was shocked because I couldn’t remember the last time this has happened to me.
I have still yet to see this damn movie and this was my 3rd week trying. Buying my tix today for next Friday.
avatar had 450 million internationally last weekend.
if the worldwide total is 1 billion, it has to have 650 million after just 1 more week. wow.
that puts it on road to 900 million without the domestic gross.
450 million in us and canada seems like a lock, giving it 1.3 billion or more worldwide.
biased AVATAR detractors will say : “that’s a full 500 million less that titanic.”
Cameroon is still the king.
Congratulations, James Cameron! This success has truly cemented him as an equal to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg in terms of being able to absolutely triumph with record-breaking box office and critical acclaim again and again with original concepts. Cameron now has Terminator, Titanic and Avatar under his belt as unqualified original successes just as Lucas had American Graffiti, Star Wars and Indiana Jones and Spielberg had Jaws, Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, E.T., Jurassic Park…ok, Spielberg’s still the king at this, for now.
I’m a big Star Wars fan but I can’t see why Star Wars fans would be against this. The success of this makes it incredibly much more likely George Lucas will do more Star Wars movies in 3D. The third trilogy in 3D has a nice ring to it. I’ve also been a big James Cameron fan. Man cannot live on Star Wars alone. And this film is just chock full of stuff that should appeal to Star Wars fans…the fantasy, the creatures, the sci-fi hardware, the special effects, the heroic aspects, etc.
Compared to Spielberg, big difference is James Cameron’s films are his ideas either story by or written by him.
It would be kind of funny if Avator became the biggest grossing film of all time in that I’ve yet to meet anyone who was wildly enthusiastic about it. If you’re at a party, the conversation about the film itself runs out after 30 seconds because there isn’t anything to say other than, “It looked cool, huh?”
Hey Troll, I mean, Bill, do you live in a hole with the chipmunks or have a brain the size of one? Cuz then I would understand why you would have a hard time having more than a 30 second conversation on ANY topic, LOL. Have you even seen the film in 3D? More than just cool looking visuals especially if you have any interest in the science of the film but I doubt chipmunks have the capacity.
yo, stop ur bitchin about that. we all know that this movie pretty much blew everyone who has seen it away, and it will become one of the, if not the highest grossing movies of all time: Wait it already is. It was an excellently done movie and um…there was plently to talk about afterwards pertaining to it….
Cameron is the king of cinematic illusion. He has redefined the art. An innovator in every regard, Spielberg and Lucas and even Peter Jackson, have nothing on this director. Nothing. He chews up Spielberg and company for lunch. I can not even imagine what Cameron will do if he turns his gaze on Spiderman, the only comic he has ever shown interest. That was the plan 10 years ago, but it may come true in the next four years.
I have completely stopped watching Speilberg’s films. Lucas and Spielberg may have more money, they don’t have eighth of the cinematic excitement level or talent or capability of Cameron.
The footage from the cutting floor of Cameron, or I should say, the trash bin on his servers have better films that Spielberg and Locus, or any one else.
Imagine what we are being deprived of, if only we could undelete his trash files.
Long live captain James “T” Cameron. I just wish he’d create a Star Trek that would blow every single space movie out of the rings of Jupiter, once and for all. (FYI, Jupiter does have rings).
For all intent and purposes, every one should stop making movies except Cameron. Period. First and foremost should be Spielberg, then Scrosese followed by Christopher Nolan. DK was a piece of cutting room film. I rarely, if ever, fall asleep in a film, that was perhaps the second or third film ever I took a proper nap in. I still can not get a refund on my Raiders 4 ticket. I’ve tried, oh I’ve tried.
Perhaps Tarantino should be exempt, though. Inglorious was unbelievably great.
To all those Cameron haters, you can eat his celluloid out of his trash bin.
You are an idiot.
LOL! The haters on this board are still in serious denial even though the numbers are hitting their eyeballs and for some unknown reason, not registering.
This film has crossed 1 billion and counting and is definitely in the black with TV, DVD, BlueRay, Commercial Vid, Ancillary, Internet,and merchandising revenue waiting in the wings. JC has already stated that the special DVD release will include cut footage so there WILL be demand from the HV market.
I think JC and Fox would be wise to re-release a director’s cut (unedited version) later this year to milk their cash cow even more. Bet your bottom dollar that there are many fans who would want to see this happen.
Wake the hell up and smell the coffee! Numbers don’t lie and with no serious competiton till March, this film is going to beat TDK. Only question is if this beast is going to top Titanic.
Happy New Year to all the doubters. Got some nice hot crow cake ready for ya!
Do you think, that with inflation factored in, that Avatar could beat ‘Gone with the Wind’?
no way – adjusted for inflation, Titanic doesn’t even come close (it’s well behind not only gone with the wind but also star wars and the sound of music). and mean ticket prices in 97 were appreciably lower than they are today. Of course, these tallies only take into account domestic numbers; I haven’t seen any adjusted numbers for worldwide gross, in which case titanic will probably jump up higher on the list because its intl haul was so enormous. So w/adjusted international numbers maybe things will be different. But even in this scenario, Avatar would have to take in over 2B – I mean it’s possible, but I don’t know if I see it happening.
http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm
Probably not…GWTW sold 80,000,000 tickets more than Titanic (202 vs 120) and even 30 million more than Star Wars: A New Hope (counting multiple releases, and remember how big Star Wars was when it was remastered and got another theatrical go-round).
I don’t think anything will top Gone With the Wind for a long, long, long, long time. Gone with the Wind on average sold 2 tickets per US citizen the year it came out.
Also factor in that the adjusted ticket price inflation basically goes by admissions alone (from what Box Office Mojo says), so they should compensate the higher 3D and IMAX prices, which is where a lot of Avatar’s money is coming from.
What Cameron should remember is he’s spending 21st-century dollars, so his paycheck won’t be adjusted for inflation.
tickets were also alot cheaper back then so everybody and they mama can watch this also people can watch it 100 times over and over so you can really compare the past tickets to this day of age. if they wuz selling tickets 10 a piece back then id bet they wouldt even sell 1 million tickets get it.
No.
Next question?
No.
well if the tickets wuz 2 dollar a piece at this day of age im sure titanic, dark knight, avatar could top gone with the wind with # of tickets sold. So i dont think you can reallly compare tickets sells from back then to now.
No. Adjusted for inflation, AVATAR would have to gross well over three billion dollars domestic to equal GWTW. Every citizen in the United States saw GWTW and half saw it twice. At today’s ticket prices a hundred million dollar film is seen by 10.4 million people, and that is around three percent of the population. The importance of AVATAR is that it is drawing people into theaters that don’t go to theaters. Only five percent of people go to the movies in theaters these days but that’s another story.
I feel a realistic domestic prediction for avatar at this point of time would be 480-500 million. Titanic’s appeal is different from avatar’s, avatar will not hold up as long as titanic. The average person definitely will not watch avatar more than 3 times in a theatre even if they liked it. It will get too boring, speaking lines and action gets expected and a bit long-winded. As for the overseas gross, avatar should break harry potter and the half blood prince’s overseas cume. By how much, we cannot accurately tell now. I predict a 1.2billion worldwide gross, beating the return of the king.
Um, Jon, with all due respect, you’re a bit off…you are comparing apples to oranges…Avatar is an entirely different product than Titanic, nothing like the industry has seen before yet it does hold the same appeal in the sense it is cutting across all demographics and nationalities…Avatar doesn’t need to have people seeing it as many times as the teens did when Titanic was out or be in theatrical release as long due to modern ticket prices…of course everything will be predictable after just 1 viewing so you have to keep in mind this is a visual spectacle that can only be fully experienced and enjoyed on the biggest screen possible…if your arguement was for a 2D film, I would probably agree with you but this is an entirely different mattter as the 3D version will keep on selling cause there simply isn’t enough IMAX or 3D screens to keep up with demand…people who see it on 2D will see it on 3D and the converse effect is happening for people seeing on 3D going to see it on 2D to compare the 2 versions…the sky really is the limit right now for this film…your logic is like saying people will only listen to a great song 3 times and get bored because it’s predictable…you can watch this film 10 times and probably not catch all the details put into it…you can cut and paste me on this- Avatar WILL outgross TDK for at least 2nd place all time domestic at the current trajectory…the only question right now is whether it will pass Titanic and it’s still 2 early to say…next couple of weeks will be a strong indicator.
Avatar is going to get at least 8 Oscar nominations…and that’s a conservative number…watch the box-office bump when that happens. The declines will shrink even more. $450 million domestic is a lock right now, $1.3 Billion worldwide is a lock right now…where it goes from there could make history.
Rodney, you are right about an Oscar bump. (And danny666 made the same point earlier.) There are still eight weeks between now and the Oscars…Avatar won’t rack up holiday-sized numbers but will keep up some momentum as a “must-see” event movie even among older audiences that usually avoid sci-fi. At this pace, hard to imagine Avatar NOT passing TDK for #2 all-time. Impressive.
Oh, it’ll make history all right. From now on, all big studios will make their tentpoles in 3D so they can charge twice the price and double their gross.
The real losers will be the movie-goers, who could already barely afford to take their families to a movie theatre. This could break the industry, not save it.
false.
Avatar demonstrates that cinema is still exciting – that downloading/piracy still amounts to nothing in comparison to a true moviegoing experience. This will restore faith in both the studios and the audience (Who, might I add, make the personal CHOICE to contribute to box office intake).
And I don’t know where you live but 3D is only a couple of dollars above regular theater prices here. It’s IMAX that’s much more and even then it is still a limited format of presentation. If anything the IMAX people should be thrilled above anyone else as business will likely be booming after this.
“Avatar demonstrates that cinema is still exciting” is a completely subjective, non-factual statement. I’ve heard from people who fell asleep in the middle of it.
And yes, in some places the cost is close to twice the regular admission.
Don’t see how what I said is any less subjective than your sweeping statements of “they can charge twice the price” and “This could break the industry.” But go ahead, do cast more stones.
Again with the “false,” Lizzy. Subjective stories from friends who fell asleep means less than nothing, especially coming from you. You’ve been anti-Avatar for your own transparent political reasons from the start and birds of a feather tend to flock together. I would imagine that the people in your church group are of like minds.
The real point for non-Drudgebots is that V is absolutely right: while I didn’t love Avatar, our business desperately needed it and it could not have come at a better time. Audiences need to be reminded that there are some kinds of experiences that they can’t get in a torrent or a dvd; there are experiences that are best felt on the biggest screen and with hundreds of people surrounding you.
In the best of all possible worlds, Avatar gets people who’ve let it slip back in the habit of going to the movies. Hopefully they like it so much that they buy the bluRay. Hopefully it lines our coffers so instead of layoffs and production slowdowns, we get hiring and work. Yes, there will be more big-ass 3d blockbusters after Avatar, but as someone posted above, high tide raises all the boats. Cameron’s success here is ALL our success.
[And Liz, by "our" I don't mean the Communist/Gay/Socialist/Jewish/Mason/Obama conspiracy, I mean people who actually work in the industry and have a reason to be reading and writing on DHD other than sheer under-the-bridge trolldom.]
Oh Liz,
The only places it costs twice the admission is on IMAX. Everywhere else the tickets just cost $3 more to get the 3D glasses. I don’t think any movie theaters charge $3 for a movie ticket, do they?
Yes, the 3D glasses helps the movie make more money, but its still making the money. That’s all that matters.
But who knows? Maybe the reason the movie is doing so well is because the people that fall asleep go back to see it again! hahaha
The only movie I ever fell asleep during was The Da Vinci Code. LOL
And yes, Avatar makes cinema exciting…Why do you think that it posts the numbers it has over the first 3 weekends? Do you think it’s because people are not excited about it? I would say that people are pretty excited.
hey, why don’t u go and see it urself then, cuz obviously the ppl who fell asleep in the middle missed A LOT of it….
Based on my foolproof calculations, Avatar is the biggest instance of a studio bleeding money on a net loss since Heaven’s Gate! My sources tell me Fox is going forward with litigation against Cameron for grand larceny! Reply to me, angrily!
HAHAHA, very funny…Oh, sorry, you want me to reply angrily…Uh…Sorry, can’t reply angrily! It’s just too funny!
According to my foolproof calculations, Nine is the biggest blockbuster of all time! Hahaha
So, the 3D gimmick has paid off. That, and there being no other ‘must-see’ movies during the season. Kudos to the guys in charge of the release date, they couldn’t have picked it better. But I agree with the poster a few messages above, I’ve yet to meet anyone genuinely enthusiastic about this film. At least in person.
The only question now is if (when) it will pass TDK’s domestic gross.
Quite hilarious to see the Avatar haters nowhere in sight after it reached the $1 billion worldwide mark in record time, considering they were crowing about nobody in their social circles liking the film and how it faced a steep road toward profitability just a week ago.
I think avatar will make $500 million domestic and 1.5billion worldwide it could beat titanic but i doubt it.
I didnt have time to write up something last week, but here’s my opinion/analysis this week. First off, overall, the entire box office this week was fantastic. The alst two weeks have been a great way to end the 2009 box office season. It started off strong and ended even stronger.
1. AVATAR – I always said that this film would do terrific, but I never predicted it would do this great. With a strangle on all IMAX and 3D screens, AVATAR has the sky as its limit. In fact, unless BOOK OF ELI opens big, a forsee this staying on top as number one for the next two (and if Tooth Fairy underperforms, 3) weeks! Mr. Cameron can certainly draw a crowd.
2. HOLMES – With the biggest (albiet it is fairly small still) decline in the top 10, the saturday drop doesn’t sit well. I see 40% drops in the forthcoming weeks, yet it still should crack $200M and spawn sequels, but I don’t see this having IRON MAN legs.
3. SQUEAKQUEL – Possibly edging out Holmes (WB usually inflates its prediction as well as TWC), I don’t think there has EVER been a family movie sequel that can possibly out edge its predecessors box office gross. Just look at NIGHT AT THE MUSUEM 2. However, the weekday grosses will be much less robust, but the weekends should still see small declines with no kids entertain until TOOTH FAIRY and thats not til the end of January. Look for clear sailing ahead. Fox certainly is having a great December.
4. IT’S COMPLICATED – With a higher than expected gross, COMPLICATED should pass the $100M mark easily now. Universal should be happy capping off the year with a few hits, but COUPLES RETREAT and this films ridiculous production costs damper the success.
5. THE BLIND SIDE – Whoa, whoa, whoa. While I highly enjoyed this film and think Bullock is a great actress, I don’t necessarily think that this film is award-worthy, but that is besides the point here. This film is doing unbelivable and having a THIRD?!?! rise in its box office gross?!?! Amazing. Speaking of “the sky’s the limit!” $250M looks like a possibility now with its legs and 45 days with daily grosses ALL ABOVE $1M, thats spectacular for thsi low-budget, no special effects drama.
6. UP IN THE AIR – Good hold and it seems like audiences are enjoying this film. $75M seems possible now, with a spike in business after it wins some awards. Similair pattern to NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
7. PRINCESS & FROG – Audiences seem to finally be picking up on this movie and it should definitely pass $100M now (but not much further) after it seemed unlikely just two weeks ago.
8. MORGANS? – For such a shitty movie and poor opening, I am surprised that this thing should make $30M.
9. INVICTUS – Good film but BLIND SIDE stole its audience. I also dont see a big spike in business if it gets a nomination or wins a golden globe because it will be out of theaters by then and with such a wide release, I dont see it going back into many theaters.
10. NINE – I’m sorry, but this has flop all over it. Since COLD MOUNTAIN, Kidman CAN NOT open a film and neither can Cruz or any other actress in this film. Say with Day-Lewis. While they are all high-profile actors, they certainly are not draws. At first I thought this might play similair to DOUBT, but the wide release came too quick.
Don’t tell that to the Drudge crowd, that are upset that AVATAR and the Disney flick are successful.
Anyone here actually believe these numbers?
Well, considering that they’re FACT – yes.
Impressive numbers there…
I think Avatar has a shot to Titianic crown in the world. I think it can reach the 2 billion in 2 or 3 month.
However,
I don’t think it will reach the 600 millions, we saw that with Dark Kignt impressive number for week. Let’s forget Titanix remain 15 weeks number 1… That’s a long shot !!!
I see Avatar 7 or 8 weeks number 1, that’s it ( a lot actually ). my guess… 575 million