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| How Avatar toppled Titanic | How Avatar toppled Titanic |
| (4 days later) | |
| By Neil Smith Entertainment reporter, BBC News | By Neil Smith Entertainment reporter, BBC News |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| Watch a scene from Avatar - courtesy of 20th Century Fox | Watch a scene from Avatar - courtesy of 20th Century Fox |
| The original Titanic sank in 1912. Now the blockbuster movie it inspired has also gone down. | The original Titanic sank in 1912. Now the blockbuster movie it inspired has also gone down. |
| This time, though, it was not an iceberg that toppled it, but a 3D film about a blue-skinned alien race defending their moon against human invaders. | |
| Towards the end of the last decade, James Cameron's epic Titanic became the most successful movie ever with global takings of $1.843bn (£1.14bn). | Towards the end of the last decade, James Cameron's epic Titanic became the most successful movie ever with global takings of $1.843bn (£1.14bn). |
| But that record no longer stands thanks to Avatar - also directed by Cameron - which this week stole its crown as the all-time global box office champ, with receipts of $1.859bn (£1.15bn). | But that record no longer stands thanks to Avatar - also directed by Cameron - which this week stole its crown as the all-time global box office champ, with receipts of $1.859bn (£1.15bn). |
| It is an astonishing achievement for the 55-year-old Canadian, and one that is unlikely to be repeated in his or our lifetimes. | It is an astonishing achievement for the 55-year-old Canadian, and one that is unlikely to be repeated in his or our lifetimes. |
| Yet it is also a triumph for the 20th Century Fox studio and its parent company NewsCorp, the financial backers of this bold, predominantly computer-generated science-fiction saga. | Yet it is also a triumph for the 20th Century Fox studio and its parent company NewsCorp, the financial backers of this bold, predominantly computer-generated science-fiction saga. |
| The film is set on a planet populated by blue-skinned aliens | The film is set on a planet populated by blue-skinned aliens |
| Quite simply, Avatar has been a phenomenon that has captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way few could have predicted. | Quite simply, Avatar has been a phenomenon that has captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way few could have predicted. |
| It did so despite having few star names and generating a mixed reaction from the critics, many of whom slated its plot, dialogue and characterisation. | It did so despite having few star names and generating a mixed reaction from the critics, many of whom slated its plot, dialogue and characterisation. |
| The film has also drawn fire from the blogosphere, with some pundits attacking it for what they see as its anti-American subtext and environmentalist agenda. | The film has also drawn fire from the blogosphere, with some pundits attacking it for what they see as its anti-American subtext and environmentalist agenda. |
| Some have even accused it of being racist in its depiction of a white hero coming to the aid of a persecuted indigenous population - largely portrayed, incidentally, by African-American and native American actors. | Some have even accused it of being racist in its depiction of a white hero coming to the aid of a persecuted indigenous population - largely portrayed, incidentally, by African-American and native American actors. |
| No one would claim Avatar is high art, any more than they would consider Titanic a modern masterpiece. | No one would claim Avatar is high art, any more than they would consider Titanic a modern masterpiece. |
| Yet what it does have in its favour is state-of-the-art visual effects that transport the viewer to a spectacularly realised extra-terrestrial world. | Yet what it does have in its favour is state-of-the-art visual effects that transport the viewer to a spectacularly realised extra-terrestrial world. |
| That Avatar was Cameron's first feature since Titanic - winner of 11 Oscars in 1998 - was enough by itself to ensure it would be a major release. | That Avatar was Cameron's first feature since Titanic - winner of 11 Oscars in 1998 - was enough by itself to ensure it would be a major release. |
| Yet it took a combination of canny scheduling, aggressive marketing and an industry-wide drive to revive 3D for its full potential to be realised. | Yet it took a combination of canny scheduling, aggressive marketing and an industry-wide drive to revive 3D for its full potential to be realised. |
| Unchallenged | Unchallenged |
| Had Avatar opened last summer, it would have faced much stiffer competition for audiences and cinema screens. | Had Avatar opened last summer, it would have faced much stiffer competition for audiences and cinema screens. |
| By launching in December, though, the film has enjoyed a virtually unchallenged month-long run without any significant challenges from other titles. | By launching in December, though, the film has enjoyed a virtually unchallenged month-long run without any significant challenges from other titles. |
| Fox's rivals may have deliberately refrained from taking it on, mindful of the huge expectation that surrounded this heavily hyped picture. | Fox's rivals may have deliberately refrained from taking it on, mindful of the huge expectation that surrounded this heavily hyped picture. |
| Unconfirmed reports suggest Fox has spent as much as $150 million (£93 million) promoting a movie some claim cost $300m (£185m) to make. | Unconfirmed reports suggest Fox has spent as much as $150 million (£93 million) promoting a movie some claim cost $300m (£185m) to make. |
| Hi-tech effects were used to create its eye-popping visuals | Hi-tech effects were used to create its eye-popping visuals |
| Perhaps the key factor in Avatar's success, though, has been the way it has turned the revived interest in the 3D format to its advantage. | Perhaps the key factor in Avatar's success, though, has been the way it has turned the revived interest in the 3D format to its advantage. |
| Last year, such animated features as Up, Monsters Vs Aliens and Fox's own Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs showed the industry digital 3D projection was a viable proposition. | Last year, such animated features as Up, Monsters Vs Aliens and Fox's own Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs showed the industry digital 3D projection was a viable proposition. |
| Avatar has been able to build on their success, capitalising on the higher ticket prices cinema chains have been charging to see it in stereoscope. | Avatar has been able to build on their success, capitalising on the higher ticket prices cinema chains have been charging to see it in stereoscope. |
| Crucial to the film's marketing is that it is an "event" movie that needs to be seen in 3D to be appreciated fully. | Crucial to the film's marketing is that it is an "event" movie that needs to be seen in 3D to be appreciated fully. |
| It is a message that has clearly taken hold of the UK sector, where audiences have chosen in overwhelming numbers to pay more to see the film than they would otherwise need to. | It is a message that has clearly taken hold of the UK sector, where audiences have chosen in overwhelming numbers to pay more to see the film than they would otherwise need to. |
| Invincible | Invincible |
| According to entertainment analyst Nielsen EDI, standard "2D" screenings represent just 15% of Avatar's UK takings. | According to entertainment analyst Nielsen EDI, standard "2D" screenings represent just 15% of Avatar's UK takings. |
| In contrast, 85% have derived from 3D or IMAX 3D screenings. | In contrast, 85% have derived from 3D or IMAX 3D screenings. |
| Such data bodes well for forthcoming 3D titles like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3 and Tron: Legacy. | Such data bodes well for forthcoming 3D titles like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3 and Tron: Legacy. |
| It will also encourage more cinemas to install the digital equipment required to screen films in 3D. | It will also encourage more cinemas to install the digital equipment required to screen films in 3D. |
| According to the Film Distributors' Association, 15% of UK cinema screens - around 500 in all - are 3D enabled. | According to the Film Distributors' Association, 15% of UK cinema screens - around 500 in all - are 3D enabled. |
| However, it expects that figure to rise significantly in the coming months as more high-profile titles are released in the format. | However, it expects that figure to rise significantly in the coming months as more high-profile titles are released in the format. |
| Where does this leave Cameron? Back to being the "king of the world" as he proclaimed himself at the Academy Awards 12 years ago. | Where does this leave Cameron? Back to being the "king of the world" as he proclaimed himself at the Academy Awards 12 years ago. |
| Oscar glory may not be lavished so fulsomely on Avatar, though that is unlikely to make much of a dent on his apparent box office invincibility. | Oscar glory may not be lavished so fulsomely on Avatar, though that is unlikely to make much of a dent on his apparent box office invincibility. |
| Not only that, but he now shares - with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski and Harry Potter helmer David Yates - the honour of having two films in the all-time box-office Top 10. | |
| Crucially, though, he has the top two. And if you think he is not happy about that fact, you do not know Jim Cameron. | Crucially, though, he has the top two. And if you think he is not happy about that fact, you do not know Jim Cameron. |