March 12, 2010



Get ready for "Avatar"-plus.

James Cameron and Fox are in discussions about rereleasing "Avatar," primarily in 3D theaters, in late summer -- and, tantalizingly, with additional scenes that had been left on the cutting-room floor in the rush to ready the epic for its Dec. 18 release.

The impetus for a rerelease is the feeling that, even though "Avatar" is the highest-grossing movie of all time, producers could have raked in even more money had they been able to hold on to the digital and Imax 3D screens that were lost when Disney opened "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D on March 5.

As for how much additional footage Cameron might add to "Avatar," the guessing began early Thursday when Imax CEO Richard Gelfond said during a Gabelli & Co. investor conference in New York that Cameron had about 40 minutes of additional material that didn't make the theatrical cut. He also predicted a rerelease, which he said probably would occur in the fall.

Cameron had said that he had 10-12 minutes of extra scenes that he cut and could quickly put through postproduction and have ready to add to a director's cut for a theatrical reissue or as an extra on the DVD release. One scene has to do with Jake Sully's avatar proving himself to the Na'vi people; the other involves a native festival during which tribe member Tsu'tey gets drunk.

The maximum length a movie can be released in analog Imax theaters is 170 minutes -- a number Cameron was aware of when he made his original edit -- so he could add about 10 minutes to the 160-minute current run time and still be in all Imax locations. That seems more likely than trying to add as much as 40 minutes.

The week before "Alice" arrived, Fox's movie still was minting millions in 4,215 North American theaters, including 179 Imax sites. This week, it dropped to a theater count of 667, including eight Imax 3D locations, resulting in a 41% week-over-week drop in grosses.

Through March 4, "Avatar" had grossed $127.1 million of its $712.5 million domestic haul in Imax theaters; this week's giant-screen take was $175,884.

"Avatar" has done more than 80% of its domestic business in 3D theaters, which represented fewer than half of its runs.

The film also has grossed $1.9 billion outside North America for a total of about $2.6 billion. It has helped expand 3D globally and broken records worldwide.

When "Avatar" was forced off Imax screens -- after the longest and most lucrative run in Imax history -- to accommodate "Alice," Fox saw increased grosses on nearby digital 3D screens, an indication that demand remains.

How much did the film leave behind? Cameron was in New York this week for a demonstration of 3D TV and told USA Today, "The word we're getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple hundred million dollars on the table as a result."

The summer rerelease would follow a home video premiere in 2D form, which will happen as soon as next month and no later than May.

Cameron told USA Today there might be a Blu-ray Disc release of the 3D version for home use as early as the fall, but Fox studio sources indicate that is unlikely. They believe there won't be enough of an installed base of 3D TV sets to make that worthwhile and said it is more likely to come next year.

Cameron and Fox also are in discussions about one or two sequels to "Avatar" that would use many of the digital "assets" that were created for the original. There is no script or deal in place, but the filmmaker and studio have indicated that it is something they would like to do.


http://www.hollywoodrepor...e66c9a5e91

money money money money ...MONEY

I have not seen this yet

Sorta interested sorta not

$ wasted.

luv4u said:

you won't be disappointed then It's something to see, but only a decent movie, IMO

Graycap23 said:

I'll go

Harlepolis said:

Me too!

Will the full Na'vi sex scene be in it?

OR...

Reserve it for the DVD/Blu-Ray release, its safer that way, financially

sextonseven said:

Don't you find it disturbing a team of twelve graphic animators had the mental strength - and dare I say enthusiasm - to spend nine months artifically creating every single frame of those missing 56 seconds of animated sex between two blue thundercaty sprites on their Macs. I don't think that type of deeply perverted endurance test should be rewarded by actually showing anyone their efforts. Cutting room floor for those filthy cunts. What about the children?

luv4u said:

I thought I was the only one.

Harlepolis said:

But it won't count toward box-office sales. This is about cementing the movie's place there.

luv4u said:

You didn't miss a thing.

Shallow Movie.

Number23 said:

I swear God speaks to me through your posts.

so they want to make the torture even longer?! Sadists!!

garganta said:

There...fixed it!

Number23 said:

I'm sorry but
Yes...yes.

seeingvoices12 said:

I thought so too...
I left the theatre a little enraged, actually.

Wasn't this movie already like 3 hours?

sextonseven said:

and I don't think they use macs

PurpleJedi said:

grrrrr....

garganta said:

I still haven't seen it either....meh....maybe I'll see the rerelease...maybe not.

Couldn't wait for the dvd release I guess

I was going to see this again...I guess I'll wait until the re-release.

Shallow movie, but, that is completely trumped by the beautifulness of the visuals.

Revolution said:

ZombieKitten said:

If God says macs were used then macs were used.

Lawd, that movie was like an animated Gone with the Fucking wind for fucks sake. I thought they needed an intermission. All that was missing were Hobbits and Dwarves.