Avatar

[polkablues]

you mean because of marketing etc the movie's bill will border 1 billion? seems high, no? why would they do it in the first place?

They never expected it to cost so much.  The estimated budgets (including marketing costs) that are being reported are typically around half a billion, and that is likely still hiding all the research and development costs for which Cameron had a blank check to go invent new shiny things with.  If you were to factor in all the actual costs of making Avatar, it's almost certainly upwards of 800 million or more.  

It seems the production reached a certain point where it was clear the budget would never allow the movie to make a profit, but they had put far too much into it to scrap the thing, so the best they can hope for now is to pack in a handful of weekends, minimize their losses and wash their hands of the whole experience.

i think it will flop in the strictest sense.

I'd like to think you're right, because I enjoy schadenfreude as much as the next guy, but I don't get the sense it'll fall flat on its face like a Cutthroat Island or Battlefield Earth.  I would be prepared to hear the word "underperformed" a lot.

[modage]

Team America warned us:

[Derek]

Premiered in London and cities across North America today...from the few reviews that have been posted, seems to be very positive.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/avatar-film-review-1004052868.story

[©brad]

Premiered in London and cities across North America today...from the few reviews that have been posted, seems to be very positive.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/avatar-film-review-1004052868.story

Eh, I think "positive" is a little generous. From what I've read the consensus thus far has been "not a total trainwreck" which means mediocre to semi-good which given the hype-machine and budget behind this son of a fuck still adds up to EPIC FAIL in my book. But we'll see.

[Derek]

'Son of a fuck' sounds like you're a bit biased. I hope this is as good as Cameron makes it out to be. The guy never fails to blow his own horn, but he puts all he has into everything he does...so, I'm optimistic. The initial trailers and designs left me a little cold, but I've gotten more excited the more I've seen..(his dialogue usually leaves something to be desired though)..

[picolas]

HOLY SHIT

100% from 8 reviews so far.

[Stefen]

We'll see.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

Dear Mr. or Mrs. Reviewer,

Enclose in the envelope is a blank check.  Please give Avatar the best possible review.  Make it glow, baby.

Love,
James Cameron

[Derek]

If it's good, I'd like to see it do well.

That said, I bet Cameron's chomping at the bit to read Kenneth Turan's review.

[Pubrick]

Dear Mr. or Mrs. Reviewer,

Enclose in the envelope is a blank check.  Please give Avatar the best possible review.  Make it glow, baby.

Love,
James Cameron

exactly.

there is no escaping the fact that some ppl still havn't heard of this movie. and worse than that, now that it's suddenly been spoken about in the media (across all news shows in an all out effort to FABRICATE INTEREST at the LAST possible moment) it suffers from King Kong syndrome, where everytime it gets mentioned it is presented in this pre-packaged form of "this movie is gonna be huge! it's what everyone wants right now!"

that always backfires. i've always been weary of anytime a talk show host, for example, says to his guest "this movie is gonna be a huge blockbuster"-- they only say that cos it has the budget of one, and there can be no doubt in the publicity that it will be worth it to hav spent that much money. what the media and everyone in entertainment (being payed profusely out the ass of the studio) wants to believe is still FAR from the reality. no one gives a shit about this movie, it does not appear interesting to anyone, for all its hype it doesn't have the amazing premise of District 9 and the genuine interest that movie created.

this movie will be the purest exercise in hype. it will have a biggish opening weekend. but like King Kong no one asked for it, and while i liked that movie and hope to like this one, it can't hide the fact everyone will only see DOLLAR SIGNS when they go see Avatar. the media and the hype are appealing to ppl's sense of ENTITLEMENT, "oh they spent $300million to entertain me?? oh, of course." no. they spent $300million on a roll of film, and hundreds of millions more telling you to be impressed by that number.

just look at everytime the story gets mentioned. it's just a side-note. "the story is about some other planet and this guy sam whoever the fuck asked for this guy worthington, and -- $300MILLION!" the casting of Sam Worthington and the utter inexplicability of his appearance in all these major blockbusters is also representative of the ass-backwards manufactured interest that runs rampant in major films these days.

[picolas]

i'm personally excited by the idea that it could possibly be good (also like king kong). yes the marketing has been self-assured wackness from the beginning.

[Neil]

I just saw james cameron at a red carpet saying "yeah, the ad guys are showing this as sort of a bro movie, but it's really a love...."

So, that weirds me out, that he would call them out like that.

In some weird attempt to play the other side too.

just thought it odd, that he would do that.

[Pas]

that movie is out of control.

there is often a time when people sit down and look what they've done and see it has been blown out of proportions.

i think this is what is happening to james cameron now.

like p said, no one asked for this story. it's a run of the mill sci fi story like any other and now it's hailed as a revolution.

oh well.

[Derek]

The 'we didn't ask for this story' argument holds no water. No one is being made to go see it, but likely everyone on this board will...at least everyone posting in this thread.

I think people are letting their perceptions of Cameron bleed into their view of this as well. If Avatar was his follow-up to True Lies instead of Titanic, everybody would be singing a different story.

[pete]

it's a global campaign; when I was overseas I saw ads for it everywhere.  It'll make its money back in the end.