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#Here’s Why Avatar is the Highest-Grossing Movie

#Here’s Why Avatar is the Highest-Grossing Movie

Directed by James Cameron, Avatar holds many box-office records, including the title for the overall highest-grossing film. In 2009, it was the first film to earn more than $2 billion and concluded its original box office run with gross revenue of $2.749 billion. The film also broke the record for the largest domestic opening weekend for a film not based on a franchise and the largest opening weekend for an environmentalist film. Domestically, it had led the box office for seven consecutive weeks. This was the longest consecutive lead since the 15-week run from James Cameron himself, with his 1997 film, Titanic. Worldwide, the film held the number one box office spot for 11 consecutive weeks, surpassing the previous record of nine weeks which was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

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In 2019 the massive box office triumph lost its title for the highest-grossing film to Avengers: Endgame, which had a gross of $2.797 billion. However, a 2021 re-release of Avatar in China led to the film reclaiming its title and positioning itself with a cumulative gross of $2.847 billion.

After more than 12 years the film is still incredibly relevant and loved by many. Anticipating the sequel movies, the second and third of which began filming in 2017 and have 2022 and 2024 release dates respectively, many Avatar fans have taken to rewatching the original film. But what exactly made this 2009 adventure fantasy so incredibly popular, and how has it managed the amazing feat of staying relevant almost 12 years later?

Related: Spider-Man: No Way Home Crushes Box Office for Third Consecutive Weekend

James Cameron’s Track Record


James Cameron and wife Suzy Amis on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon
NBC

Cameron boasts an extensive and very successful resume. The name recognition and appreciation of a director can do a lot to help popularize a movie. Cameron’s film career was springboarded into success with his 1984 movie The Terminator. Both written and directed by Cameron, the unique sci-fi story captivated and entertained an audience whose world was and still is becoming increasingly integrated with technology. It’s with this film that Cameron established himself as an incredibly competent world-builder and creator with strikingly original ideas. His subsequent films, from the 1986 Aliens up until his most recent, Avatar, all demonstrate his ability to create novel, relevant, and moving stories.

Beyond original storytelling (which is an incredible feat in and of itself), James Cameron is able to effectively translate his ideas onto the screen. Many other great stories, usually in the form of novels or comics, find a lackluster representation when adapted for cinema. This could be because the medium wasn’t originally meant for the screen, or perhaps it is the fault of an incongruency between the original creator and the hired director; sometimes, it’s simply just impossible to convert a sci-fi idea into a visual medium. Whatever the case is, we don’t see it with Cameron, who is able to effectively create an original story made solely for cinema, something that is becoming more and more uncommon.


The translation of the story to the movie isn’t as direct as just creating a screenplay or script, for him. Cameron is involved in every step of the process, and with a blockbuster film like Avatar, there are a lot of processes. Cameron prepared the actors before shooting by sending them to Hawaii to experience a tropical environment and had them meet with a professor of plant physiology to understand methods a botanist may use. He appointed a linguist to develop the Na’vi language and worked closely with designers and illustrators on 3-D renderings, paintings, and sculptures. Additionally, Cameron had new technology built specifically for this film. Cameron is ambitious and determined, not just in this epic masterpiece but also in his anticipation of four additional sequels, creating five movies total in a process which is sure to take more than two decades. With Cameron not having directed any non-Avatar related film for the past 12 years and the foreseeable future, it seems as if the director is primed to dominate the 2020’s with is blue, alien vision.

Groundbreaking Special Effects and Technology


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The movie was originally supposed to begin production in 1997 and was set for a 1999 release. However, Cameron postponed this, feeling that the technology was not yet developed enough to tell the story as he envisioned. Leading up to the principal photography in 2007, James Cameron and Vince Pace developed a modified 3-D camera to capture their footage. Additionally, Cameron utilized innovative and new visual effect techniques. This included a larger motion-capture stage and an improved method of facial expression capture technology. During the motion-capture process, Cameron used a new virtual camera system that placed the actor in a virtual environment and could display reactions in real-time. Cameron has said that the film is 60% CGI and 40% live-action, and yet the combination is rather seamless.


The enormous amount of data being stored and transferred led to the creation of a new cloud computing digital asset manager created by Microsoft. The company responsible for the visual effects in Avatar is Weta Digital based out of the capital of New Zealand. Weta used a massive server farm consisting of 4,000 HP servers, 35,000 processor cores, 104 terabytes of RAM, and three petabytes of storage.

Related: James Cameron Inventing New Technologies For ‘Avatar 2 And 3’

A Much-Needed Metaphor and a Powerful Story


Na'avi woman crouches in Avatar
20th Century Fox

Throughout the movie, Cameron deploys the use of metaphor and symbolism to drive at a much larger meaning. One of the most obvious is the relationship between humans and the environment. Avatar, we see humans destroying the natural world and stripping it of its resources. Without regard for the native population or the ecosystems in which they live, the humans in the film are motivated by greed and constant gratification. In 2009, as well as today, ecological degradation resonates with many viewers.

Additionally, the theme of imperialism is present throughout this film. The attempted eradication of the native population is shown and invokes the idea of colonization. The use of terms like “shock and awe” in the film describe the technique of overwhelming displays of force refer that is used in modern occupation and warfare. Naomi Klein has even written a book on the subject, about how greed exploits disaster and profits from it.

Although the world we see throughout the film is fictitious, the familiarity with the realistic themes creates a deep emotional response. By the end of the film, through the work of the protagonists, the wrongdoers meet their end, and the good guys actually kind of win, inspiring audiences to participate in the very real struggles against climate disaster, war, greed, and racism. Avatar is a cinematic spectacle, a visually and technologically innovative film from one of the most successful directors alive, and one which takes viewers on a thrilling, emotional journey through powerful motifs and empathetic characters. Audiences will get to travel this journey again and again this decade, as sequels are sure to dominate the box office once again. Welcome to the Avatar Decade.


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