Many people seemed skeptical of Avatar and the unbelievable budget that it had actually being able to perform well at the box office. Considering it was a James Cameron movie, expectations were that it would make a whole lot of money, but would it be enough to pull in a worthy enough profit?
Since its release, Avatar has been breaking records left and right — including the all-time worldwide record — while making more than enough bank at the box office to prove many times over that it was all worth it. Though the success was undeniable, it was Cameron’s other blockbuster, Titanic, and its domestic record that up until this point was simply untouchable. But shockingly, Avatar has now officially reached the $601 million mark, passing Titanic‘s previously immortal $600 million mark, and the amazing thing about it all is that it did it pretty quietly. We all knew the movie was destroying the box office, but to hit all-time #1 in both domestic and worldwide already is mind-blowing.
When The Dark Knight came out, it looked like it actually had a chance to take over the top spot from Titanic, but sadly, even a second short theatrical run was not enough to pull off the feat. When The Dark Knight failed, it honestly felt like nothing would ever come close to that record again.
Now, many people will say that “with ticket inflation and the cost of IMAX showings, Avatar was primed and ready to easily take this record,” but you would be wrong. See, Avatar came out December 18, 2009, which means it has reached this achievement in only seven weeks. Titanic was released on December 19, 1997, and it was in theaters for over NINE months before it was all said and done. This is because we now live in a time where DVDs and Blu-rays account for a massive chunk of profit; movies hit theaters, do their best for a few months, and then release on DVD five or six months later and score big once again. This means that technically, Avatar and others are in your possession in the same amount of time that Titanic was in theaters. Something to ponder!
[Source: Box Office Mojo]
It’s also impressive that Avatar was able to do this considering that the Northeast was hit by a huge snow storm on opening weekend, which ended up lowering the opening weekend numbers. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1949044,00.html
Comment by Adan — February 4, 2010 @ 4:07 pm
I wonder how it did vs. Titanic’s world-wide box office take? That was something utterly stupid like 1.8 billion dollars. I was hoping that Lord of the Rings would take that out, but it didn’t manage to.
Going to see Avatar on Sunday, maybe that will help!
Comment by Lorien — February 4, 2010 @ 4:09 pm
Is it really that surprising? Considering the majority of the box office that its getting is from premium screenings in 3D or IMAX. Some digital 3d screenings are costing as much as an IMAX ticket these days. So, comparing Avatar ticket prices domestically averaging $12 and possibly 4 screenings per screen daily, compared to about $6 per screen with 3 screenings daily per screen back in ’97 and you can figure it out…Titanic managed to put far more butts in the seat than this flick has. All this will do is usher in a new trend in record shattering box office haul. Any studio or exhibitor that wants to boo hoo and cry poverty over piracy can officially STFU on the subject. Theater business has found its niche in expensive Digital 3D technology that can’t be cheaply replicated in the home.
Comment by Chuck Deuce — February 5, 2010 @ 1:00 am