James Cameron's Sequel to "AVATAR" - Part 1

[Bruce Malone]

A lot of Star Wars fans are predicting TFA will beat Avatar's BO numbers. It would be funny if it did and then Avatar 2 comes along and reclaims the throne for Cameron again.

 

[Iceman]

I don't think Avatar 2 will be such a huge event like the first one was. But will be interesting to see what Cameron has up his sleeve on the tech front.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Yeah It's still hard to say. However I'm still not convinced TFA will overtake Avatar 1 as the number 1 box office champ all-time.

 

[redhawk23]

Star Wars seems like it will be much more front loaded. You need major legs to get to 2 billion.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Yeah and another thing is that it will only appeal to Star Wars fans. Granted that is a lot of people but I doubt too many people who have never seen a Star Wars film before will be that interested.

While a lot of fanboys often criticize Avatar for not having any "real fans" that was arguably a benefit in a way as its fans were just anyone in the general public really, no specific group.

 

[redhawk23]

I don't know if that's necessarily true. The new Star Wars is going to do massive, massive business with children.

Also while in between films Star Wars has been looked at and treated as more of a niche thing, especially as the expanded universe got more and more up its own a**, the truth is you can't get much more 4 quadrant, lowest common denominator than Star Wars. Especially when it came to the original films, they weren't just something that geeks saw. They were something that damn near everyone was aware of.

Star Wars isn't Star Trek. In Disney's hands it's Frozen.

 

[Bruce Malone]

I think Star Wars is like Batman in a way where it's technically niche but has massive wide-spread appeal as opposed to let's say the Harry Potter or Hunger Games series which are big film built on more narrow specific fan-bases and you can see that in their front-loadedness.

All I know is that Star Wars fans do tend to exaggerate the reach of the films somewhat.

I'm old enough (just barely) to remember when people were predicting the Phantom Menace was going to be the biggest film of all-time and certainly destroy that "chick-flick" Titanic and we'll that didn't happen.

TFA will almost certainly be a better film than TPM though.

 

[Lord]

Funny how Titanic was just looked as "some chick flick", i remember men also packing the theaters, i guess it gets called a chick flick when too many women go watch it to the theaters...

Regarding Star Wars, over the years it has become a bit more niche, though it still has a giant fandom. But it's no longer what it was during the 80s, it's not new anymore and has developed a nerdier fanbase. Most of us know in least someone who hates the brand, funnily enough, the people i know who hate it are women, hopefuly the new female lead might help it gain more following with this demographic.

Curious to see how well Avatar 2 will do, but at this point i wonder at what point it will be released.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I think Star Wars is like Batman in a way where it's technically niche but has massive wide-spread appeal as opposed to let's say the Harry Potter or Hunger Games series which are big film built on more narrow specific fan-bases and you can see that in their front-loadedness.

All I know is that Star Wars fans do tend to exaggerate the reach of the films somewhat.

I'm old enough (just barely) to remember when people were predicting the Phantom Menace was going to be the biggest film of all-time and certainly destroy that "chick-flick" Titanic and we'll that didn't happen.

TFA will almost certainly be a better film than TPM though.

You do realize the original Star Wars sold twice as many tickets domestically as Avatar right? Probably more if you factor in 3D. By the way, the ones predicting the crazy numbers are film sites and insiders. Those in the business are the ones losing their minds.

 

[Bruce Malone]

You do realize the original Star Wars sold twice as many tickets domestically as Avatar right? Probably more if you factor in 3D. By the way, the ones predicting the crazy numbers are film sites and insiders. Those in the business are the ones losing their minds.

It's hard to compare tickets sold going back that many decades. The entertainment options people had back then were more limited.

I agree the original series had a huge impact but that type of 1970's success in terms of tickets sold won't ever be matched again by any film.

It's easier to compare things to the prequels as they are closer to this era.

Insiders are of course predicting it's going to do great because it obviously will but I haven't seen any insiders predicting this film will pass Avatar, that is mostly coming from the fans on box office forums.

If any film could come close it's arguably TFA but to do almost 3 billion WW in order to pass Avatar I still don't see it.

 

[xmfreak86]

honestly I don't think their are enough theaters in the world to really reach that three billion number... They would literally have to have every theater booked up in order to even think about a number like that...

 

[redhawk23]

Maybe not quite 3 billion but then again Avatar did 2.8 billion and ticket prices have only gone up in 6 years and there has also been an expansion of IMAX.

What's interesting about Avatar is that its made its money over a fairly long course of time and didn't just outright crush everything else. Sherlock Holmes and the Chimpmunks movie both did great business right along side it.

 

[Marvolo]

Yeah It's still hard to say. However I'm still not convinced TFA will overtake Avatar 1 as the number 1 box office champ all-time.

Oh ye of little faith:

AMC Theaters confirms the new Star Wars picture sold ten times as many tickets as the theater chain’s prior one-day record-setter. No movie has ever sold more than $1 million in IMAX tickets in one day, ever, but The Force Awakens sold $6.5 million in tickets on its first day. And it did all of this despite most online ticket outlets being broken for several hours due to the surge, too. If those sites had remained up the entire time, what would the numbers look like?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2015/10/23/star-wars-the-force-awakens-will-shatter-box-office-records/

TFA has already decimated records, and it's 42 days from its release date.

 

[Beyonder]

No movie has exceeded 1 Million? Didn't Jaws? Jurassic Park? And such others exceeded such numbers of 6.5 million??

 

[:eek:]

honestly I don't think their are enough theaters in the world to really reach that three billion number... They would literally have to have every theater booked up in order to even think about a number like that...

Well, they're bulding new theaters like there's no tomorrow in China. And look at how rapidly new records are set there. Avatar made around $200 million there, amazing back then. But this year we have seen two movies coming close to $400 million there, Furious 7 and Monster Hunt.

 

[Iceman]

honestly I don't think their are enough theaters in the world to really reach that three billion number... They would literally have to have every theater booked up in order to even think about a number like that...

It's more about legs than theatre capacity. There was much less worldwide capacity (and obviously lower ticket prices) when Titanic got close to $2B nearly 20 years ago but it just endured. Even the biggest films don't come close to filling capacity after they've been out a few weeks so it's more a question of how much demand survives after that period.

 

[dark_b]

something needs to bring Cameron's ego down. so i hope TFA brakes the record.

 

[I Am The Knight]

 

[:eek:]

something needs to bring Cameron's ego down. so i hope TFA brakes the record.

The dumbest comment I've read in a long time. "Cameron's ego"? What? Have Cameron said things like "I'm the greatest director of all time becuase I've made the two biggest grossing movies"? Have I missed something?

 

[Drizzle]

The dumbest comment I've read in a long time. "Cameron's ego"? What? Have Cameron said things like "I'm the greatest director of all time becuase I've made the two biggest grossing movies"? Have I missed something?

Yup.

[YT]PwjfLMa7_3E[/YT]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/05/one-of-james-camerons-ex_n_450769.html

http://theweek.com/articles/497493/10-most-arrogant-james-cameron-moments

You could write a college thesis on the man's overinflated ego. To his credit, he makes great movies, but that doesn't absolve one from being a *****e.

 

[:eek:]

Ah, I should have understood. Some people are still annoyed by things Cameron said and did in the 80's and 90's. Pathetic. And anyone who takes that "king of the world"-thing seriously is just an idiot.

 

[Drizzle]

Ah, I should have understood. Some people are still annoyed by things Cameron said and did in the 80's and 90's. Pathetic. And anyone who takes that "king of the world"-thing seriously is just an idiot.

He did it jokingly, but it still made him look like an asshat. Some people are just ****s, but they can still be talented. Look at Kubrick. That guy had a damn near impeccable resume but he was still a nightmare to work for.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Oh ye of little faith:




TFA has already decimated records, and it's 42 days from its release date.

I work in facts not faith, I'm not even a real Avatar fan but the numbers it put out are still boggling.

That data tells me TFA will open huge no surprise but can it hold the crown for biggest film out in its 12th week like Avatar did? that I'm not sure.

People forget Avatar opened sub-par relatively with "only" 72 million, however it just never stopped dominating for months.

I'll say this I think TFA has a shot to take the domestic crown from Avatar but WW I'm betting against it.

 

[dark_b]

The dumbest comment I've read in a long time. "Cameron's ego"? What? Have Cameron said things like "I'm the greatest director of all time becuase I've made the two biggest grossing movies"? Have I missed something?

Avatar made so much money that Cameron after 5 yeas doesnt have a finished script for the sequels and he is not directing Battle Angel. i am angry. i need to insult him to feel better. Rodriguez for Alita? unacceptable

 

[:eek:]

James Cameron has today offered an update on his plans for a trio of Avatar sequels

James Cameron has today offered EW an update regarding his plans for the future of the Avatar franchise. As previously revealed, a trilogy of Avatar sequels is on the way with Avatar 2 expected to tentatively hit the big screen in 2017.

“I’m in the process of doing another pass through all three scripts right now,” Cameron says of the Avatar sequels’ current status. “Just refining. That’s in parallel with the design process. The design process is very mature at this point. We’ve been designing for about a year and a half. All the characters, settings and creatures are all pretty much [set].”
Confirmed to feature the return of cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang and Sigourney Weaver, Avatar 2 and two additional Avatar sequels will be produced by Cameron and Jon Landau through their Lightstorm Entertainment. The sequels are currently being written by Cameron along with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno.
The original 2009 Avatar remains the top grossing movie of all time with $2.782 billion at the worldwide box office. Living up to that impressive feat with the new Avatar sequels ​is a daunting task, but Cameron doesn’t seem to mind.
“[Y]ou have to challenge yourself,” he says. “Obviously, expectations are going to be very high on these films, especially on ‘Avatar 2,’ to make sure it wasn’t just some big fluke the first time. So we’ve got to deliver. I’ve created a nice rod for my own back, so they say.”
The Avatar sequels aren’t the only chance fans will have to return to the world of Pandora. There’s an Avatar Land headed to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2017 while Dark Horse Comics will soon begin publishing officially licensed Avatar stories.