Chris Aronson admits he was being bullish when he told his colleagues at 20th Century Fox that “Avatar” would gross $500 million at the domestic box office. This was back in 2009, before Marvel mania and Disney dominance made half-a-million-dollar earners commonplace. Up until that point, only “Titanic” and “The Dark Knight” had surpassed that gargantuan milestone. Eleven more films have since joined the club.
“People thought we were out of our minds,” recalls Aronson, who was responsible for overseeing the film’s theatrical rollout at Fox. “We always marvel at that.”
Of course, “Avatar” went on to smash that benchmark, ending its unprecedented box office run with $760 million in North America. James Cameron’s dazzling sci-fi epic was the first film to cross $2 billion worldwide and spent a decade as the highest-grossing movie of all time ($2.74 billion) until “Avengers: Endgame” defeated its historic run this July.
For all the hype around Cameron’s piece de resistance, “Avatar” was far from a sure-fire commercial success. But Aronson and his Fox comrades, as well as exhibition executives who got to see early footage, knew the high-tech wizardry used to bring Pandora to life was otherworldly from the start. The 3D technology, using motion-capture performances to bring the local tribe of Na’vi to the big screen, was seen as revolutionary. But it didn’t come cheap. “Avatar” cost over $200 million, making it one of the most expensive movies at the time.
“There were snowstorms and there wasn’t a feeling that it was a huge thing,” Patrick Corcoran, chief communications officer of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, an exhibition industry trade group, remembers of its inaugural weekend. “But it kept playing at the same level week after week. I don’t think anyone realized how big it would be.”
“Avatar” had unparalleled legs and was a mainstay on movie theater marquees through August, thanks to the glowing word-of-mouth that drove repeat viewings. “The second weekend, we dropped all of $2 million. We knew we had something then,” says Aronson. It held the No. 1 spot for a record consecutive seven weeks and remained in the top 10 for over three months.
Over 80% of ticket sales for “Avatar” came from 3D and premium formats. The unique demand to see “Avatar” in the best quality possible left executives scrambling to find their own 3D hits. But there was trouble in paradise, and not just of the Quaritch variety.
“Avatar” was a passion project of Cameron’s, one that he waited years before executing to ensure technology could match his vision. Studios and filmmakers, in attempting to capitalize on that trend, converted movies that weren’t filmed on 3D cameras with shoddy results.
“People rushed into it assuming if you slap on 3D, you can make extra money. Audiences caught onto that,” Corcoran said. “I don’t think that was fully exploited, but I think it was oversold as ‘this is the way of the future.’”
The premium format quickly fell out of favor with moviegoers, who felt duped by high-profile misfires — films such as 2010’s “Clash of the Titans” and “The Last Airbender” rushed to add 3D at the last minute with little regard towards quality control.
“Certain studios took the time to make high-quality 3D films, but some films that were put into 3D were garbage. As a result, not all 3D was created equal,” says Eric Handler, a media analyst with MKM Partners. “There was a lot that people didn’t want to pay a premium for anymore.”
There’s hope from certain sectors that the release of “Avatar 2” in 2021 could reignite passion for the format. Cameron is planning three subsequent sequels in the coming years, with a fifth installment wrapping things up in 2027.
Source: ‘Avatar’ Anniversary: James Cameron’s Box Office Epic Turns 10 – Variety