James Cameron's AVATAR

Opening Friday, December 18th



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^Watch the trailer if you haven't already (keeping in mind that all that is going to be in 3-D).

I've been following this movie closely, and this morning I read about in the Wall Street Journal, which reported on the tracking of interest leading up to the release. Apparently the volume of buzz is nothing spectacular compared to earlier, moderately successful movies (as blockbusters go).

A bit of background for those unfamiliar with all this: James Cameron (the guy who made Aliens, Titanic and the first two Terminator movies, among other major hits) has been working on Avatar for a decade, and it is to be his big return to the blockbuster industry after a while waiting for the technology to catch up with his vision. In short, by all measures of filmic reasoning, this should be one of the biggest movies ever.
But when it comes to dollars, it could be in trouble. $450 million is a very impressive sum for a movie to make in its entire run, and Avatar needs that just to break even. Unsurprisingly, its demographic will be a sort of return to normal for Cameron's career, which had a unique spot with Titanic: the highest-grossing film to date was driven mainly by female audiences returning again and again to the theaters. Avatar, by contrast, has generated mostly male interest. While male audiences tend to support the summer blockbusters that grow out of the likes of Comic Con, currently female audiences have the more impressive track record, holding both the third-highest-ever box office gross for an opening weekend (New Moon, to my amazement) and the highest-ever for an entire run (Titanic, or Gone with the Wind when adjusted for inflation).

I consider the success of Avatar especially important because it is meant to pave the way for future films of its kind, and I do want more of them. 3-D films have been making a gradual comeback, expected to greatly accelerate. They have fared well at the box office, but nothing truly spectacular has come up; generally they are viewed as having the 3-D label as their main selling point. But Avatar is supposed to combine ground-breaking special effects with a story that would suffice for a good blockbuster even if relegated to the standard 2-D format. The more successful it is, the more of its kind we can expect in the near future. But if it turns out to be a flop (which it could be even while making more than the average summer hit), then we might very well see producers increasingly turning to emo vampires for their income. No offense to all the female moviegoers, but as a big-budget-film enthusiast, I really want more like Avatar (even though I haven't seen it yet).

 

Do you mean the totals of opening night, day, weekend, etc.? Sure, I follow those, so it would be no trouble to update them here.

Yeah, I'm only speaking in terms of statistics. It's similar in my family: my mother is enthused by special effects, while my father doesn't see the point. But in overall audiences, the divide is quite significant (for example, New Moon was propelled to the top by an audience that was 80% female).

 

I'd like to... heck, I'd like to go to the midnight showing. But in all likelihood it'll be a week or two before I actually see it, because going out to a movie requires some careful scheduling in my household. In the meantime, I pore over spoiler-free reviews. :nerd:

 

He probably had it chosen before the TV series even started. Keep in mind how long he's been waiting for this.

 

Haha, my mother is the same way! I'm also probably more open to spoilers than most, but I value suspense too much to want to know the major details of the conclusion. If I already know what's going to happen, it's still interesting to see precisely how it plays out, but it takes something away from the curiosity.

EDIT: But I'd say "half-spoilers" can be very well played for added effect. Although I never really followed the Harry Potter series closely, I was impressed by Rowling's strategy of mentioning that a major character would die, thereby rousing up a frenzy among fans over who the unlucky one would be.

 

Good to hear! Funny, I was half-expecting that this thread would get no replies. op2:

 

I actually prefer seeing movies alone, but it is indeed awkward leaving other people behind and knowing that they might feel "left out."

Fortunately the early reviews sound positive.