Will the new Star Wars movie top Avatar at the box office?

[Genowyn]

It will be rereleased for double features, and then rerereleased for triple features.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't like Avatar all that much, but it remains the best 3-D I've seen thus far.

[gmillerdrake]

I don't like Avatar all that much, but it remains the best 3-D I've seen thus far.

I was mesmerized by the 3D imagery....it really is a 'beautiful' film. the 'story' was good enough to pass inspection.....

[ariich]

I think it was absolutely completely dependent on a new technology being used by Cameron and the massive media blitz to market "AN ENTIRELY NEW WAY TO WATCH MOVIES SO POWER SO ENERGY THIS IS THE NEW WAY ALL MOVIES WILL BE FILMED THIS IS NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!". That...is not an over the top nutshell sentence of how they marketed that fuckin' film. I still remember every single media (and even straight up news stations) covering the tech behind "Cameron's game-changing film". It was honest to goodness just utterly slammed over the masses heads that this incredibly futuristic, epic, legendary, life-changing format of filming movies will be the new medium and it will change movies forever. That was why it crushed any and all expectations of sales. That, and it's not a bad adventure movie. Add to that the amount of time spent detailing a new world, and that new world was, did I mention? FILMED WITH AN ALL NEW, ALL FUTURE, ALL POWERFUL WAY OF VIEWING MOVIES, THIS SHIT IS THE SHIT, IT'S NEW.

Exactly that is the reason.

To be fair, story aside......that movie was INCREDIBLE to watch in 3D. I've seen the movie twice, in the theater ....in 3D. I really don't see a reason to watch it 'normal' as the story is not overly compelling and the imagery cannot be fully appreciated (IMO) unless you're watching it in 3D

I saw it in 3D and then on a Bluray in 2D and it looked SO MUCH BETTER in 2D. None of the dulled colours and weird perspectives. The film came along at the right time for 3D movies, that's it really.

[bosk1]

The color probably would not have looked so weird if you spelled color properly.

[cramx3]

I don't like Avatar all that much, but it remains the best 3-D I've seen thus far.

I was mesmerized by the 3D imagery....it really is a 'beautiful' film. the 'story' was good enough to pass inspection.....

I had no problem with the "story" it was perfectly fine, but nothing new. It was the visuals that made this movie stand out.

[King Postwhore]

The color probably would not have looked so weird if you spelled color properly.

That's what happens when you visit Canada.

[cramx3]

The color probably would not have looked so weird if you spelled color properly.

That's what happens when you visit Canada.

Only on the Dream Theatre Forums 

[King Postwhore]

Rich did this past year!

[BlobVanDam]

The color probably would not have looked so weird if you spelled color properly.

lolmerica

[ronnibran]

So any idea yet if the new Star Wars will top Avatar or not?  Obviously I'm too lazy to look into it myself (mostly b/c I don't even know what I'd look for).

Going Friday to see it a second time with my daughter.  I think the only time before this I've seen a movie in the theater twice was the second Deathly Hallows movie.  My main motivation is reading all the theories and stuff, and want a second view to re-view everything knowing what I know now.

[orcus116]

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars7.htm

[Zantera]

It's almost at half of what Avatar has made, but you gotta keep in mind that the first 2 weeks are also when the movie brings in the most cash. It's gonna be all downhill from here, and what will determine whether it breaks the record or not is simply how much of a downward trajectory it is. Second week it made ~153 million dollars domestically, which was around a 40% drop from the first week. But what is crazy if you put things into perspective is that The Force Awakens had a SECOND WEEK that would rank as the 10th highest grossing weekends of all time. Only NINE (!) films made more in their FIRST week than TFA made in its second week. That's pretty crazy.

I'm very curious about this weekend's numbers, because I think the third weekend will give us a clear indication of how many people are still going and showing huge interest. If TFA makes over 100 million domestically in the third weekend (not impossible, it would be roughly a 33% drop from last weekend, and the drop is usually the biggest from week 1 to 2, and 2 to 3 usually is lower) I think it's got a good chance to beat Avatar. If TFA does come in at over 100 million this weekend it would be crazy. It's never happened that a film makes over 100 million in its third week of release, even with two weeks it has only happened 2 times I believe, with Jurassic World and Avengers. TFA is setting all kinds of records, but the toughest one is the international box office that Avatar holds at 2.7 billion. Avatar didn't actually make much money at all initially, and I believe its opening weekend was around 75 million dollars domestically, which is almost 1/3 of what Star Wars made its first weekend. What made Avatar the juggernaut was how it kept building, and where most movies have a downward trajectory, Avatar had a good streak of almost earning more and more the longer it was out. I do hope TFA beats it, because it's a much better film IMO.

[Chino]

One thing to keep in mind is that Avatar still made that figure even after being banned in 1600 Chinese theaters after just two weeks. It might have gotten closer to $3B had that not happened. China will be the wild card for TFA.

[gmillerdrake]

One thing to keep in mind is that Avatar still made that figure even after being banned in 1600 Chinese theaters after just two weeks. It might have gotten closer to $3B had that not happened. China will be the wild card for TFA.

Yep. That and repeat views. I know I'm going to see it one more time, that'd make (3) views....but I think AVATAR was getting like 5,6...7 repeat views? That's massive. I don't think the 'average' person out there is seeing TFA more than twice, most probably will only see it once. The hard core folks will see it over 5 times but $2.7 billion is a tough number to top.

[bosk1]

One thing to keep in mind is that Avatar still made that figure even after being banned in 1600 Chinese theaters after just two weeks. It might have gotten closer to $3B had that not happened. China will be the wild card for TFA.

Why was it banned?  I don't remember.

[Podaar]

As I remember it was a combination of fear that the populace would identify too strongly with the Na'vi and that domestic films wouldn't stand a chance competing with it.

[gmillerdrake]

One thing to keep in mind is that Avatar still made that figure even after being banned in 1600 Chinese theaters after just two weeks. It might have gotten closer to $3B had that not happened. China will be the wild card for TFA.

Why was it banned?  I don't remember.

Because it's China and the Chinese dictators are complete a$$hats.

[Counselor of Prog]

Will SW:TFA surpass Avatard? Let's hope so.  I'm still sore at James Cameron from stealing the great Roger Dean's artwork.

[TioJorge]

Lol

[Nick]

Looks like it will for sure be taking over domestically: https://uproxx.com/movies/star-wars-the-force-awakens-top-box-office-ever-avatar/

[orcus116]

I love the completely unnecessary last sentence. Way to just shove your opinion into an article like that.

[Kotowboy]

$1.5bn in under three weeks. It's going well. it's halfway to beating Avatar but numbers always decline.

However - it hasn't opened everywhere yet and it'd only been out a month. I imagine this will sit in cinemas until it's no longer worth it. About six months i'd say.

[Zantera]

I think Kung Fu Panda 3 and later Deadpool are the two big roadblocks, but even KFP3 is 4 weeks away. And even with other big blockbusters like KFP3 and Deadpool out, SW is still gonna bring in some money, even if it's gonna fall on the top5.

[King Postwhore]

I don't think Deadwood is a big block at all. I do want to see it but it's not that big of a movie to slow down SW.

[Big Hath]

I don't think Deadwood is a big block at all. I do want to see it but it's not that big of a movie to slow down SW.

I think the shocker here is that they are re-releasing the 2007 British horror film that basically went straight to DVD

[Nick]

I don't think Deadwood is a big block at all. I do want to see it but it's not that big of a movie to slow down SW.

I think the shocker here is that they are re-releasing the 2007 British horror film that basically went straight to DVD

Yeah, I mean I don't even know why we'd think that would slow SW down.

[Zantera]

I think due to the brilliant marketing (best marketing for a film ever?) with Deadpool, it's gonna end up being a bigger surprise than we first thought. Initially I think most of us were expecting it to make maybe 40-45 million dollars opening weekend (domestically), but with the brilliant marketing and the great trailers, I think it will end up closer to the double of that. While there are a lot of superhero films coming out, Deadpool is really unique and one of a kind, and I think the gimmick of the film, with the whole R-rating, breaking the 4th wall, making fun of the superhero genre while also being a superhero film is something that's gonna appeal to a lot of fans who might already be off the superhero film wagon. I know several people who have very lukewarm interest in Batman v Superman and Civil War (because it's essentially more of the same) but are very hyped for Deadpool mainly for how unique it will be.

But Deadpool comes out at February 12th, which is what, 8-9 weeks after the premiere of The Force Awakens? At that point the people who really wanted to see Star Wars have already seen it, and Deadpool is the big thing of that weekend. I think the longer SW stays in theaters, the more its income will be based on repeated viewings. I've seen it 3 times myself, but I would be up for seeing it a 4th time, maybe 5-6 weeks from now. I think there are others who saw it at the release who will feel an itch to see it again before it goes out, because then you have that long wait for the BluRay.

[orcus116]

I think due to the brilliant marketing (best marketing for a film ever?) with Deadpool, it's gonna end up being a bigger surprise than we first thought. Initially I think most of us were expecting it to make maybe 40-45 million dollars opening weekend (domestically), but with the brilliant marketing and the great trailers, I think it will end up closer to the double of that.

Is this sarcasm? I've seen nothing on the movie.

[Zantera]

I think due to the brilliant marketing (best marketing for a film ever?) with Deadpool, it's gonna end up being a bigger surprise than we first thought. Initially I think most of us were expecting it to make maybe 40-45 million dollars opening weekend (domestically), but with the brilliant marketing and the great trailers, I think it will end up closer to the double of that.

Is this sarcasm? I've seen nothing on the movie.

Have you been living under a rock?

[BlobVanDam]

I think due to the brilliant marketing (best marketing for a film ever?) with Deadpool, it's gonna end up being a bigger surprise than we first thought. Initially I think most of us were expecting it to make maybe 40-45 million dollars opening weekend (domestically), but with the brilliant marketing and the great trailers, I think it will end up closer to the double of that.

Is this sarcasm? I've seen nothing on the movie.

I am vaguely aware that at some point in the future there is a movie about a character named Deadpool. If it weren't for a particular general nerdy page I follow on Facebook, I wouldn't have seen anything about it.

[Zantera]

I think to be fair, the movie is 1 ½ month out and the most intense marketing will probably start in 2 weeks or so for that final month. With Star Wars spending 50 billion on their marketing campaign and being everywhere, bus stops, commercials, football games, it's kinda pointless for a film like Deadpool, which premieres 2 months after to really start the big push. But there has been marketing and it has been great so far.

[Kotowboy]

According to Wikipedia = the total budget for The Force Awakens was nearly half a billion including production budget and marketing.

It's made that back three times over but $500m to make a film  ridiculous.

[Zantera]

Yeah it's ridiculous how much money they spend on movies in Hollywood. Look at a film like District 9 which only had a 30 million dollar budget yet was a really great sci-fi film, and still most new sci-fi films have over 100 million as their budget. The Force Awakens probably spent at least 250 million dollars on the marketing, which is insane.

[orcus116]

I think due to the brilliant marketing (best marketing for a film ever?) with Deadpool, it's gonna end up being a bigger surprise than we first thought. Initially I think most of us were expecting it to make maybe 40-45 million dollars opening weekend (domestically), but with the brilliant marketing and the great trailers, I think it will end up closer to the double of that.

Is this sarcasm? I've seen nothing on the movie.

Have you been living under a rock?

Not at all. Like blob said I know there is a movie coming out at some point but I have seen zero trailers, tv spots, etc. I watched football all day yesterday and if this movie has the type of marketing you say it does I would guess I would've seen at least one TV spot or even a plug somewhere.