Avatar's Opening Weekend:
Putting the Positive into Perspective
By Chris Groves

James Cameron's Avatar has had its opening weekend come and go. The result? To tell the truth, anyone rooting for 'Team Avatar' couldn't have asked for a much better box office performance from the high budget behemoth.

Several articles have already hit online detailing how Avatar 'failed to meet expectations' over its opening weekend. While its one thing to deliver opinionated angles in editorials, its another to deny the utter success of a film.

First things first, 'Gimme the numbers, Chris', well here they are: Avatar opened with a domestic take of $77.02 million and global gross(including the domestic numbers) of $241.57 million.

Domestically, Avatar launched with a $77.02 million opening. That is the highest grossing opening weekend for a modern day 3D film, besting the opening of Up at $68.1 million. Avatar's opening is also the highest for a completely original film that was not some sort of sequel, remake or adaptation of previously existing material. The previous holder of this niche record was The Incredibles, with an opening of $70.4 million.

For a December opening, Avatar's ranks in at #2, a few hundred thousand shy of I Am Legend's $77.21 million record. Considering I Am Legend was an adaptation of a rather well known book, featuring the star power of Will Smith, an easily marketable plot, and a running time that was an hour shorter than Avatar's, Avatar had a great performance.

Globally, Avatar's tune of success rang just as true. Looking only at the box office performance outside of North America, Avatar's non-domestic opening of $164.5 million ranks as the 6th highest of all time. The Global total for the weekend, standing at $241.6 million, is the 9th highest ever. But as in the Domestic department, Avatar's global opening was the highest for an entirely original film.

Furthermore, Avatar still has three major markets to open in: Japan (Dec 23rd), China (Jan 2nd), and Italy (Jan 15th). As well as three smaller markets: Poland (Dec 25th), Argentina (Jan 1st), and Georgia (Jand 2nd)...it is safe to assume Avatar still has plenty of room grow internationally. To put it simply, though, its off to a great start.

In summation, there is no grey area left for interpretation regarding Avatar's opening weekend. The highly anticipated, debated, discussed mega-budgeted Sci-Fi return of James Cameron started its box office run with a huge bang. The warm welcome from critics indicates that word of mouth regarding the film will be generally positive, which could lead to long legs at box office in the form of new and repeating viewers.

Avatar is poised for continued success over the upcoming holidays as well, and beyond that, has little serious competition to fear in the month of January. The debate of whether Avatar will be a hit or not is no longer the question, its now a matter of how big of a hit can it become.

Cameron's Napoleon
By Mike Retter

I have heard about Stanly Kubrick’s attempts to make a film about Napoleon. He researched the life of the person to the point where he had an advanced pre-home computer punch card system developed for information.

It was like a detailed system of following and connecting every known detail of the historical figure's life. Any Kubrick film not to make it to screen would surely be considered one of the greatest films never to be made.

Kubrick spent years preparing for this film, which he then chose not to make. The projected budget may have made it out of the question. The script that surfaced a few years ago tells of an ambitious, information heavy epic. Creative animated maps, mammoth battle sequences and obsessive period detail. This was a labor of love.

I see this comparison with Cameron who has spent years working on AVATAR. Over ten years has passed since he first proposed his vision which was literally ahead of its time with technology just not feasibly up to the project. If made in the late 1990’s, it could have cost in excess of 400 million dollars, which would have been double the budget of Titanic.

Like Kubrick, Cameron is a patient person, when there is no other choice and willing to wait when things are right, like a certain visual effect becoming perfect rather than just a pass. The comparisons of the two continue with the control they are able to exert on huge projects.

Both have at one time early in their careers, been hired guns to step in and direct someone else’s film. This experience was not wasted by either director and led onto great success. Trust from a studio, very few have the chance to enjoy. One of the first big sci-fi films and a great leap is 2001: A Space Odyssey. Cameron sights this as inspirational and you can see in his own work a strong perfectionist, or "rightist" streak. T2 was a leap for everything within it.

Yes its popcorn and basically the same as the first film but in pure filmmaking, story telling, and special effects, it is an achievement almost at the level of 2001. A great mainstream success in sci-fi and action. Relentless, hitting the ground running - a heart pumper. At that moment he jumped out of the shadow of other directors.

Like two military generals, the directors spent years not releasing films, but they were still working. Kubrick with his preparations and Cameron with his side projects. As if preparing for the next strike. Kubrick would obsessively research the subject till he was ready to plan the film from the ground up. Cameron has an interesting approach of making documentaries related to the subject matter.

Being at the bottom of the sea is not only good for making oceanic blockbusters, but also useful when trying to create an alien wilderness. The florescent glowing life at the bottom of our oceans seems to have made its way into the extraterrestrial, jungle landscape of AVATAR's Pandora. Unlike Napoleon, Kubrick never had a defeat. He left the world just in time to miss the critical acclaim his last film would receive, albeit like his other films, it took a little time for some critics to come round.

Cameron has put his own mother on the roulette table with this one and that is what’s exciting. On paper it should be the blockbuster we have been waiting for, but it remains untested and unknown.

Is Avatar the Next Star Wars?
By Spaceyshady

Following Jake Sully through his journey was without a doubt one of the greatest experiences. An experience unrivaled by any other movie. From the arrival to Pandora, transference of consciousness into a Na’vi being and the final thrilling battle that ensues, you feel like you were right next to the characters; especially if you witnessed this in 3D. (I highly recommend it)

The main story, of course, is usually criticized for being unoriginal. A spy is sent to infiltrate the enemy. The spy falls in love with their culture and usually a female, too. He then switches sides. (Ex: Dances with Wolves or The Last Samurai )

Some people had problems with a messiah scenario, but this is in fact it’s strongest connection to Star Wars. A savior is what is at the very heart of the Star Wars saga. Anakin bringing balance to the force through his ultimate redemption. Neo from The Matrix trilogy is another messianic figure that helps to bring harmony between two opposing forces. Of course, Avatar does have many other similarities to Star Wars.

1. Both Luke and Jake begin their adventures with a death. Luke’s aunt and uncle die. Jake loses his brother, Tom.

2. Each story swept you away to a vibrant world full of rich environments. Pandora’s Hallelujah Mountains are even more magnificent than the waterfalls on Naboo or the hot magma thats flows on Mustafar. I must say, watching Hometree burn was much like watching the Jedi Temple fall to the hands of the Empire.

3. While it may seem obvious, each movie has very memorable characters. Trudy Chacon is the closest to Han Solo as it gets. She knows that things on Pandora aren’t what they seem to be. But you, as a viewer, aren’t sure if she is willing to stand up for the wrongdoings. Dr. Grace Augustine is to Jake Sully as Obi-wan is to Luke Skywalker. Though she doesn’t sacrifice her life for Jake’s, she does open Jake’s eyes to a much larger world. I will also readily admit that many of Avatar’s other secondary characters are painted with a broad stroke. It would be interesting to see them expanded upon in the coming sequels.

4. Star Wars has the relentless Empire that will stop at nothing to maintain it’s grip on the galaxy. Avatar has it’s military that’s hell bent on obtaining unobtainium. I don’t think Colonel Quaritch matches the villainy of Darth Vader but he does show an utter distaste for the natives on Pandora that is similar to Vader’s hate for the rebellion.

5. Aliens that leave you spellbound. From the Omaticaya clan to the other natives, Pandora is full of creatures that rival those in the Star Wars universe.

6. The Jedi have the force and the Na’vi have Eywa. You must unlearn what you have learned; embrace nature. Luke finds himself through Yoda’s teachings just as Jake finds himself through Neytiri’s.

I’m excited to see where the story goes from here. Cameron is synonymous for turning things upside down when it comes to continuing a story. I’m guessing that Avatar will be no different. Things will surely have to get more epic if it’s to become a Star Wars of its own. The story has unfathomable potential. The humans, I posit, will surely return. A villain with more depth would be greatly appreciated.

What lies in store for Jake and Neytiri can only be guessed at this point. Will they have a child? Will their love last? Any great storyteller would agree that the best of love is love that does not last. ( Ex: Neo/Trinity, Romeo/Juliet, Mark Antony/Cleopatra). And to truly make the story immortal, the hero has to sacrifice himself for the greater good. (Ex: Neo, Anakin, Frodo, Oedipus, Jesus) All of these scenarios doesn’t necessarily have to occur. However, in order to make Avatar a story for the ages and Jake one of the hero’s with a thousand faces, he’s got his work cut out for him.

My final thought: Avatar is a phenomenal movie. It has brought 3D to the forefront of cinema. People who normally would pass on science fiction stories have embraced this special picture. It is amassing a cult following of its own and has opened a lot of eyes to some of the selfish ways of humanity.

Avatar’s Challenge:
"What made sci-fi films successful in the past?
By Jpcaetano

This might be extremely biased and poisoned with personal opinion, but I think that what a lot of people crave nowadays is stuff like The Lord of the Rings (LOTR). BIG movies, and by big I don't mean summer blockbusters full of CGI - I mean long stories. Things that people can accompany, that can be developed without constraints or rush.

When I look at the Sci-Fi genre, I really can't find its LOTRs, outside of Star Wars . . . and perhaps a new Star Trek lineage. I'm sure Sci-Fi would have landmark movies if, for example, Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy was to be put to film like LOTR was, and not the whole story transformed into a 2 hour movie. People don't like that; they don't appreciate long stories being turned into a 2 hour movie. Just look at the success of LOTR and Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC).

But I acknowledge it's not all "BIG movies" that make Sci-Fi successful. Perhaps it’s the lack of movies that deeply delve into matters, or "How it would be if" scenarios, that lack exploration. A movie that I guess is a sort of Science Fiction is "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (2008), but it severely lacks that feeling of "How it would be if". The subject matter of alien invasion isn't explored at all, nor is it explored well in "Independence Day" either. "I, Robot", since I mentioned Asimov, would be another example. I would love to see more movies taking place in the same places, with the same characters, perhaps with Will Smith always coming back as more of that futuristic world was explored, but that doesn't happen.

Science fiction, to me at least, is great when there are discussions of issues that people can actually get into and think along with the characters. I think that many movies today don't have that (it usually comes down to money, money, money, and money), but COULD if they were longer and had the guts to explore issues. For this to happens, it usually helps to have a very passionate person writing the script, and in the case of adaptations, respectful of the original story. It seems it's all about explosions, CGI, and putting 'cool things' on screen today. There are tiny little gems, but BIG stories like Transformers doesn't get into my list.

I am confident "Avatar" will be done well and it will be one of the very, very few on my list of "Recent/Modern Good Sci-Fi movies". "The Second Renaissance", done for the Animatrix shorts by the Wachowski Brothers comes to mind. The things in there are very powerful, the images and the drama is very good. Putting it on the screen, in real life, letting each narration be longer, with the same sentiment and drama, and seriousness, without cheesy characters (perhaps even without any 'characters' per se, with cheesy storylines, just an exploration, a "How it would be" scenario exploration) could be very powerful, and I'm not talking about a 100 minute movie. It needs to be more. Thematic epics, or "Exploratory epics" so to speak.

What you see with the recent Big epics is storytelling slowly coming back, the audiences telling movie producers and directors that: "You know what, we don't mind long movies, we don't mind when you're actually true to the stories and actually take the time to respectfully transcribe the story from a book (or comic book, in the case of "Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight") to the screen. Things that take their time being told, that people actually WANT to accompany if done right, with the same characters and style and music.

Something that I guess sort of allowed the Terminator series to die out was the non-continuity between the movies. People want the same characters, going through different stuff. Throwing Schwarzenegger away, and adding more robots, just changes everything, when perhaps all people wanted was just to follow John Connor, period. Even though I haven't watched Salvation, I sort of feel like there are these huge gaps from the second to the third, and from the third to the fourth. Where there could be more John Connor, and not just mean robot stuff.

But is the Sci-Fi movie business in crisis? I don't think so. Some things just have to click together, and I guess they clicked together more often in the past than now. So what needs to be asked is not "Is it in crisis?" It's "What made the films in the past successful? What made people feel attracted to them? Was it the maturity and seriousness of them? Or the scale of the events taking place such as in the case of Star Wars?

Hopefully Avatar will deliver and give it a little boost, and if it succeeds, it'll be, again, another movie that has many, many characteristics in common with the highest grossing films. Especially if sequels are made for it, the same way sequels were made for LOTR and POTC. Then perhaps someone will consider making some sort of Sci-Fi epic, if Avatar hasn't taken its place by then. But there's always place for more.. The audiences will gladly wait for big projects that want to bring a fresh idea to the screen with the respect and careful consideration of all those involved.

Avatar Final Script:
Top Five Must Haves From the Scriptment
By SFMZ Webmaster

For those who have read Cameron's old scriptment, each one of us have particulary favorite aspects of the sci-fi narrative. We all wait for December 18 to see what elements of the scriptment were deleted or survived to the final scriptment.

Of course there is always the factor that new aspects of the film could enter the equation that would become favorites. Some of the key pieces are a given such as the Na'Vi race, Pandora, and the human antagonists & protagonists. These I assume I don't need to include on my top five wish list.

Within the realm of the existing scriptment, my top five must haves for the final scriptment are. . .

The Power Suit - sure it's been associated to the power lifter in Aliens, but what I like so much about this is that it goes well beyond the lifter in technology and weaponry, not to mention that it's a self contained environment and has the mass to battle the 10 feet tall Na'Vi warriors.

The Manticore - this giant creature is well described in the scriptment, but somehow I wonder if my imagination of this visual does justice to what Cameron might reveal.

The Illuminescent Jungle - The way the alien jungle is described for a night scene would likely be a visual overload on the senses.

Polyphemis - granted it's just a dropped-in-the-background giant planet, but with it's large mass, it would be just about in every scene in the background for outside shots that is not obstructed by jungle. A silent character in the story, I feel something would be missing throughout the movie if the gas giant was not looming in the background.

The C-21 DRAGON Gunship - Excerpt from the scriptment: "looks like a giant predatory insect, with multiple canopies at the front for pilots and gunners." I can't really add anything else to that description to do justice to it's level of coolness this craft would be.

Of course there are so many more such as the Samson craft, the other creatures, the predatory plants, the floating mountains, and others. Or even the portayal of the resource depleted Earth and the dark side of the moon lit with city lights (as seen in this article image - rendering by AMZ). Perhaps Cameron has added new elements to the final script and we have all new visual wonders in store for us.