If you think a silly little thing like being released on DVD will stop Avatar from bringing in the bucks from the big screen, then you are sorely mistaken!
The 3D smurf ca$h cow will be released on Thursday for your home entertainment, but director James Cameron has once again found a way to make some more $$$ – he’ll be releasing the 3D film in theaters once again in August – but this time with added footage!
He says:
We├óΓé¼Γäóre working on finishing an additional six minutes of the film — which includes a lot of Weta work — for a theatrical re-release in August. We were sold out of our Imax performances right up to the moment until they were contractually obligated to switch to ├óΓé¼┼ôAlice in Wonderland,├óΓé¼┬¥ so we know we left money on the table there. And the 3-D really helped ├óΓé¼┼ôAvatar├óΓé¼┬¥ right up until the moment that it hurt it. And it hurt it at the moment ├óΓé¼┼ôAlice├óΓé¼┬¥ and then ├óΓé¼┼ôHow to Train Your Dragon├óΓé¼┬¥ and ├óΓé¼┼ôClash of the Titans├óΓé¼┬¥ came in and sucked up all the 3-D screens. We went from declining 8% a week to declining 50%. Clearly, it wasn├óΓé¼Γäót market forces directly; it was the availability of theaters. So we├óΓé¼Γäóre going to wait until there├óΓé¼Γäós a time to come back in, inject the new footage into the mix and see if we can interest people in the ├óΓé¼┼ôAvatar├óΓé¼┬¥ experience in theaters.
It’ll be interesting because it’ll be on DVD by then, but I think “Avatar” is kind of a unique category where people are enjoying the unique theatrical experience even though they may have seen it on the small screen. They want to have that immersive, transportive experience. “2001: A Space Odyssey” played for three years at the Loews cinema in Toronto. I remember that. It just kept playing. People wanted to return to that experience. That may not be the best example because I think “2001” took 25 years to break even.
He also spoke briefly about what to expect from the film’s sequels – yes, he’s working on a third:
We created a broad canvas for the environment of film. That’s not just on Pandora, but throughout the Alpha Centauri AB system. And we expand out across that system and incorporate more into the story – not necessarily in the second film, but more toward a third film. I’ve already announced this, so I might as well say it: Part of my focus in the second film is in creating a different environment – a different setting within Pandora. And I’m going to be focusing on the ocean on Pandora, which will be equally rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative, but it just won’t be a rain forest. I’m not saying we won’t see what we’ve already seen; we’ll see more of that as well.
Wow! He’s going to be working on these movies for the next twenty years!
What do U think?? Will U see Avatar again in theaters?? Thoughts on sequels??