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26th
JAN
Avatar Is Now the Top-Grossing Movie of All Time
Posted by Mavrik | Filed under Movies & TV
Over the course of the weekend, James Cameron’s Avatar was on track to beat Titanic’s record and become the top-grossing film of all time. The numbers have been verified, and Avatar’s worldwide gross stands at over $1.292 billion dollars, which topsTitanic’s $1.242 billion. The domestic record hasn’t yet fallen — by Sunday Avatar was still about $50m shy of Titanic’s $600.8m US gross. About 70% of Avatar’s revenue comes from foreign markets, compared to Titanic’s 67%.
For those of you that are like me and care about ticket sales more than gross income (which doesn’t take inflation into account), Avatar is 26th. Below is a link for you to check out the top grossing films with and without inflation taken into account. Interestingly enough Titanic is only 6th with Gone With The Wind taking the top spot and Star Wars coming in 2nd.
Domestic Grosses Adjusted for Inflation [Box Office Mojo]
Tags: Avatar, Gone With The Wind, Movies, Star Wars, Titanic
19th
JAN
Avatar Tech May Finally Make Way for 3-D Star Wars, Says George Lucas
Posted by Mavrik | Filed under Movies & TV
Last we heard about a 3-D version of the Star Wars saga, George Lucas mentioned back in August 2008 that he had put LucasFilm to work on developing the technology to make it happen. At that point, he said that the technology worked great, but it wasn’t very practical. Now we have word that Lucas was wowed by Avatar’s 3-D tech, and that it may be just the push LucasFilm needed to adapt Star Wars.
This doesn’t mean that LucasFilm will lift Avatar’s tech directly, but they’ll likely get a few ideas for making their own tech more usable from James Cameron and crew’s many years of effort. (I’m sure this will all go down well with the Avatar haters.)
It was inevitable that Lucas would finally figure out a simple method to convert his cash cow franchise to 3-D. I had always figured that we’d see 3-D Star Wars sometime this next decade, and this news solidifies that timeline even further.
Honestly, it’s not the move to 3-D that worries me, it’s the potential for Lucas to go in and edit even more of the original trilogy. We could see edits that drastically change the tone of scenes like the infamous Han/Greedo shootout, or perhaps even another change like Hayden Christensen replacing Sebastian Shaw in Return of the Jedi. I’m just hoping that Lucas has grown tired of the constant re-edits.
As for the 3-D conversion itself, I actually have no problem with Lucas updating the series to utilize the latest theatrical technology. It’s a money-grab for sure given the higher ticket prices for 3-D theaters — but it’s anawesome money-grab. The only problem is that they’ll likely see the best results converting Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith since they were shot entirely digitally.
3-D probably won’t be the end of Star Wars theatrical re-releases either, but I suppose if there’s one film series that every generation needs to revisit in theaters, it’s this one.
Tags: 3D, Avatar, George Lucas, Movies, Star Wars
15th
JAN
How to make a Michael Cera Movie [Humor]
Posted by Mavrik | Filed under Movies & TV
It seems like a lot of people I know have gotten tired of Michael Cera’s same-old-act, and the $7 million opening of his new film, Youth in Revolt, seems to suggest it might be more widespread than just a couple of my friends. High Definite has created an infographic showing the paint by numbers steps involved in creating a Michael Cera comedy.
Tags: Humor, Michael Cera, Movies
4th
JAN
Avatar Hits $1 Billion in Ticket Sales in 17 Days, Already No. 4 All Time Movie [Soon to be 2nd]
Posted by Mavrik | Filed under Movies & TV
James Cameron will shortly be responsible for the two highest grossing films of all time. After just 17 days Avatar has gathered over $1 billion in gross ticket sales, placing it fourth all time after Titanic ($1.8 billion), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.12 billion) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ($1.07 billion). At $1.02 billion through Sunday, Avatar will shortly jump from no. 4 to no. 2 at this rate.
The box office amount is fueled by 3D and IMAX ticket sales, which are more expensive than regular movies. It has brought in $352.1 million domestically and $670.2 million internationally. $66.4 million has come in from IMAX theaters.
Tags: Avatar, James Cameron, Movies, Record, Sales
16th
NOV
Paranormal Activity Passes $100 Million, Becomes Highest Grossing R-Rated Thriller of the Past Decade
Posted by Mavrik | Filed under Movies & TV
Paramount has issued a press release gloating that Paranormal Activity has just passed $100 million domestically. And they should gloat, with a film that was made for only $15,000, and purchased by Paramount for either $300,000 or $350,000, depending on what report you read. You can try to figure out the multiplier on that, but any way you add it up, it’s probably the most successful investment in the company’s history. Especially considering how little the company spent on marketing for the film. This week, the movie will have been in theaters nationwide for a month, and is still making over $8 million over a weekend, which is enough to beat out Warner Bros’ $30 million sci-fi thriller The Box in its debut.
The movie has become the top grossing R-Rated thriller of the past decade. Right now it stands as the fifth largest horror/supernatural movie release of all time, and is on track to unseat The Grudge for the #4 spot. Paranormal is also the #22 highest grossing film of the year, and is set to overtake Zack Snyder’s $130-$180 million budgeted adaptation of Watchmen in a week or two. Full press release after the jump.
Tags: Movies, Paranormal Activity