14 DAY TRIAL // Before the release of James Cameron’s most recent blockbuster, “Avatar,” analysts and industry people predicted an epic fail. At the time, they said the film couldn’t possibly turn a profit with a budget estimated at no less than $500 million. Not only has “Avatar” made a profit, but it’s also on path to sink “Titanic” at the international box office, thus becoming the biggest selling movie of all times, the BBC says.
In just a little over 20 days since its release, “Avatar” has written box office history. Figures indicate that it has managed to take down “Lord of the Rings: Return of The King” ($1,119,110,941) in ticket sales, which means there is only one competitor still standing: “Titanic,” yet another blockbuster from Cameron. Ultimately, the battle for the title of highest grossing film in the movie industry will be one that Cameron will have to fight with himself – literally.
“The Hollywood Reporter said James Cameron’s film had overtaken the $1.12bn (£699m) taken by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. But Cameron still has a way to go to top Titanic’s $1.84bn (£1.14bn). It is thought that Avatar’s huge box office takings are partly due to the higher cost of 3D film tickets,” the BBC says. In this sense, unlike “Lord of the Rings,” “Avatar” has the advantage of being played on both 2D and 3D screens. With fans choosing the latter, this is also reflected in the money made in ticket sales.
In other James Cameron news, the famed director, who never once doubted the success of “Avatar,” has already started work on another project, according to reports in the industry. Hopefully, his fans can only hope, this time, he’ll take less than 12 years to come out with the finished production, but only if the result is just as entertaining as his recent story on the alien civilization, the Na’vi.
“According to film magazine Empire, the director has bought the rights to Charles Pellegrino’s soon-to-be published The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back. The book chronicles two days during and after the atomic bomb drops at the end of the Second World War, using eyewitness accounts from Japanese civilians and American pilots who survived the experience,” the BBC says of what could turn out to be Cameron’s upcoming film.