Credit where it’s due: AVATAR could be highest grossing of all time

Credit where it’s due: AVATAR could be highest grossing of all time

Jan 04

It’s looking more and more like I will have to get used to the fact that I didn’t enjoy the film that will likely be the highest grossing of all time. The world over people are continuing to pack cinemas, don silly 3D glasses and gaze at the screen in front of them as James Cameron’s masterpiece Avatar rolls on. And as they do, the domestic (American) and Worldwide gross continues to climb higher and higher. After just 17 days of release Avatar currently sits at #4 on the highest grossing Worldwide box office, having just beaten The Dark Knight (2008), earning a tad of $1 billion. The fantasy adventure film looks poised to quite easily overtake Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King (2003) to take the #2 spot in the coming week.

James Cameron is indeed the king of the world when it comes to his films performing well at the box office. Avatar will be number #2 while Titanic (1997) will remain number 1 (for how long remains to be seen), making James Cameron the first director in history to have two films crack $1 billion dollars, an eventual total of over $3 billion for the two films combined.

No one can argue with figures like that.

Check out Box Office Mojo for all the latest figures on Avatar’s box office business.

I personally didn’t enjoy Avatar like I wanted to but I can sure appreciate the business it is doing and the tremendous word-of-mouth reputation it has . Credit where credit is due, Cameron knows his stuff. Avatar could easily take all-time worldwide #1 spot in a few weeks and it would be no surprise.

I’ve had lengthy discussions with friends (including Froley) who also didn’t enjoy Avatar, about what it might be that makes it so popular with everyone else yet we only see the negatives. I think it’s a case of ‘simplicity rules’ — as far as getting straight forward, no-brainer pure-fun enjoyment from a film, Avatar works with audiences perfectly. It keeps things simple and entertaining. No one has ever doubted Cameron is capable of this kind of simplicity. While it is generally accepted that his dialogue is usually stale and wonky, it’s balanced out with huge set pieces and action sequences designed to blow audiences out of their seats. To this end, Cameron is the leader in being able to pamper to his audeince perfectly. Forget the average stuff, enjoy the effects and action. And they do.

When it comes to catering to the masses, no question Avatar takes the cake. It’s just a shame there is no correlation between artistic quality and financial success.