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James Cameron Is The First Director To Have Two $1 Billion Films: Avatar Passes $1 Billion Worldwide in Just 17 Days

Posted on Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 by Peter Sciretta

Avatar

Remember a month ago when we were having conversations questioning if Avatar was going to earn its money back? If they film could cross $600 million worldwide? Would the movie be a success? Would audiences really go see this movie with ten foot tall blue cat people?

James Cameron’s Avatar has crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office in just 17 days, surpassing Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight to become #4 of all time. By the end of the week, the film is expected to surpass Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the #2 worldwide release of all time. Of course, for now, Cameron’s Titanic remains seated at #1. James Cameron has become the first director to have two films earn $1 Billion. And by the end of the week, it should be up to $3 billion total between the two movies.

Cameron’s sci-fi epic made an estimated $68.3 million in the States during it’s third weekend out, destroying the previous record of $45 million set by Spider-Man 3. Looks like this baby has legs. If that wasn’t enough, Avatar is also setting records in Janaury: This weekend’s box office total of $68.3 million will be almost $30 million larger than the all-time record January opening weekend.

And what about yearly records? Transformers Revenge of the Fallen took 114 days to hit $402 million, becoming the highest grossing film of 2009 domestically. Avatar will surpass that figure in an estimated 20 days.

Comments

Free Movie Downloads

I've seen a couple of negative comments on this movie. But I would like to specify that its a good movie aimed at Protection of Green. Anyway bad luck for not getting Academy Award.

ADAMV

James Cameron is the Ronald McDonald of film, and Avatar is his BIG MAC. Some of you would prefer a burger with a meatless patty and organic vegetables (better dialogue, a better story), and you'd want that burger prepared by a sophisticated chef at a fancy restaurant. That's your right. But most people simply want BIG MACS. Deal with it.

Cameron should wear a t-shirt to the Academy Awards that says "BILLIONS SERVED." ;)

Invisible Mikey

That's a great analogy, Avatar as fast food! Plenty of fat, sugar and salt, but it's empty calories. You get buzzed, then your blood sugar crashes. Over time it clogs your arteries. We will all die young from a diet of this kind.

Good job, Adam.

cndrmn

I would like to know how the fact that the US dollar is so much weaker than 10 years ago factors into these calculations.

Clyde Bruckman

Please copy edit your story before posting!

evilninjax

I think one thing not given enough credit is James Cameron's directing, in particular the pacing of the movie. He knows when to show action and then when to ease up and let you absorb what you've seen. The ebb and flow of the film works tremendously and is the reason that Cameron has been one of the best action movie directors.

When I went into the movie (the first time), the clumsy storytelling and the clunky plot points stuck out and really bothered me, but as time went on, I grew to cast these aside and just became involved with what was going on, even if I wasn't totally involved with the characters. It's pretty amazing actually. I mean, ALOT of movies had pretty spectacular effects but none of those films involved me enough to excuse the writing.

evilninjax

AVATAR is like TITANIC for guys.

hbhb

Cannot and will not support a film with a budget of half a billion dollars.

LoganR

Really? Very pathetic if that's your reasoning. Oh and btw, it cost $200-$250 million. Around $400 million with marketing included. Get off your horse, idiot.

The Incredible Suit

I think it's the Leona Lewis song at the end that helped it become so successful. Apparently people bought tickets and just went in to watch the credits and listen to the song in 3D IMAX.

adamv

Haha. I actually thought Celine Dion sang that song when I first heard it. Me and my friends were joking about how awesome it would be if Cameron just dropped the Titanic song over the end credits of Avatar.

Invisible Mikey

I dislike specifically the inclusion of pop songs at the end of movies that aren't used in the main plot. I would NEVER go to a movie to hear an end credit song, that's a creepy level of obsession. In fact I left as the word "AVATAR" came up after the last shot, because the theater was packed and I didn't want to be part of a cattle herd when leaving.

If I like a song, I download it to my iPod.

Glenn

I liked it, but it cost £12:50 for a ticket in the Uk, I think thats like $26 US dollars or something!? its nearly $60 for two tickets in the UK which is pretty ridiculous really!!?

presto117

let me just say this: it took me 5 (FIVE) attempts to actually see this movie. 3 of the attempts were yesterday, and i only got lucky at 10:35 last night at a far-off theater. the local imax was sold out for days in advance still, and this movie's been out for two weeks. not the best movie in the world, but it looked pretty fucking fantastic.

Captain_Howdy

I didn't enjoy AVATAR like I wanted to but I can sure appreciate the business it is doing and the reputation it has . Credit where credit is due, Cameron knows his stuff. AVATAR could easily take all-time worldwide #1 spot and it would be no surprise.

concretelogic

The guy is amazing. He's made two mediocre movies into the two biggest BO movies of all time.

Rockie

I've only seen the film once. opening day. but i can't stop thinking about it. glad my IMAX is keeping through the month of Jan.

Jules E.

I keep hearing industry folk complaining about ppl not coming to the theater as much, but the constant stream of "record-breaking bla bla opening bla bla" sort of puts the lie to them whining, yeah? Or am I missing something?

chrisgst

I wouldn't be surprised to see him be the first to get 3.

chrisgst

Congrats to J.C. Hopefully his next projects will do just as well.

LoganR

Amazing! Well done Cameron. Visionary, imaginative, and a master of his craft.

Marc

I'm so glad to see this film doing so well! This gives me hope for more "original" IP from film makers in the future.

Well done Mr. Cameron, you've made history!

aindreas

i'm going to go a third time. do london imax again in about a month. i brought my mum and sister to see it. they were quite blown away. when my mum was in the taxi the next day, she started talking to the taxi driver, who was in his sixties - he'd been to see it with his wife. he was going again. this could get pretty close to titanic, with the 3-d premium. i'm going to venture 1.6 to 1.7 billion. its going like a rocket.

musicsoup

Cameron is the greatest American science fiction director of all time. Hands down. And easily one of the greatest filmmakers ever. He has made some of the best movies in the history of the medium, and seems poised to continue his tradition. God bless him. And now, as if Titantic didn't give him permission to fuck off for 12 years, Avatar has now given him the ability to focus all his energies on continuing to make only the greatest films he can, without having to worry about trying to make a buck. That's the beauty of this situation. All Michael Bay cares about is making more money. James Cameron has so much fucking money now, he only cares about making a good film.

Kangaroo Be Stoned

"James Cameron has so much fucking money now, he only cares about making a good film."
Too bad it doesn't show in Avatar's script...

iceman

just to say one small thing about the greatest (American) Sci-Fi director He is a canadian ya know ah

Moohamhead

IF Transformers 2 or Harry Potter was in 3D it would have made 2 billion at the BO. Ice Age 3 was 3D and it made 880 million.

People love crappy movies with CGI robots aliens cartoons

asfsaf

Harry Potter Half Blood Prince was in 3D at IMAX

cinefan

Only the first scene. I went to it and got mega disappointed. It wasn't widely advertised as 3-D for this reason, and only IMAX, not other theaters. Big difference. Also, it was dimentionalised, not shot with stereo cameras.

Philippe

I think the marine that get's squashed by the explosives rolling back in the ship does a Wilhelm scream. I'll pay more attention next time I go see it.

Justin Jump

He does, I caught it on my second viewing.

Philippe

I knew it !

Matt

This is great to see ... he's raised the bar for filmmakers and studios

Oasis

HAHA I hope they just give him a blank check for Battle Angel and let him do whatever. At this point it seems he has made studios so much profit that if Battle Angel becomes the next most expensive film and flops he still will come out ahead in profits.

Tercotta

So how much money will Cameron wring out of the studios next time? Or are they just going to give him the studio credit card and let him go free.

CDR

The next cameron movie will have a budget of U$$ 1 billion

It´s a really the return of the king

Anders

I heard from a friend in Hongkong that the biggest 3D-screen showing Avatar is fully booked all the way to February. Unheard of before!

Here in Sweden Avatar is a huge success as well and people are going to see the film several times. Each ticket is around 21 USD.

BrokenHelix79

Throughout his career as a director, James Cameron has pushed the envelope in terms of budget, SFX, and ego, and he has come out on top pretty much every damn time. Avatar might be flawed, as are his other films, but he's a true visionary director with a skillset and ambition that is, in my opinion, matched by only a select few (Spielberg comes to mind).

Is his dialogue clunky? Yep, sometimes. Are his plot devices a bit pedestrian? Sure, on occasion. But after the success he's had, and all the good times he's given us at the movies, I don't foresee anyone ever doubting him again. My anticipation for Battle Angel and the Avatar sequels are officially through the roof.

Rafael Borges

Roger Ebert wasn't kidding when he said that James Cameron was "recrowned King of the World."

JakSullay

I hope it beats Titanic. I don't where people are getting the idea that Avatar's story is poor? It was at its heart a love story that was well told. I was certain Jake or Ney'tiri was going to die ...phew. Also did anyone slightly fall in love with Ney'tiri or was it just me being a freak? ^^

jason b

i think the thing with the script, is that it was just a basic run of the mill/seen it a thousand times story. as groundbreaking & gamechanging as the FX were, the story was just the opposite.

now, that's not a terrible thing, it's just making me wonder what kind of achievement this film could have been had it truly had some risky/thoughtful/complex ideas put into the narrative.

do you guys think cameron will return with a director or producers hat for the sequel(s)?

by the way...you're kidding about thinking that jake/ney'tiri was going to die, right?!?! this is one of those films that has 0% risk factor at all.

Invisible Mikey

I'm only guessing of course, but I think Cameron will return more and more as producer, and less as director. He's following the George Lucas business model verrrry closely. He's out to own all the newest, best fx software, and license it to others - which is what Lucas did in creating ILM.

quintushalls

HOLY POOP ON A STICK!!!

Any chances that it will beat Titanic for the top spot?

From BoxOfficeMojo:

1. Titanic $1,842,879,955
2. Return of the King $1,119,110,941
3. Dead Man's Chest $1,066,179,725
4. Avatar $1,018,811,000
5. The Dark Knight $1,001,921,825

Kangaroo Be Stoned

No, it has no chance. Avatar has to make more than $2.4 billion to beat Titanic.

Untrustworthy Stranger

Really hard to say. It has very unusual box office results. It's done about $70 million a weekend, three weekends in a row. The first weekend was good, but not record breaking. The second weekend barely broke the record for second weekends. The third weekend blew the record for third weekends out of the water. It's not declining enough to see when it'll end. Is it just holiday craziness? Perhaps people can't afford to take their kids to Disney World, so they see Avatar instead. Maybe it'll drop like a rock on Monday. Until it starts to decline in week to week box office, estimates are useless.

Unless they stop showing it in the theatres, it will take at least second for worldwide gross.

ITHoTMK

I never had any doubt and I'm not just saying that. I've never worked with Jim Cameron but I have had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times. He's a cockey confident son of a bitch and I like him. I've supported him ever since I saw THE TERMINATOR back in the 80's. AVATAR is not without its flaws but then again neither was STAR TREK. When you go for mass appeal you're not going to make everyone happy but you're sure as hell gonna cover all bases and AVATAR surely doesn't disappoint.

That being said, Jake Sully is reborn on my birthday. What is it with August and you, Jim? ;)

Gremmel

For too much now have so many, said so little, so many times as people commenting on this movie. All i can read now is bla bla bla bla bla on every single post.

If you like love stories set in a fantastic world see Avatar, if you don't then don't see it.

Free

Also I hope it is not another 12 years between movies

Untrustworthy Stranger

I've got an idea. James Cameron can go back to making feature films while Uwe Boll can be trapped in a submarine making "films" about undersea shipwrecks.

Free

I hope his next movie is Battle Angel

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James Cameron Is The First Director To Have Two $1 Billion Films: Avatar Passes $1 Billion Worldwide in Just 17 Days

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