Avatar Opens With $232 Million Worldwide

[Spectrum]

http://mashable.com/2009/12/21/avatar-earnings/

I’ve seen Avatar (the 3D version) over the weekend, and while I won’t go into the content of the movie, technologically it’s a must-see. Think you’ve seen 3D? Avatar truly takes it to the next level, giving us a glimpse of the movie industry’s future.

It’s no wonder that, partly due to the enormous online buzz (“Avatar” has been one of Twitter’s trending topics almost constantly for days now), it’s had one of the best opening weekends in the history of cinema. It earned $73 million in the US and $159.2 million internationally; combined, it’s a $232.2 million worldwide total.

It’s not the best opening weekend of all time; but the movie did manage to break some records. It’s the biggest 3D release of all time, and the biggest original content (which means it’s not a sequel or a part of a franchise) opening weekend ever.

These accomplishments are even more impressive when you take into account that the weekend was very snowy in both Europe and the US, keeping many folks at home. The movie’s production and promotion cost approximately 400 million dollars, so it’s not making money just yet, but the way it started, it might be one of the biggest hits of all time, proving that James Cameron still has the touch of King Midas.

Have you seen the movie? Is the buzz justified? Do you think it’ll turn out to be profitable? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

 

[8/11Streetz]

it cost 400 mil to make this movie GOTDAMN

 

[God-Of-War-420]

 

[Complex]

Didn't know about the original content part.

400 million includes marketing...but I think they marketed it wrong. The first trailer sucked and they should have started it earlier...seemed like last minute buzz. Studios need to learn from Paranormal Activity on how to market a movie using the Internet.

 

[vader]

They made up more than half the cost the 1st weekend........

 

[Spectrum]

. The first trailer sucked[.

Yeah. The trailers I have seen have been very weak. The movie is going to do massive numbers though..the buzz through word-of-mouth is ridiculous right now. I think it is going to do another huge next two weeks and then have a consistent pull for many weeks like Titanic. People are already doing multiple viewings.

 

[Ruff Ryder]

it cost 400 mil to make this movie GOTDAMN

The cost to make the movie was listed at 237 million.

 

[thismybgolname]

Imagine the X-Mas Holiday weekend numbers.

 

[EPDC]

That movie was amazing. First 3D movie I saw since....Freddy's Dead I think I really hope Hollywood adopts the usage of more 3D in future films. These are the types of movies Hollywood should be releasing. Yes, the plot was used in other films (Dances with Wolves, Return of the Jedi type ending) but good SciFi is when they take something familiar and create something totally new. If you haven't seen it, watch it in Digital 3D at the movies. Don't be an idiot and grab the bootleg from the Hollywood section.

James Cameron should have been given the Transformers franchise.

 

[nyyyyce]

don't forget that he snow knocked out a lot of the upper east coast. Me and a lot of my peeps were going to see it Saturday but got snowed in. Those numbers will rise.

 

[sirwoodz]

this movie will be in the theaters for a long time, and will (should) be the highest grossing movie of all time...

 

[Spectrum]

this movie will be in the theaters for a long time, and will (should) be the highest grossing movie of all time...

I havent seen it yet. but do you really think he might outdo himself on Titanic Titanic dude 1.8 Billion in box office sales

 

[sirwoodz]

I havent seen it yet. but do you really think he might outdo himself on Titanic Titanic dude 1.8 Billion in box office sales

- easily. the movie is worth watching just for the visuals alone...

word of mouth and the fact that people will go see it 3, 4, 5 times...

 

[Spectrum]

- easily. the movie is worth watching just for the visuals alone...

word of mouth and the fact that people will go see it 3, 4, 5 times...

Yeah. That is how Titanic went so sick. I know people that are already planning their 3rd viewing ...im actually more interested to see the numbers during late January to see how it is holding up in terms of weekly box office sales..

 

[EPDC]

I havent seen it yet. but do you really think he might outdo himself on Titanic Titanic dude 1.8 Billion in box office sales

I personally don't think it will outdo Titanic. It was a great film, but "Avatar" isn't going to have the same staying power as Titanic had. Little girls and older women dreaming about love lost were the ones who pushed Titanic over. SciFi geeks and fans will see it more than once, but many of these SciFi geeks and fans are also computer savvy and will find other ways to see the film a third and fourth time. When you also take into account the quality of internet/pirate leaks (which Titanic really didn't have to worry about outside of a VHS bootleg CAM), "Avatar" will be a victim of the internet age. Its only a matter of time til a good digital copy comes out.

"Avatar" will make a pretty penny, perhaps just missing "Dark Knight" in total box office receipts once everything is done. Just my own opinion.

 

[Bigmario23]

The storyline was ok to me....

the CGI,3D etc..... overall imagery STELLAR
this is my first 3d movie since the days of the old blue lens/red lens.
I appreciated the visual effects more than the story line. Damn 3d is
immersive as fuck these days.

 

[Spectrum]

I personally don't think it will outdo Titanic. It was a great film, but "Avatar" isn't going to have the same staying power as Titanic had. Little girls and older women dreaming about love lost were the ones who pushed Titanic over.

Same thing here... because MONTHS after release it was still doing good consistent numbers because of that group you mention...

 

[nyyyyce]

- easily. the movie is worth watching just for the visuals alone...

word of mouth and the fact that people will go see it 3, 4, 5 times...

it may but I don't know if you are factoring in the demographics of both audiences that would actually watch these two movie. Chicks DUG that Titanic. They went to see alone, with their girl friends and even took their moms/aunts on repeated trips. They were not tech savy and the internet was not pop'n like it is now.

I am not going to watch abootleg copy of this because I will pay for a good comic/sci-fi/adventure movie. However, I know more people (dudes) that would watch it from a downloaded copy as opposed to in the theatre like women would with Titanic. It will probably do real well, but I am not sure if it will bring a lot of people out to the box office when large groups hve no incentive go when they can get it for free. I hope it does well though.

 

[chemist]

This was the first time for me seeing a 3D movie. The first part of the movie it looked like shit was coming at me but towards the end I think my eyes adjusted and I no longer saw the 3D effect.

Is that common when watching movies in 3D?

 

[doggish_098]

with schools letting out for the holidays this number will grow greatly

 

[Ipnotic]

I havent seen it yet. but do you really think he might outdo himself on Titanic Titanic dude 1.8 Billion in box office sales

I said in some other Avatar thread before that it may sounds as crazy as it gets but i'm hoping it'll beat Titanic. Shit, this movie and all the work that done on it deserve to stay in the history. I'm really rooting for Avatar. And plan to go see it one more time in IMAX.. I watched it 3D at ordinary size screen.

Team Avatar

 

[sirwoodz]

it may but I don't know if you are factoring in the demographics of both audiences that would actually watch these two movie. Chicks DUG that Titanic. They went to see alone, with their girl friends and even took their moms/aunts on repeated trips. They were not tech savy and the internet was not pop'n like it is now.

I am not going to watch abootleg copy of this because I will pay for a good comic/sci-fi/adventure movie. However, I know more people (dudes) that would watch it from a downloaded copy as opposed to in the theatre like women would with Titanic. It will probably do real well, but I am not sure if it will bring a lot of people out to the box office when large groups hve no incentive go when they can get it for free. I hope it does well though.

- bruh, the chick I went with started crying at the end of the movie...2wice.

I'm telling you, this movie is gonna be making money for a looooong time...hell, there is nothing else out that even looks like it...

 

[alexw]

Damn the author makes a damn good point; half of the east coast was snowed in and the film still made 70 million domestically. Thats ridiculous.

Also, this is a film that you really cant bootleg due to the immerse 3d. It forces people to return to the theaters which will have this film dominating the box office for weeks to come.

Remember Titantic barely won its opening weekend. But every week the numbers begin to grow and eventually they just remained constant.

Cameron is a fucking beast.

 

[maddcat]

Damn the author makes a damn good point; half of the east coast was snowed in and the film still made 70 million domestically. Thats ridiculous.

Also, this is a film that you really cant bootleg due to the immerse 3d. It forces people to return to the theaters which will have this film dominating the box office for weeks to come.

Remember Titantic barely won its opening weekend. But every week the numbers begin to grow and eventually they just remained constant.

Cameron is a fucking beast.

Most people that pirate films and buy those pirated don't care about 3D, Dolby digital DTS THS or any of the rest of that shit. So long as they can see the shit half clear they gonna watch it for $5.

 

[sirwoodz]

Damn the author makes a damn good point; half of the east coast was snowed in and the film still made 70 million domestically. Thats ridiculous.

Also, this is a film that you really cant bootleg due to the immerse 3d. It forces people to return to the theaters which will have this film dominating the box office for weeks to come.

Remember Titantic barely won its opening weekend. But every week the numbers begin to grow and eventually they just remained constant.

Cameron is a fucking beast.

- exactly on both points.

 

[VegasGuy]

Alright, I got to check it out in 3D from the thread. But it's hard to believe visuals trump storyline. Sounds like what I've been hearing about this flick.

-VG

 

[alexw]

Alright, I got to check it out in 3D from the thread. But it's hard to believe visuals trump storyline. Sounds like what I've been hearing about this flick.

-VG

uhhhhhh, what in the world is that in your sig????

 

[EPDC]

Alright, I got to check it out in 3D from the thread. But it's hard to believe visuals trump storyline. Sounds like what I've been hearing about this flick.

-VG

The storyline isn't something new, just a mesh of Dances With Wolves, The New World/Pocahontas, Return of The Jedi (the ending), The Matrix and other historical events of white conquest.

These are basic Hollywood archetypes and don't detract from the story telling at all. The visuals are something else.

 

[Nzinga]

I agree with El Caribbe but for a different reason. This film will make it to $600million and then fizzle out. Its undoing will be that its basic plot assaults white supremacy, and as the Henry Louis Gates incident showed, white people have a fragile ego. If anything does not pander to their whim, they eschew it. So while the have been feeding us nauseating drivel like Hotel Rwanda, Invictus, Idi Amin, etc, in which a white man always ends up being the hero, this one has utlimate effect of depicting him as the villain, and not a few white men have decried this fact. For that reason, the tendency for repeat viewing by white males especially, will be mitigated, and the financial impact will be evident.

If this same movie could have been made on a smaller budget, that would have been alright since the bottom line will be good. However, when the inevitable white backlash occurs, this is a movie that will barely beat the margin. The result is that it will either have no sequel, or movie directors will have been warned not to broach a matter that is critical of a white man's mentality...

 

[Spectrum]

- bruh, the chick I went with started crying at the end of the movie...2wice.
..

my homie went with his girl...who really doesnt even like going to the movies..and even she said wanted to back to see it again..even after getting sick to her stomach on the IMax-3d shit

 

[heiesuke]

Yea

 

[1984]

I agree with El Caribbe but for a different reason. This film will make it to $600million and then fizzle out. Its undoing will be that its basic plot assaults white supremacy, and as the Henry Louis Gates incident showed, white people have a fragile ego. If anything does not pander to their whim, they eschew it. So while the have been feeding us nauseating drivel like Hotel Rwanda, Invictus, Idi Amin, etc, in which a white man always ends up being the hero, this one has utlimate effect of depicting him as the villain, and not a few white men have decried this fact. For that reason, the tendency for repeat viewing by white males especially, will be mitigated, and the financial impact will be evident.

Agreed, this movie will slow down fast. Word of mouth is going to work against it quite a bit. It has some heavy handed "liberalism" and white folks aren't going to appreciate that. It is going to be slammed as Hollywood elitist propaganda, which technically, I suppose it is.

The 3D effect comes and goes, and they use it selectively. Seemed awfully gimmicky to me most of the time. The story was pretty canned as well, nothing new.

Enjoyable popcorn type movie, but not a great film.

 

[VegasGuy]

The storyline isn't something new, just a mesh of Dances With Wolves, The New World/Pocahontas, Return of The Jedi (the ending), The Matrix and other historical events of white conquest.

These are basic Hollywood archetypes and don't detract from the story telling at all. The visuals are something else.

Ohhhh, is that all. lol.

uhhhhhh, what in the world is that in your sig????

Photoshop. The zebra skin I put on a gator turned out better.

-VG

 

[Afr0kan]

i dont even know what this movie is about... about to peep a trailer or somethin

 

[Tazirai]

don't forget that he snow knocked out a lot of the upper east coast. Me and a lot of my peeps were going to see it Saturday but got snowed in. Those numbers will rise.

I saw it twice this weekend.. I NEVER do that shit. I saw transformers a couple times.. but it's usually spaced out over a month.