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Avatar has officially become the highest grossing movie of all time, replacing James Cameron's earlier mega blockbuster (block destroyer?) Titanic. As of today, the figures in world wide gross are:
Avatar - $1,858,562,198
Titanic - $1,843,201,268
One can point to a host of factors that would "delegitimize" the Avatar surpassing Titanic. Detractors can point to inflation, higher 3-D ticket prices for Avatar, Titanic was 4 hours long and had nudity, blah blah blah... None of these things change the fact that Avatar has made more money than any other and James Cameron has made the top two grossing films in history.
What I find interesting is the difference in their ability to attract and captivate audiences. The public's response to Titanic was overwhelmingly positive. It was "the love story that stole the world's heart". That's not to say it did not have vehement critics. In fact I personally thought the movie was boring and way too overhyped. People who disliked or hated the film however, did so mostly because of what they perceived to be deficiencies in the film's cinematic elements, such as bad acting, cheesy dialogue, cliched and unconvincing storyline, etc. Or they were simply irked by its enormous popularity and (like me) wanted to be self-righteously contrarian.
Avatar on the other hand, had much more (not so subtle) political undertones. It has generated a ton of controversy, and undoubtedly benefitted from audiences who felt strongly about its messages, as well as those just curious to see what all the fuss was about. It's more than art or entertainment. Instead it has become a lightning rod for all the social commentary going on today. Environmental, and animal rights activists have found a successful vehicle to latch their agenda onto. PETA recently awarded it its prestigious (maybe?) Proggy Award for Outstanding Feature Film. China pushed it out of its theaters last week, ostensibly to make room for the domestic production of Confucius, but also according to some human rights activists, because the story was steering a little too close to the state's practice of land expropriation. On the other hand, many people have also decried its reductionist treatment of complicated social problems. You can see them here, here, here, and here (this one you should read because I wrote it). Anyway I have already written about Avatar, so I won't repeat myself.
One final note, Titanic will be re-releasted in 2011 to be shown in 3-D, so for those who are indignant at Avatar's irreverence, you'll get another shot to show your support and perhaps help Titanic retake the crown. But then again Cameron has already confirmed a sequel for Avatar... Looks like he'll need a bigger house to put all that cash in.
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6 comments:
The re-release of Titanic in 3D?
O
M
F
G
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Things like that just makes me wanna shit all over Hollywood. It's like how they keep on making sequels to terminator even though James Cameron probably wanted to end it at T2.
F
U
HOLLYWOOD!
are you sure it's not a sequel to avatar? titanic doesnt seem like a movie that would do well with a sequel. Unless you have a BIGGER ship hit a BIGGER RADIOACTIVE iceberg.
Oh yeah I meant sequel to Avatar, sorry that's not clear... although I like your idea =)
While it was nice of you to consider the various factors that contribute to that, albeit with an air of disregard, as least give them their due. Hence, this link:
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/forbes-avatar-box-office-king.html
Also, I would like to thank X's ejaculation of the alphabet. It has certainly made my day more amusing, if somewhat scatter-brained. At the very least, string FU and Hollywood together. And while "FU Hollywood" is even more repulsive since X has already shit on it, I prefer not to be insulted while he shrieks "Hollywood!"
I did give them their due, by listing them...
Hahaha! I love Boris' idea. Perhaps Titanic hits giant Avatar military tank. Somalians take DiCaprio and Winslet hostage; Avatars try to save them, using their hair to tame falling chandeliers, while scaring the pirates by whispering "I see you" before sending swarms of seagulls at them.
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