Avatar (2009 film)

"James Cameron's Avatar" and "Avatar 1" redirect here. For the media franchise that began with this film, see Avatar (franchise). For the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, see Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1.

Avatar
On the upper half of the poster are the faces of a man and a female blue alien with yellow eyes, with a giant planet and a moon in the background and the text at the top: "From the director of Terminator 2 and Titanic". Below is a dragon-like animal flying across a landscape with floating mountains at sunset; helicopter-like aircraft are seen in the distant background. The title "James Cameron's Avatar", film credits and the release date appear at the bottom.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Cameron
Written byJames Cameron
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMauro Fiore
Edited by
Music byJames Horner
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox[2][b]
Release dates
Running time
162 minutes[3]
Countries
  • United Kingdom[2]
  • United States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$237 million[4]
Box office$2.923 billion[5]

Avatar is a 2009 epic science fiction film co-produced, co-edited, written, and directed by James Cameron. The cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver.[6] It is the first installment in the Avatar film series. It is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the valuable mineral unobtanium,[c] the room-temperature superconductor mineral. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi, a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The title of the film refers to a genetically engineered Na'vi body operated from the brain of a remotely located human that is used to interact with the natives of Pandora.[10]

Development of Avatar began in 1994, when James Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for the film.[11][12] Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999;[13] however, according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film.[14] Work on the language of the Na'vi began in 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006.[15][16] Avatar was officially budgeted at $237 million, due to the groundbreaking array of new visual effects Cameron achieved in cooperation with Weta Digital in Wellington.[4] Other estimates put the cost at between $280 million and $310 million for production and at $150 million for promotion.[17][18][19] The film made extensive use of new motion capture filming techniques and was released for traditional viewing, 3D viewing (using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats), and 4D experiences (in selected South Korean theaters).[20] The series also featured Cameron reunite with his Titanic co-producer Jon Landau, who would he later credit for having a prominent role in the film's production.[21]

Avatar premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on December 10, 2009, and was released in the United States on December 18. The film received positive reviews from critics, who highly praised its groundbreaking visual effects, though the story received some criticism for being derivative.[22][23][24] During its theatrical run, the film broke several box office records, including becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. In July 2019, this position was overtaken by Avengers: Endgame, but with subsequent re-releases, beginning with China in March 2021, it returned to becoming the highest-grossing film since then.[25] Adjusted for inflation, Avatar is the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, only behind Gone with the Wind, with a total of a little more than $3.5 billion. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion[26] and the best-selling video title of 2010 in the United States. Avatar was nominated for nine awards at the 82nd Academy Awards, winning three, and received numerous other accolades. The success of the film also led to electronics manufacturers releasing 3D televisions[27] and caused 3D films[28] to increase in popularity. Its success led to the Avatar franchise, which includes the sequels Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), Avatar 4 (2029), and Avatar 5 (2031).

  1. ^ name="ProducedBy20thCentury"LaFraniere, Sharon (January 29, 2010). "China's Zeal for 'Avatar' Crowds Out 'Confucius'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Avatar (2009)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "AVATAR [2D] version". British Board of Film Classification. December 8, 2009. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Patten (2009) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Avatar". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  6. ^ Lefroy, Emily (June 30, 2022). "Kate Winslet stuns as fierce 'warrior' in first-look 'Avatar 2' photo".
  7. ^ Choi, Charles Q. (December 28, 2009). "Moons like Avatar's Pandora could be found". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  8. ^ Horwitz, Jane (December 24, 2009). "Family Filmgoer". Boston.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  9. ^ This property of Unobtanium is stated in movie guides, rather than in the film. Wilhelm, Maria; Mathison, Dirk (November 2009). James Cameron's Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora. HarperCollins. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-06-189675-0.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Time was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Jensen, Jeff (January 10, 2007). "James Cameron talks Avatar". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 17, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference abc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Synthetic actors to star in "Avatar"". Tampa Bay Times. August 12, 1996. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  14. ^ Hevrdejs, Judy; Conklin, Mike (August 9, 1996). "Channel 2 has Monday morning team in place". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  15. ^ "Crafting an Alien Language, Hollywood-Style: Professor's Work to Hit the Big Screen in Upcoming Blockbuster Avatar". USC Marshall School of Business. December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  16. ^ "Avatar Language". Nine to Noon. Radio New Zealand. December 15, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  17. ^ Barnes, Brooks (December 20, 2009). "'Avatar' Is No. 1 but Without a Record". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  18. ^ Fritz, Ben (December 20, 2009). "Could 'Avatar' hit $1 billion?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference vanityfair was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference 4-D was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Thomas, Carly (July 8, 2024). "James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and More Remember Jon Landau: "He Gave Everyone a Sense of Purpose and Belonging"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  22. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 19, 2009). "'Avatar' takes $27 million in its first day". Variety. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  23. ^ Douglas, Edward (December 21, 2009). "Avatar Soars Despite Heavy Snowstorms". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on December 23, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  24. ^ Dean Goodman (December 20, 2009). ""Avatar" leads box office, despite blizzard". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  25. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (March 13, 2021). "'Avatar' Overtakes 'Avengers: Endgame' As All-Time Highest-Grossing Film Worldwide; Rises To $2.8B Amid China Reissue – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  26. ^ Coyle, Jake (January 31, 2010). "'Avatar' Wins Box Office, Nears Domestic Record". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  27. ^ Goss, Patrick (April 15, 2016). "Why Avatar's big screen success couldn't save 3D TV". TechRadar. Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  28. ^ Goldberg, Matt (April 6, 2018). "3D Is Dead (Again)". Collider. Retrieved April 7, 2018.


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