Tag Archive for 'Avatar'

Cupid Rules the Day at the Box Office

Published by Andy on February 14, 2010 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The star-studded Valentine’s Day is the box office champ this weekend, besting Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and The Wolfman by $20 million, the latter two finishing neck-and-neck with $31 and $30 million respectively. The top five was rounded out by the strong-as-ever Avatar ($22 million) and the one-and-done Dear John ($15 million).

Now the question is will next week’s lone release, Shutter Island, take over the top spot? I’m going to say no. As of today, I’d say next weekend finishes like this:

  • Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
  • Shutter Island
  • Avatar
  • Valentine’s Day
  • The Wolfman

Agree? Disagree? While I’m pining for Shutter Island, I just don’t see a dark, brooding Martin Scorsese movie coming in as the champ next weekend.

WTF? Avatar Falls to Dear John!

Published by Andy on February 7, 2010 in News. 5 Comments Tags: , , , .

Avatar’s seven week reign as the box office champ ended this weekend and it wasn’t John Travolta and From Paris with Love that kicked the Na’vi in the groin. No, it was Dear John, the movie starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, which is based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. Yes, the movie that’s currently boasting a 29 percent fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com.  Dear John took first place with an estimated $32.4 million and Avatar was next in line with $23.6 million. From Paris with Love was a distant third with a paltry $8.1 million and will most likely be forgotten come next weekend.  One can only pray that Dear John will suffer the same.

Despite Avatar’s drop, it has made $630 million in eight weeks. If it wins the best picture Oscar on March 7th, you know the studio is going to milk every drop and get as much mileage from that victory as possible. I’ve shown that I suck at predicting the box office (since I was the one who said Avatar wouldn’t break the global or domestic box office grip of Titanic), but I have a feeling Avatar will settle in the record books somewhere near $695 million.

It’s Official, Avatar Now the Box Office Shiz Niz

Published by Andy on February 4, 2010 in Commentary and News. 16 Comments Tags: , , , .

James Cameron must have a direct line to God or something, because the naysayers (including me) guffawed at the ballooned budget of 1997’s Titanic and predicted it would bomb at the box office. Instead, as we all know, Titanic became the worldwide and domestic box office champ, a record that’s held until today when, ironically, another big budget Cameron epic booted the iceberg-doomed ocean liner from number one to number two. And yes, I will admit, back on December 17, 2010 I didn’t think for a moment Avatar would be the highest grossing ever by February 4, 2010, less than two months since its release.

Now the question is what, if anything, can knock Avatar from it’s perch and will the Oscar success Avatar could see on March 7, 2010 fuel its earnings even further? Dan thought The Book of Eli might give Avatar some competition a few weeks ago, but Eli got kicked to the curb by the Na’vi by more than $10 million. I don’t think From Paris with Love, which Dan will review this Friday, has the chops to take down Avatar, but the Valentine’s Day weekend could see Avatar slip in the rankings, as The Wolfman, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Valentine’s Day hit multiplexes and will suck some audience away from the 12-foot smurfs of Pandora.

At any rate, congratulations to James Cameron and his crew. Avatar is a great movie and it will be fun to see how high it will climb the charts. Again, I’m amazed Titanic has been eclipsed. I always thought it would be untouchable, sort of like John Stockton’s NBA all-time assists record. I wonder how long it will take for another movie to match Avatar’s success. Perhaps the bigger questions is what makes Avatar so special?

Avatar Set to Sink Titanic’s Longstanding Box Office Reign

Published by Andy on January 25, 2010 in Commentary and News. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

So three weeks ago on the KVNU Movie Show I stupidly claimed Avatar would be hard pressed to beat Titanic’s longstanding box office record of $600,788,188 and wouldn’t even come close to the iceberg-doomed ship’s grip on the all-time worldwide box office of $1,842,879,955. Sure it was making some noise in December, but recent box office trends suggested it would drop by 50% or more in consecutive release weeks. I was confident in my opinion.

Color me corrected. As, Tyler notes below. Avatar wants me to suck it.

Avatar will break both records and break them quite handily, most likely in the next two weeks, if not sooner. Considering James Cameron’s space odyssey will get nominated for – and possibly win – the best picture Oscar, would it be insane to suggest Avatar could come close to the $700 million mark domestically? More importantly, what is the driving thrust behind all the interest? Is this the work of more expensive tickets (3D and IMAX), or is this simply a magical movie?

Listen, I gave Avatar a B plus. I loved it. But did I think it would be the eventual all-time box office champ? Not in a million years.

Please, discuss – I’d like to know everyone’s thoughts on the matter.

‘Avatar’ to Andy: Suck it!

Published by Tyler Riggs on January 25, 2010 in Commentary and News. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Andy, three weeks ago: “Avatar has no chance of upending Titanic.”

Andy, two weeks ago: “It’s very unlikely that Avatar will replace Titanic as the top grossing movie of all time.”

Andy, one week ago: “Avatar could beat Titanic.”

Andy, today: “Pwned.”

The socialist Canadian Broadcasting Company reports:

James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster Avatar has toppled one of the many records set by his earlier epic, Titanic.

Kapuskasing, Ont.-born Cameron’s science fiction extravaganza spent a sixth consecutive week atop box offices in markets around the globe.

Its total haul of $1.288 billion US internationally (not including North America) has knocked Titanic (with $1.242 billion) to No. 2 — after the historical romance had reigned as champion for more than a decade, according to estimates from Avatar distributor, 20th Century Fox.

zOMGWTFBBQ!!!!!1111111one.

I guess it could be said that Titanic’s record has sank like…well…

Avatar Na’vi Porno Sexy Time! (NSFW)

Published by Andy on January 21, 2010 in Just for Fun. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Apparently the DVD and Blu-ray release of Avatar will have an extended sexytime scene between Jake Sully and Neytiri where, I’m guessing, we see their ponytail USB ports link up in the heat of passion. At any rate, I saw this cartoon at The Movie Blog today and laughed so hard Red Bull squirted out of my nose.

Let me caution you: This is so very wrong and I am ashamed I laughed. But yeah. Spot on.

Oh, and if you want to be fired, please, by all means, watch this at work.

Avatar Wins Weekend Box Office and Golden Globes

Published by Andy on January 17, 2010 in Commentary and News. 7 Comments Tags: , , , .

Avatar hauled in another $41.3 million at the box office this weekend and leapfrogged Star Wars to become the third highest grossing domestic release of all-time. Another weekend like this and it will assuredly pass The Dark Knight. All of the sudden passing Titanic, something I thought was impossible last week, isn’t so insurmountable now. Plus, you have to expect a surge of interest with Avatar winning best picture and best director at The Golden Globes this evening. I’m a little split on whether or not I should be surprised in that regard. I loved Avatar, but personally, I would have given the nod to The Hurt Locker or Inglorious Basterds before handing the awards statue to the Cameron and his cadre of 12-foot tall blue aliens.

Oscar nominations will be announced February 2, 2010 and the awards telecast is on March 7, 2010, so we’ll see how much momentum the Golden Globe win gives Avatar heading into Hollywood’s biggest and most prestigious awards ceremony. Personally, I think Avatar has the best picture Oscar wrapped up, but then again I was hoping Slumdog Millionaire would receive a swift kick to the cinematic balls. Next to Shakespeare in Love, Slumdog Millionaire was one of the most over-hyped, bland best picture winners in recent memory. I’d probably stick Crash into that basket, too.

Avatar Continues to Demolish Weekend Box Office

Published by Andy on January 10, 2010 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Box office totals won’t be confirmed until Monday, but as of right now Avatar again crushed its competition, hauling in $48.5 million dollars over the weekend, moving James Cameron’s sci-fi epic into seventh place on the all-time highest grossing list (domestic box office, not adjusted for inflation).  Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel were a distant second and third with $16,610,000 and $16,300,000 respectively. Daybreakers and It’s Complicated rounded out the top five with $15 and $11 million.

Now the question is – how far can Avatar climb? Even if it’s weekend gross dropped by 50% next week, it still will leapfrog Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, E.T. and Shrek 2 to become the fourth highest grossing domestic movie of all time. It should also pass Star Wars ($460,998,007) to take control of the third spot on the aforementioned list; however, from there Avatar’s financial future becomes murky. The Dark Knight ($533,345,358), in my opinion, is well within reach, but I think Cameron’s 1997 film, Titanic, will remain number one, as $600,788,188 million is quite the haul.

For our international friends, Avatar is now the second highest grossing worldwide release in history, second only to Titanic. To pass the 1997 behemoth, Avatar would need to pull in another $512 million. Only four words for that possibility: Not. Going. To. Happen.

Best and Worst of 2009

Published by Andy on January 8, 2010 in Commentary and Lists. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

I’ve been in a bad mood for the last few days, so I thought I’d follow my Best of the Decade article from earlier this week with a look back at 2009’s worst films. Then I realized that admist all my 2010 celebrations, I’d neglected to list the best of 2009 as well. I’m sure, like everything in the world of film, these are debatable. One person’s nightmare is another’s wet dream, so while I wanted to commit hara-kiri during I Love You, Beth Cooper, another person might have been clapping with joy and slapping their knee at all the fun and hijinx ensuing on screen.  Such is the beauty of le cinema. Anyhow, take a peek at my lists and please, as always, dish your two cents.

Worst

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Hayden Panettiere (TV’s Heroes) might be cute as a button, but this beauty and the nerd tale was literally unfunny from start to finish. If Panettiere hadn’t of dropped her towel for a nanosecond in the middle of the movie, I’d probably not have made it to the end. And what’s with Paul Rust? I’m supposed to believe he’s actually 17? He looks 35.

2012

Roland Emmerich has a chubby for disaster movies, but while Independence Day was a-ok, the rest – Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow – have sucked big time. They are emotionless, void of character and chock full of preachy environmental messages. I’m okay with message movies, but I can’t keep my eyes open in Emmerich’s to get the message. I’ve heard people tell me this was fun and the special effects were cool. Those people are idiots.

Bruno

I thought Borat was ingenious and funny and a nice social commentary. Sacha Baron Cohen’s second film is nothing of the sort. In fact, it’s pretty offensive. As a gay fashion corespondent, Cohen manages to make himself look like a complete jackass. If I was a gay person, I’d be extremely pissed at this movie.

Land of the Lost

The TV show was lame, so why would the movie be in better? Oh, I know – because it has Will Ferrell and Danny McBride! Imagine my surprise when every part of this movie sucked. The only parts that kept me from giving this a F were the jokes about Ferrell’s Florsheim boots and the drugged out pool scene. Other than that – this movie was pure crap.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

I didn’t catch this in theaters, but I definitely kept on pace with all the “America Loves Paul Blart!” hysteria. Well, America must be pretty hard up for a good time, or our collective IQ has hit rock bottom, because this movie was neither heartwarming or funny. It was 100 percent stupid. The only positive was the lovely Jayma Mays, who I can now ogle while watching TV’s Glee.

Continue reading ‘Best and Worst of 2009′

Avatar Continues to Spank Booty at the Box Office

Published by Andy on January 3, 2010 in News. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .
Buy advance tickets to Avatar

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If weekend estimates are accurate, Avatar is the box office champ for the third consecutive week, raking in an impressive post-holiday $68 million in domestic ticket sales. That puts its three week haul at $352 million and in 15th place on the highest grossing movies list. Now the “will it beat out The Dark Knight and Titanic” money watch will begin in earnest. It would be interesting if it took 12 years and another James Cameron film to best Titanic’s longstanding grip as the all-time box office champ. If you ask me, even though reviews are generally positive, I think word-of-mouth and repeat viewings have and will be key to Avatar’s success.

Rounding out the top five were Sherlock Holmes ($38M), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, It’s Complicated ($36M), ($18M) and The Blind Side ($12M). One has to wonder if the continued success of The Blind Side will help Sandra Bullock’s Oscar chances, and I think anyone who doesn’t think Avatar won’t be one of the best picture nominees is seriously smoking the ganja. I haven’t seen Alvin and the Chipmunks (thank the Lord), but I have seen Sherlock Holmes and that film lost its luster hardcore after a second viewing. That’s one I won’t be purchasing on Blu-ray; I’m not that big of a hi-def slut.