• I'm going to have to agree with John S. I can't get the reeking smell of BS out of my nose. In other words, my BS detector is going haywire every time something new is mentioned about this picture.

• hi

• My ticket was $36.5USD but thats comfy seat and less people. Normal 3D in sydney is $17USD its getting expensive... Its amazing and inspiring that avatar visuals are possible now, but didn't amaze me as much as terminator 2 (camerons real masterpiece IMHO), I think the story of t2 had me more hooked.

• You can't be serious!

• this movie was argually the second best movie ive ever seen. if you havent seen it buy tickets! as of january fourth it has made over one billion dollars.

• I saw the movie ...good god this movie blows! They took the Space Marines from Aliens(the one good Alien movie, nope don't want to hear it!!) put them against what an offspring of Lion-O and Panthro of the Thundercats would look like stretched them out and colored them neon blue,a crappy story and POW! Avatar! It blows big time!

• Remember folks ... ONE is NOT ENOUGH ... have to watch this movie TWICE (or more) ..

• Chris, I am with you 100%. This movie may be cliche, but how spectacular it is. My wife and I have been to it twice, and plan to go again. It is a unfortunate that people cannot look beond the story line, it is really amazing how this movie still haunts my thoughts. I am waiting patiently for the sequel.

• I imagined the beginning part of the movie where he was in zero-g as one of Gally's flashbacks as Yoko when her ship was blown up. It made my night :3

• Really doesn't matter if u go, the movie is still raking in more dough that you will ever see in your life... Shows u just how small ur ignorance pays off =P

• LOL! I guess the packed theatre that I saw the film in was all an illusion then. I am really impressed by this 3D technology! Apparently it even works in the lobby! John S, your post is so funny. Thanks for making my day.

• I had the feeling coming out of this movie that I haven't felt since maybe I was eleven years old in 1977 and I saw Star Wars for the first time.

• POPCORN IN MY HAIR! I guess I should also comment about the movie. Actually not the movie but more about the experience. As an employee I can see films for free AFTER opening weekend, so starting Monday, but if the shows sell out then I can't get free admission. So after hearing about failed attempts from other employees on Monday, I went to the 10 AM showing on Wednesday. You know how when you're finding a seat in the movie theater, you leave one seat empty between your party and some stranger party? Yeah... That's the seat I sat in. It was still packed and I barely got in. One final comment about the actual movie: I did not really like Avatar.

• This is how we move ahead as a civilization, by using our brains. creating new ideas and inovations. he sure did a good job in my mind and made me think what the hell is really out there!! James- you did a hell of a job on this one, and we all need to go see it so he and others can make more movies like this!! A++

• I work at a movie theater and we have 1 IMAX 3D screen and then 6 other Real D 3D screens. Thanks to this we were the 7th, I believe, highest-grossing theater in America for Avatar's opening weekend. It was busy. And by busy, I mean CHAOS! UTTER CHAOS! I worked the opening Friday of Avatar, where we sold out every IMAX screening that day and every general 3D screening for like, what 8 hours?? I was selling tickets and got off work early not because it wasn't busy but because we sold out everything. There simply were no more tickets to sell because when people can't get into Avatar, apparently they're willing to see something else. (The Run-off Effect) And then Christmas I worked concessions and I swear I had popcorn in my hair. LOW-POINT!

• What was wrong with this movie? it was a great sci-fi!! of course there has been stories like that but they sell!! titanic was a love story and we all can relate to it. he was using his mind for once and created some cooool ass creatures!! Just think of the crap thats out in space for real. this isnt even half the crap out in real space. awesome graphics. and quit being babies and saying its bad. if you like sci-fi movies youll love this!!!

• He said Life Experience NOT LIFE CHANGING. as insanely good as this movie is IT IS just a movie. It did bump out all other movies and move into #1 as my all time favorite movie bumping out 5th Element and Dragon Heart. It literally IS "fern gully" but many orders of magnitude more "awesome" What really pisses me off is I can never see more than "half" the actual movie experience since I can never see current tech 3D movies (one eye so the dual image brain split method we use does zip for me) I have seen it twice already. the second time was 100% as good and enjoyable as the first time (saturday after opening when we had 2 foot of snow GREAT experience with an EMPTY theatre!) thank god for my jeep cherokee :-) I plan to see it again tomorrow ($5 :-) Truly a great movie. I loved every second of it. I just wish grace could have made it. As for name calling people who don't like it? I don't care HOW AWESOME and AMAZING a movie might seem if its NOT something you "like" then its not awesome to you get it? it happens to be something I loved so it was awesome to me. Thank god a lot of people are similar enough to me or vice versa that it was awesome to a lot of people. I am really hoping he can one day do another film using these blue critters cause I REALLY want more. Here to hoping there is a LOT of fully complete cut out scenes for a nice 3+ hours extended DVD :-)

• touche

• I love action films. I love a good sci fi flick. I love a movie that excites me and makes me think. Avatar was none of those things. Even seeing it at IMAX didn't help-it just made the bad bigger and louder. Really, James Cameron? Just because you have this excellent technology at hand does not mean you should make a movie that at best can be described as some whiny emo kid's blog (Ooh, corporations are EVIL! Consumers are EVIL! Humans are EVIL!) combined with some terrifically bad sci-fi fan fic. If you want to see a quality movie about 'going native', check out Apocalypse Now and don't waste your money on this pedantic dreck.

• idk what everyone is talking about that movie was awesome. if you dont like this movie then maybe you just arnt a movie person. go play warcraft or something =]

• Hey, Carl. Are you kidding? Are you out of your mind? I'm lying to myself?? Am I really?? Well, you, my friend, are the idiot. How much do they pay you to write like that on blogs because I want your job really bad? You need to get out of the media business my friend and get yourself to a movie theater to see how I'm lying. You're not selling anything doing it that way.

• Hey, Carl. Are you kidding? Are you out of your mind? I'm lying to myself?? Am I really?? Well, you, my friend, are the idiot. How much do they pay you to write like that on blogs because I want your job really bad? You need to get out of the media business my friend and get yourself to a movie theater to see how I'm lying. You're not selling anything doing it that way.

• You're an idiot. Lol. The movie is a massive hit, and trying to say otherwise makes you look really, really silly. Fact is, this movie is being carried by word of mouth. Just look at the Box Office numbers. A 3% drop from one week to the next? That's unheard of. Most film sites are reporting over 90% audience satisfaction. Stop lying to yourself and others; no one's stupid enough to buy it. And what's up with the CAPS? Just that alone is enough for people to turn away from your comment.

• Duh. Anybody could have guessed that. People aren't going to see this because you can't predict the ending. They are going to see it because it's an amazing visual experience.

• Like everything else about this movie, its budget, its box office profit... IT'S MADE UP!! THIS THING IS A FREAKING SCAM!! This article is on another website that mass produces articles to pull interest to entertainment rubbish. The theater I went to was EMPTY!! Yes, movie marketers, it was EMPTY!! NO ONE ELSE WAS IN IT WATCHING THIS JUNK!! This thing is only in a few theaters at best, it's not even an American made movie as they're telling everyone and you have to wear 3D glasses that DON'T even work the way they're supposed to. It's a fiasco from beginning to end. Wait for the DVD, if even.

• it's the perfect blend of cheese with a boy meets girl love story, the warrior spirit, the morally corrupt bad guys and the gentle creatures who are forced to fight and fight they do. titanic was a shit film but this i'd watch at least 5 times in the theatres. but hey, i loved gladiator too. but damn i hate all those super emo type idiots who only believe a good movie has some coming out of the closet type element or foreign flicks.

• It's Jar-Jar BINKS,if you're going to insult the Gungan,at least have decency to spell the name correctly. Also Gungans a hundred times more tolerable than this year's newest Stepin Fetchits : Skids and Mudflaps. All that an absolutely no robotic testicles. It's a frakkin' miracle, I tells ya. Suck it Bayformers! BOOSH! and or KA-KOW!

• WATCH IT IN 3D!!!!!!!!

• WOW.......Congratulations!!!!

• If you are a movie nerd, then just avoid this movie at all costs. Just don't see it. Really I have no idea if Roger Ebert is losing it, but I really can't believe he said see it. I went to promote the technology, and feel ashamed because of it. I walked out before the end. I just couldn't swallow the load that Cameron wanted me to. He didn't puke on the screen; he shat on it, and while it is pretty it is still just shit. Heavy handed shit, that talks down to you, and demands that you turn off you brain completely. If you are unable to do that, you will never be able to enjoy this piece of garbage. I like most of Cameron's movies, but this is just way too over the top preachy to be enjoyable to anybody who appreciates anything besides action scenes in movies. Also the battle scene was nowhere near good enough to wade through this amount of shit, without a great pair of waders. I walked out before it was over. My date fell asleep about 2/3's into it. If you have any type of appreciation of movies beyond what the IT dept can add to a movie, skip it. No Blu ray, no theater, just skip this crap and wait till somebody comes out with a better movie that will use this technology. You'll thank me on your deathbeds. Trust me.

• This would make my life complete. I hadn't even though of this until you brought it up.

• Reading some of these comments makes you realize there are some people who simply like to complain. No movie ever meets their expectations, and yet they aren't out there writing better "original stories". Until they do, they need to STFU and get over themselves, so the rest of us can enjoy great movies like Avatar.

• Would it really still be considered an interspecies relation when Jake is in the Avatar body at the time? Besides, Kirk has boinked more alien chicks than I'd care to shake a stick at, and no one ever seems to care.

• Poor story but good enough playback

• Life changing? You need to get a new life

• IN THE END THE AVATARS WIN AND THE SOLDIERS GO BACK IN HuMILIATION there i saved u 3 hours

• This movie was such a waste of time. It was "Dances with Wolves" with too big smurfs!

• 0/10, bring your bigboy pants next time.

• <img>http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Avatar/avatar_movie_image_james_cameron_and_sam_worthington.jpg</img> HOPE

• RealD is merely the means for exhibiting the film, and that is very consistant, what so much money was spent on was the camera systems, monitors, and post production programs used to do the post work, in addition to all the of the CG effects used. Cameron pretty much was given a blank check to make the movie he wanted.

• All I see is a simple math error if one adds 212 + 400. But, he did say "more than" $400 million.

• From the page that you linked to: "The distributor will get the vast majority of the money made by the movie." Now, the question is, what is the vast majority of $615 million? Is it higher than the upper-end estimate of $500 million that it took to make this movie? I think that that is a safe assumption to make. And even if it has not cleared a supposed $500 million budget it is pretty much a sure bet that it will. Even if it loses 50% of its take every week over the next month it will easily clear the $1 billion mark within 4 weeks. Toss in DVD sales when it is finally released on DVD and it could easily clear the $2 billion mark within a couple of years (that is $2 billion combined with box office receipts).

• i went a head and saw it in 3-d and to my, plesent, surprise no babies in the house. could have done with out the interspecies relations.

• Is this not the same 3D technology that has been in use for the past couple of years? "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth" were both in Real-D, which I believe is what they used for Avatar.

• 3D!!

• This x 100000. Seriously.

• God dammit just betting really pretty to look at should not make a good game People bitch about George Lucas being more about GCI than story, so Fuck James too

• The 3x figure is generally the point at which studios deem a movie "successful". It's not the point at which a film can be considered to have made its money back. That's pretty variable, depending a lot on advertising costs in addition to the cost of production.

• "Avatar made $212 million in America, and more than $400 worldwide -- excuse me, I mean the world besides America. That totals $615 million in two weeks, with goodness knows how many weeks left to go." Can anybody else see a problem with that?

• My ticket for 3d was 7 dollars.

• I liked Avatar, not the most intricate of plots but it was good enough. I do wonder if it will do well enough to become the 5th film ever to make over $1 billion worldwide.

• Oh, 3D for sure! (I'm not even going to get into Twilight, lol)

• Avatar was such a great experience. It's not like people don't know its story has been told numerous times in numerous ways; people like it for what it is: pure movie magic.

• I'll play. :) Eraserhead.

• What a load of crock. People like you need to be locked away on remote islands. It's a freakin life experience watching this movie! If you can't appreciate that, go watch Terms of Endearment and leave the rest of us to appreciate this insanely awesome movie.

• Who cares!!!!! What a moronic post. You really think we give a hoot that you have no desire to see this movie?

• I go to an imax movie to be entertained by a spectacle.... Kind of like when you go to see fireworks. A good story I can watch on my TV, in the comfort of my home. An Imax 3d movie is to be visually entertained... and this movie ROCKS! at that. You can't argue with that, and it was totally worth the $15.50.

• the extra admission price is not for the glasses, although that may be a small part of it. It takes more expensive technology to make the movie and a higher profit margin.

• neither did i, but i sure as hell am glad that i did. not a great movie, but a really fun 3 hours.

• So i take it this is better than the new Twilight movie... jj :) I'm DEFINATELY going to see it this week... only question is - 3D or not...

• It's as funny as it is head-scratching to read so many people deriding the movie Avatar. Obviously, a lot of people not only saw the movie but liked it (I personally know multiple people who've seen it twice and even three times). So what if you don't like the movie or, in the case of those who are judging without even seeing it, don't like the idea of the movie. Let people decide for themselves as you have done. Accept Avatar for what it is; simply a movie. That's about it. Take it or leave it... like the gazillion other movies we choose to see or not to see each year.

• "If you watch this movie and really think it's garbage, nothing will ever make you happy... really." So im supposed to be made happy for "pretty-flickery lights"? Im not saying the movie was garbage, just that the story, cliches and dialogue were the worst parts by FAR. If you think this movie is garbage because its the only thing redeeming it is 56% useless CGI,40% horrible real acting, and 4% useful and non-whoring events. You don't have to be bitter to not like this movie, I'm not even telling you to hate it, it just means that you watch a movie to be entertained for more than 30 minutes of its 3 hour run, or that you watch a movie for it's actual worth as a deep depiction of a story.

• and the movie studios are losing billions to piracy and they would have you believe they are going broke . . . . uh huh.

• does nobody realize who says this story is unoriginal, that no story has ever been original? even the very first play of book or whatever came from other ideas. Every movie you name I can mention an idea it came from. No movie is original, no idea is original. If you don't like the story, fine, but don't say it's unoriginal like that's something new.

• I may have to see this movie after all, is starting to look good to me.

• WE KILLED MOM! ALL OF US ;_;

• I was excited to see this, then over the months and the critics started to think it was going to be a terrible movie. By the time I made it into theaters to see this I was totally convinced it was going to suck. I don't think I've seen a movie in five years (the Dark Knight included) that I wanted to into into line and buy another ticket to go see this movie again. If you watch this movie and really think it's garbage, nothing will ever make you happy... really. When throwing a budget like this around, there isn't room for original storytelling. Think about it; no studio is going to take a 500 million dollar risk on a original storyline, they will feel more comfortable to run a story that is tried and true.

• I really enjoyed Avatar. Yeah it beat you over the head with the Western Civilization guilt trip and the script was in need of some fine tuning, but it was easy for me to overlook most of it's flaws due to the fact that I was so immersed in the grand spectacle, wonderful art design and the stunning f/x and 3d. Just what I needed to wash the taste of Transformers 2 and Terminator Salvation out of my mouth. No masterpiece but a hell of a time at the theater, glad to see it's doing well financially.

• I still don't have much interest in seeing it. If it did actually cost that much to make then I'm suprised. I understand it isn't cheap to create new technology but when said tech is deemed successful then you can turn around and sell it for untold amounts of money making your original investment back. So along with box office receipts and the game and any toys and dvd sales I'm sure jimmy boy will come out ahead.

• To be honest I liked it more than I thought I would. The plot has been done before but for me it was the setting of the movie that made it a good watch. Definitely one of the better "blockbusters" I have seen in a long time. It really is Dances with Wolves but with aliens and no Kevin Costner. The no Kevin Costner part in my opinion makes a way more enjoyable flick. I also watched Sherlock Holmes and was bored out of my mind.

• Well I saw the movie after my reservations previously and enjoying some clips that were leaked. All that pre-bitching you guys were making such a fuss over a few screenshots and trailers? First off, take that pre-critisism. Now find the smelliest most disgusting orfice in your body. Now proceed to stick that pre-critisim in that. There, fantastic. Now if you're interested in seeing the movie, go watch it and wait till the very end before you have any new complaints. I thought the movie was good. Not groundbreaking as far as storytelling goes. Its technologically groundbreaking, I really enjoyed the 3D IMAX effects. But the movie itself was just simple entertainment. It was worth my money. All that buisness about Dances with Smurfs? Out the window when you see this. You guys may have petty complains, as I did, but I really doubt you'll be as critical as you anticipated to be.

• My ticket was the same price as a regular ticke, even in 3D

• Um, if it cost $500M, it will need to make around $1.5B or more to make its money back, not "just" $600M. I like its chances.

• You made the right damn decision. Mrs. and myself are still disturbed by our xmas day movie adventure. It has taken on a life of its own: http://www.popbunker.net/2009/12/opening-night-terror/

• Your family was right about the crowds. I saw the movie on Saturday evening in Norwalk, CT and it was like I'd walked into a street scene straight out of SOYLENT GREEN.

• Bah weep granah weep nini bong.

• Actually, New Moon has been out almost an entire month longer that Avatar, released November 20th compared to December 18th, and with a box office discrepancy of less that $50 million, I have no doubt that Avatar will be surpassing New Moon by mid January at the at the latest. I saw it this past weekend in IMAX 3D and I was definitely impressed by the CG, and while the story has been done before, the reason it keeps getting re-told is because it's a good story! Plus Cameron manages to tell the story in an entirely new world that he created, so while I don't think it will beat Titanic, it will still post strong box office numbers over the next month or two.

• Be sure to see it in 3D, even if you hate that you have to pay an extra $5 for "the 3D experience." (That was the actual excuse I got as to why I had to pay the extra $5 despite having brought my 3D glasses from a previous movie!)

• Be sure to see it in 3D, even if you hate that you have to pay an extra $5 for "the 3D experience." (That was the actual excuse I got as to why I had to pay the extra $5 despite having brought my 3D glasses from a previous movie!)

• alright, my friend is obsessed with this movie and always brings it up in conversation which in the end irritates me. i watched the first forty minutes of it and was totally frustrated to the point that i cant watch this garbage. the plot is just as everyone has been saying cliche, as is the dialogue. the cg is the only thing that makes it worthwhile. i happen to work at a theater and you know what, it didn't sell that well on Xmas day as sherlock sold out all the screens we were playing it on, also avatar started selling well the day after since i guess word about sherlock was not the best. and yes 3d movies are more expensive which kinda makes it a bit easier to make the money back as are imax films too, keep that in mind that avatar or as this old asian man called it vatar is in imax and sherlock isnt. blegh

• I saw it, and I didn't hate it. It's clear that none of the $500 brazillion dollars were spent on plot, but I felt the 3D effects made up for it, especially when they kept them understated. Basically it made me very excited for future 3D movies that might include a plot, say... The Hobbit?

• A 2% drop on a blockbuster like this in its second week is pretty amazing, and with no real competition throughout January, it might overthrow The Dark Knight as the number 2 highest grosser ever. Some are even speculating that it might beat Titanic, and while it's made much more in the same amount of time, I don't think it will have the legs to pull that off.

• I liked Sherlock Holmes better. Avatar had beautiful CGI, but a cliched story that did absolutely nothing for me. It's literally Dances With Wolves, except the Indians have blue skin instead of red. The 3D gave me a headache too. The only times I liked the 3D were when I couldn't really tell it was in 3D anymore. But everyone in the world thinks it's the greatest movie they've ever seen. So whatev's...

• Good job James, now stop sitting on the damn rights and make Battle Angel already.

• have not seen it but this just proves any thing can happen when holly wood is at work. and not to mention buzz is that Avatar could before all is done wind up coming close to a billion dollars world wide box office recepts proving that james still has his touch even if his ideas are kind of nuts

• It's already made more money than Titanic if you do the crazy studio math. The 500 million budget only exists as the charge off for development of the 3-D technology used in the film. And over the course of the last few weeks the 3-D technology has been marketed and sold to every movie studio in town. The movie is making audience money which shows up in the box office list and tech money which only shows up in the accounting office.

• Story was completely unoriginal, save-the-planet hippy/native american plot and the main villain was a walking one-liner military cliche, but honestly, I enjoyed the Na'vi. Whenever Sully was in Avatar mode and was experiencing and learning the Na'vi lifestyle, it was quite compelling (and the character models were honestly quite good). Also, the research crew, while getting slightly short shrift in screentime and development, were likable enough. Plus, I always like seeing Sigourney Weaver being a hard-ass Ripley-type character. Not perfect by any means, but it's no Transformers 2. And the visuals are worth seeing in 3D.

• One more thought that makes sense: 3D movies are always more expensive to see... Thus, make more monies. Maybe that was the plan all along?

• http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/ This is actually the first time it appeared on the top 100 list... New Moon is still currently beating it (and also, has only been out a couple weeks).

• Qu'est-ce qu'on en a à foutre, pisse-froid?

• I still have no desire to see this movie.

• I'm glad it's doing well. Even though silly and hypocritical and cliche and all the other words detractors keep throwing at it are absolutely true, Avatar is still one of those rare movies that I wanted to watch again immediately after seeing. Avatar is terrible polemic but great cinema.

• I'm planning to see this and Holmes sometime this week. Can't believe it already made this much money. Dare I say... bigger than the Dark Knight?!

• You know, I'm disappointed.

• Dont do it...Think Fern Gully/Jar Jar Bink/native americans

• really? really?! REALLY?!? huh

• No it hasn't made its money back. Or it probably hasn't, anyway, if the 500 million # is right. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-distribution2.htm It certainly will go in the black pretty soon. Titanic it won't be though.

• I haven't seen it yet either, I usually avoid opening weekend crowds, they tend to be full of ass-hats. Probably try to catch it this weekend.

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