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[Sheepherder]

That someone, somewhere, has compiled the number of tickets that every major and many minor movies have sold in every specific country is... 

[bhodi]

[UnSub]

Awesome. Now, if only it turned out that the night elves take only 12 years to grow to maturity and pick a mate...

[Lakov_Sanite]

Technically it's more like ferngully and no one cares that the plot has been done before. I knew that going in and it still doesn't make it a bad movie. If we want to tlk about derivative we could i dunno, talk about every super hero movie...ever.

As dorky as this sounds, the movie is a lot like wow.  There's nothing new, nothing you haven't seen before but it's just been polished to a very enjoyable experience.

[Samwise]

If it tells the same story as Pocahontas/Fern Gully but takes twice as long to do it, that's not polish.  That's coat after coat of varnish.  It's easy to confuse the two, though.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Have you seen it yet? It's actually a good movie and it didnt feel like a lot could have been cut. If anything I think it should have been two movies instead of one.

[Mattemeo]

Cameron's said there's at least half an hour of footage cut from the theatrical release. Most of which is 'frame-fucked' (to use his vernacular), ie: many scenes trimmed by 10 frames or so that all add up, but there's a bunch of scenes that were shot/rendered but edited out due to time/pacing constraints. Judging by the DVD releases of pretty much every Cameron movie to date, we can expect to see them added in for the home release. We can also expect to see more blue boobs, too, bizarrely enough. Ney'tiri nip-slips were edited out for the theatrical cut, according to Cameron.

In other news, Avatar is the fastest movie to make $1b ever, is currently the 4th highest grossing movie of all time and isn't showing much sign of slowing down. We're looking at a very possible Titanic beater here.

[schild]

Nothing else could beat Titanic except for another totally mediocre badly acted piece of trash with amazing CGI.

[WindupAtheist]

Well, this is officially #2 on the all-time worldwide list. It needs an additional...

$711.1M total to unseat Titanic as #1 worldwide
$158.9M domestic to unseat Dark Knight for the #2 domestic spot
$226.3M domestic to unseat Titanic as #1 domestic

It probably won't make much impact on the inflation-adjusted list, but nobody besides your grandmother or butthurt fanboys of something that just got smoked on the unadjusted list ever give a shit about that. Everything would probably make more money if it were released seventy years ago when there was no TV or internet and you could leave a movie in the theater for years.

[Amarr HM]

Really enjoyed this I thought the lead guy was great really understated, no Brad Pitt bullshit. The whole virtual reality aspect to it was well done and thought it was done in a way that kids could enjoy and maybe get something out of it. The way they wrapped up a general indigenous peoples beliefs into the Na'vi was brilliant and the interfacing with the animals damn yeh that was well cool. If you didn't enjoy it you're probably just an aul cynic and I sympathise with you.

I did see a few plotholes or weak lines like Trudi Chacon was a bit of a strange/empty story line and the focus thing that Merusk mentioned was kinda annoying, not to mention my glasses were a little faulty and I got a migraine just as I walked out, but it didn't stop my enjoyment.

[Venkman]

Finally saw it. IMAX 3D, just to be sure. Was mostly bored with it. Definitely worth seeing of course, and it's not too geeky. But I saw this story in every movie from Dances with Wolves to The Last Samurai. It was those exact stories (and Pocahontas). Adding the stereotypical one dimensional roles didn't do anything but add more noise between me and the spectacle of the cinematography.

I also don't know that this will set some future precedent for movie making like Matrix (bullet time), Lord of the Rings (big ass battles of fantastical creatures) or Black Hawk Down (gritty shaky cam). Cameron's method is WAY expensive, and there really isn't just one gimmick being employed here for lesser talented (or lesser funded) studios to ape.

I'm curious if he'll make a sequel or just going back to being the other ILM.

I may be compromised by the hype though. I'm the kind of guy who can go see Armageddon and enjoy it.

[Riggswolfe]

I also don't know that this will set some future precedent for movie making like Matrix (bullet time), Lord of the Rings (big ass battles of fantastical creatures) or Black Hawk Down (gritty shaky cam). Cameron's method is WAY expensive, and there really isn't just one gimmick being employed here for lesser talented (or lesser funded) studios to ape.

My guess is in a few years you will see more stuff like this. I remember reading that most of the expense was from having to develop new technology. Now that the tech is there it'll only get cheaper as time goes on.

[Merusk]

I also don't know that this will set some future precedent for movie making like Matrix (bullet time), Lord of the Rings (big ass battles of fantastical creatures) or Black Hawk Down (gritty shaky cam). Cameron's method is WAY expensive, and there really isn't just one gimmick being employed here for lesser talented (or lesser funded) studios to ape.

My guess is in a few years you will see more stuff like this. I remember reading that most of the expense was from having to develop new technology. Now that the tech is there it'll only get cheaper as time goes on.

Pretty much, yes.   And then it will move on to TV soon after, which negates my original gripe about the long-term impact of this movie.

are launching this year.  (Hey look, that nice new HDTV is obsolete already!)    "Coincidentally" Sony, IMAX and Discovery have [url=http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/01/05/discovery-imax-and-sony-team-up-for-3d-tv-station/]announced the launch of a 3d TV channel

Now, everyone having just upgraded to an HDTV, I can't see the masses leaping to trash it and upgrade.. particularly at the pricepoint of $3k I'd seen floating around.  However, in time I can see it catching on if people can get over the wearing glasses to watch TV bit.

[Venkman]

They're going to need to make a LOT more 3D movies to get people to give a crap about 3D in their home. The ESPN thing is going to help there, but we're talking five years at least, and evolving beyond those silly powered glasses approach, before there's enough reason for the average person to bother. And that's only going to be the case if people stay in the living room to watch TV at all.

It's nice to see the attention 3D is getting in the lead up to the movie and then CES. But I could see the adoption of that make the adoption of bluray look like the adoption of VHS by comparison.

Back oin topic, did anyone see this one in non-3D and enjoy it?

[UnSub]

Any 3D games in development? I can see it as a common future graphics option - probably won't make the game more fun, but could add to some titles.

[Venkman]

N'tal and Gem (or whatever Sony finally decides on) could be really interesting in 3D.

Sony has already promised 3D support for the PS3 "sometime in 2010", and Engadget had that brief article about Wipeout HD in 3D back a few months ago. And Sony's re-org (PS3 as part of the consumer electronics unit) can really help them finally align between consoles and TVs. Though I'm not a bit fan of Sony TVs...

Other than that though, I can see developers taking a big wait and see attitude.

[Koyasha]

I have to say that having tried out nVidia's 3d glasses thing that turns normal 2d games into 3d, it looked pretty cool.  If actual 3d looks vastly superior, which I imagine it would, this would be something I would really like.

But the main thing both 3d movies and 3d games have to have in my opinion is a better glasses design, one that will comfortably fit over regular glasses, because I can't see shit without my glasses, I don't use contacts, and wearing the glasses during Avatar was a little annoying, and certainly not something I'd want to do for many hours straight while playing games at home.  Oh, and those nVidia glasses?  Won't even fit over my glasses at all.  Completely useless to me.

[Margalis]

Nothing else could beat Titanic except for another totally mediocre badly acted piece of trash with amazing CGI.

We should stop our recent fighting about taste in games and start getting along based on our taste in movies.

There doesn't seem to be anyone who thinks Avatar is actually a good movie yet it's one of the most successful ever. I get that people want mindless entertainment but really?

[WindupAtheist]

There are millions of people who will buy a ticket to whatever's been pitched on TV, go "Hey that was kinda fun!" afterward, then never see it again and never give a shit. It doesn't have to deeply captivate anyone, it just has to convince a shitloat of people to blow the price of a ticket and then not piss in their face.

[Teleku]

Also, I think your taking the "doesn't consider it a good movie" too far.  Most the responses have been basically that its not Oscar material but still a fun entertaining movie.  What I've taken away from this thread is that almost everybody here liked it, even if they didn't think the plot was deep or anything.

[Reg]

That sounds about right.  Most people will like the movie and not resent having spent 15 bucks for a ticket to see it.  There's a reason you see the same stories being told over and over in books and movies - it's because people enjoy them.

[Venkman]

Yea. Certain themes just resonate. This seems to be one of them. Most of us didn't mind when the representatives were Empire and Ewoks. I personally have just seen this story too many times between then and now to really enjoy it. Mostly it was the predictability of events based purely on the characters. Meanwhile, something like The Fifth Element or Armageddon, no problem switching the brain off there. Maybe they needed Bruce Willis in Avatar for me to like it 

There is something specifically American about this story though. We have some sort of national guilt trip about how we imperialised the country or something

There are millions of people who will buy a ticket to whatever's been pitched on TV, go "Hey that was kinda fun!" afterward, then never see it again and never give a shit. It doesn't have to deeply captivate anyone, it just has to convince a shitloat of people to blow the price of a ticket and then not piss in their face.

I'm getting the sense that this movie skyrocketed more on word of mouth than advertising, tbh. If I recall, its first weekend wasn't any sort of omgworldchanging moment. It seemed to be the second and third ones that pushed it over the edge. Combination of word of mouth and people having extra time (and family around) for the holidays maybe.

I'd like to see the breakdown between the 2D ticket sales and the 3D ones though. Just not enough to go look them up...

[Merusk]

There is something specifically American about this story though. We have some sort of national guilt trip about how we imperialised the country or something

Yes and no.  There's a liberal/ moderate sense of guilt there, but it rubs other moderates/ conservs the wrong way.     I didn't mention it before, but when I was waiting in line afterward to get my parking validated there was a group of 4 typical Cincinnati Conservative Yuppies in front of me.   They were talking very loudly about how they disliked the "liberal overtones" of the movie.  They mentioned it's use of keywords like "Shock and Awe" and the line; "That's how it's always been.  When someone has something you want, you make them an enemy so you're justified in taking it from them."   Seems the movie generally entertained them, but the message was displeasing because, as usual, white businessmen and the military are the bad guys.

[Bzalthek]

The reason you keep seeing the Hero's Journey repeated is because it works.  People understand it and can identify with it. You won't see many drastically different changes in movies until people themselves change, and good luck with that.

[Soln]

I have not seen this

[Venkman]

The reason you keep seeing the Hero's Journey repeated is because it works.  People understand it and can identify with it. You won't see many drastically different changes in movies until people themselves change, and good luck with that.

THAT wasn't the part I minded. Most of the movies I've ever seen have this angle in them. It was more the story of corporate/Imperial encroachment onto the native/"superior" lands for no other reason than profit/conquest (one in the same really). I just didn't get any sense that the story is what they cared about when making this film. It was like they looked for a story they could repeat as a vehicle for spectacle. Or, like that Pocahontas story summary above

4 typical Cincinnati Conservative Yuppies in front of me.   They were talking very loudly about how they disliked the "liberal overtones" of the movie.  They mentioned it's use of keywords like "Shock and Awe" and the line; "That's how it's always been.  When someone has something you want, you make them an enemy so you're justified in taking it from them." 

Wait, wasn't it their man that popularized these ideals? 

Sorry, couldn't resist. My fault if this ends up in Politics!

[Khaldun]

I don't even mind the "corporate/empire" encroaching on the "native/local". That's a fine story, and sadly pretty well echoed in human history. What I mind is "devils" vs. "saints" aligning perfectly with the first binary--that's dumb storytelling unless it's deliberately a kind of fairy tale (a la Star Wars). It gets even dumber when the white man/empire guy who is the sympathetic protagonist turns out to be a genius at being a native, and does stuff based on a few months of immersion that is smarter and better within the native terms than any of the natives are. Even fucking Tarzan had to grow up among the apes, and Lawrence of Arabia had to spend years hanging around the Middle East: it's just annoying as fuck when Kevin Costner Jake Sully shows up and he goes from clueless newb to prophetic leader in a few months.

[Riggswolfe]

Well, I took my daughter to see this today and she sat quietly through the entire movie which is a minor miracle. This next part is anecdotal but the lines were just as crazy as they were on premiere weekend and shows were selling out. I know alot of you want to hate on the movie but those kinds of lines indicate repeat viewing to me as well as strong word of mouth. Hardly the kind of movie that people walk out of and go "ehh...the effects were great but the plot sucked."

I think some of you people are just too damned jaded to enjoy anything anymore. I know we're on a jaded gamer site, etc etc but jesus, just let yourselves enjoy a movie sometime because apparently most of the rest of the world is enjoying this one including me. Anyway, sorry to interupt, put the berets back on and light up the cloves and talk about how shitty the movie is. The rest of us will go back to enjoying it.

[Margalis]

I think some of you people are just too damned jaded to enjoy anything anymore. I know we're on a jaded gamer site, etc etc but jesus, just let yourselves enjoy a movie sometime because apparently most of the rest of the world is enjoying this one including me.

I enjoy movies.

Good movies. Not ostensibly serious movies about people hunting for "unobtanium." Then again I've never been impressed with a movie based solely on explosions and effects.

[Reg]

What on earth ever led you to believe it was a "serious" movie in the first place? It's just your standard holiday season blockbuster designed to sell tickets and make money.

[LK]

What on earth ever led you to believe it was a "serious" movie in the first place? It's just your standard holiday season blockbuster designed to sell tickets and make money.

and how!

[Margalis]

What on earth ever led you to believe it was a "serious" movie in the first place? It's just your standard holiday season blockbuster designed to sell tickets and make money.

That's kind of my point.

It's possible for an "event movie" to have a good script. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Die Hard are "fun" movies but they're also good movies with good acting, a good script and good directing. Hell so are T2 and Aliens.

Edit: You guys enjoy your brainless drivel. Meanwhile I'll be enjoying a coming of age story about a transexual goat herder in Libya. Harumph!

[Abagadro]

Heh. My wife came out of the movie talking like Rush Limbaugh. Was hilarious. "I hate movies that stereotype the white people and the military... try to make you feel guilty blah blah blah"

[Ratman_tf]

Well, I took my daughter to see this today and she sat quietly through the entire movie which is a minor miracle. This next part is anecdotal but the lines were just as crazy as they were on premiere weekend and shows were selling out. I know alot of you want to hate on the movie but those kinds of lines indicate repeat viewing to me as well as strong word of mouth. Hardly the kind of movie that people walk out of and go "ehh...the effects were great but the plot sucked."

I think some of you people are just too damned jaded to enjoy anything anymore. I know we're on a jaded gamer site, etc etc but jesus, just let yourselves enjoy a movie sometime because apparently most of the rest of the world is enjoying this one including me. Anyway, sorry to interupt, put the berets back on and light up the cloves and talk about how shitty the movie is. The rest of us will go back to enjoying it.

When did this become a thread about Transformers 2? 

[WindupAtheist]

Somebody sure fucking likes it. It was about $700M away from the all-time #1 spot when I made that post Thursday. As of Sunday night it was only $500M away. It finally showed an actual drop in the fourth weekend, but even then it was under thirty percent. Half a billion dollars is still a long way to go even on this scale, but Titanic may fall.

Fun fact: On the all-time opening weekend list, it's #28. Not all that impressive. But it's had the biggest second, third, and fourth weekends of all time.