New Zealand's Weta Digital's newest baby seems to be doing fine in its opening week. It has already made its budget back and now starts earning money for the sequel.
With 4 Golden Globes nominations and 8 to 9 rumoured Academy Award nominations (Oscars) it may do quite well in the Hollywood award season.
Let me know what you thought of it ;-)
[Jan 6 update]
AVATAR BOX OFFICE WORLDWIDE:
$1,098,736,685!
[Jan 7 update]
Well, the above is no longer valid... ;-)
On Wednesday night, 20th Century Fox’s Avatar became the second-highest grossing film ever at the worldwide box office. James Cameron’s 3D epic achieved the spot with $1.13 billion in just 20 days, placing behind his own Titanic ($1.84B) in the rankings and passing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ($1.07B) and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ($1.12B). That could buy a lot of unobtanium…
The feat was inevitable after Avatar flew past the billion dollar mark in 17 days and finally debuted in China on Monday to the highest opening day sales the country has ever seen (about $4.8 million). The U.S. total has climbed to $374.4 million.
[Jan 11 update]
AVATAR BOX OFFICE WORLDWIDE:
$1,331,140,000
[Jan 15 update]
[Jan 18 update]
AVATAR BOX OFFICE WORLDWIDE:
$1,603,067,000
And guess who won Golden Globes for Best Film and Best Director last night ;-)
[Jan 25 update]
Maybe the last time we get to see this order ;-)
[Jan 26 - Australia Day update]
It had to happen and I'm happy it happened today ;-)
[Feb 2 update]
LOL, I'm good! :-D
As I predicted Avatar landed 9 Oscar nominations:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Music (original score)
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Oh, and did I mention the film has earned over 2 billion now?
Original 2007 screenplay (.pdf)
(A must read for all who wanted more character development and a more complex plot. It's all here in the original script. :-) )
One more clip: the essence of performance capture - this is really what the whole ado is about ;-)
AVATAR BOX OFFICE WORLDWIDE:
$1,098,736,685!
[Jan 7 update]
Well, the above is no longer valid... ;-)
The feat was inevitable after Avatar flew past the billion dollar mark in 17 days and finally debuted in China on Monday to the highest opening day sales the country has ever seen (about $4.8 million). The U.S. total has climbed to $374.4 million.
[Jan 11 update]
AVATAR BOX OFFICE WORLDWIDE:
$1,331,140,000
[Jan 15 update]
[Jan 18 update]
AVATAR BOX OFFICE WORLDWIDE:
$1,603,067,000
And guess who won Golden Globes for Best Film and Best Director last night ;-)
[Jan 25 update]
Maybe the last time we get to see this order ;-)
[Jan 26 - Australia Day update]
It had to happen and I'm happy it happened today ;-)
[Feb 2 update]
LOL, I'm good! :-D
As I predicted Avatar landed 9 Oscar nominations:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Music (original score)
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Oh, and did I mention the film has earned over 2 billion now?
Original 2007 screenplay (.pdf)
(A must read for all who wanted more character development and a more complex plot. It's all here in the original script. :-) )
One more clip: the essence of performance capture - this is really what the whole ado is about ;-)
We have jus returned from the cinema and..... it was breathtakeing, amazing, superb, brilliant, astonishing and I wish my dictionary had more synonyms ;). What touched us the most was... an incredible flora and fauna of Pandora, rich in wonderful creatures and plants. It just has to be seen!;D
ReplyDeleteWe are planning on going to iMAX to watch it again in 3D :)
Glad you enjoyed this little indie film ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've been to Pandora twice so far (analogue IMAX 3D and Dolby Digital 3D), planning to go there again this weekend.
Do go to IMAX, that's a completely different experience!
Made it on last Saturday - IMAX 3D in Cracow:)
ReplyDeleteJust in brief:
First impression: WOW !!!
Last impression: WOW !!!
Apart from small disappointment in 3D (it didn't bowl me over - IMAX 3D technology is very powerful and has more to show thanks to its enormous screens)... AVATAR is HUUUGE:)
Beautiful story and exceptional SFX (special effects and animation).
PANDORA (landscapes, scenery, colours, wildlife, etc.) - SENSATIONAL !!!
And what is the most important - DREAMTIME SPIRIT everywhere:)
I'm loving it !
Well, you see it's what we call the "new 3D" ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe "old 3D" was all about poking you in the eye with object sticking out of the screen, and was used in animated films.
The idea behind the "new 3D" is that it shows you approximately 1/3 of the field in front of the screen (in your direction) and 2/3 behind (adding depth to the picture). It's not a gimmick anymore, in its definition it is supposed to be very subtle: after 10-15 minutes you should forget that you're watching a 3D film, and just feel "immersed" in the picture. It also helps to render CG elements better - if they are in 3 dimensions your brain is more willing to "buy" them as real.
Also this type of 3D is better suited to live-action movies. Avatar is a hybrid film, but I expect "pure" live-action flicks in 3D very soon :-)
But I agree, it does take time to adjust if you're used to the "old" type ;-)
Taking into account your definition and explanation of "new 3D" (I haven't heard about it so far) I must agree that everything had its depth and I was fully "immersed" in it forgetting about third dimension :-)
ReplyDeleteMy old 3D habit must be formulated anew. Thank you for enlightenment on it :-)
Remember that I'm a geek ;-)
ReplyDeleteIf you want to know all about 3D technology and films go here: http://marketsaw.blogspot.com
TITANIC is gonna sink again:)
ReplyDeleteWell, we'll see about it... Right now Avatar is going all over the box office like a bulldozer but it's bound to slow down. It has already opened in all major markets, and it'll face more serious competition soon. Its strength is in multiple viewings though, people come back to it again and again.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if it'll have the legs to sink Titanic, but it's going to be really close :-)
Avatar's distance from Titanic
ReplyDelete$169.9 Million Domestically
$231.2 Million Internationally
$501.2 Million Worldwide