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'Avatar' to Get Surprise Re-Release in China

ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
www.hollywoodreporter.com

‘Avatar’ to Get Surprise Rerelease in China (Exclusive)

The plan could restore James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi epic 'Avatar' as the highest-grossing movie ever, pushing 'Avengers: Endgame' back into second place.
www.hollywoodreporter.com www.hollywoodreporter.com

Seemingly out of nowhere, James Cameron is back at the multiplex — but only in China.

China's Film Bureau has approved a surprise plan for the director's 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar to get a wide re-release in the country on Friday, according to two sources at Chinese movie theater companies, which were informed of the arrangements. The technologically trailblazing blockbuster will be made available to exhibitors for a nationwide release in both Imax 3D and ordinary 3D.
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The sudden rollout of the movie could have the unexpected effect of restoring Cameron and Avatar's crown as the highest-grossing movie in global box-office history (not adjusted for inflation), pushing Marvel's Avengers: Endgame back into second place. Endgame currently tops the record books with $2.797 billion and change, with Avatar trailing at $2.790 billion — meaning the Pandora-set, blue-peopled sci-fi spectacular will need to earn just under $7.4 million to reclaim the crown.
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tenor.gif
 
Soodanim

Soodanim

Member
Ain't much of a surprise if it's being reported on.

I don't get the fascination with Avatar, I watched some of the start on TV once but got bored so I went off and did something else.
 
Methos#1975

Methos#1975

Member
Soodanim said:
Ain't much of a surprise if it's being reported on.

I don't get the fascination with Avatar, I watched some of the start on TV once but got bored so I went off and did something else.
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It had a strong gimmick, it brought 3D back and in grand fashion.
 
MaestroMike

MaestroMike

Gold Member
It was never shown there when it was first released?

Edit: nvm just read the article
 
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T

tsumake

Member
Soodanim said:
Ain't much of a surprise if it's being reported on.

I don't get the fascination with Avatar, I watched some of the start on TV once but got bored so I went off and did something else.
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It was the beginning of the financial crisis, and the film was pure escapism for a lot of people. I remember reading people feeling depressed after the movie ended because they didn’t want to leave Pandora.

In the ‘30s it was gaudy musicals. In ‘09 it was magical blue people.
 
B

BeardGawd

Banned
Nice way to reclaim that throne. Avatar was a spectacle for it's time. It broke Blu-Ray records aswell if I recall.
 
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Goro Majima

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
Avatar is one of those weird things that everyone saw, went "yeah it was okay", and then never, ever talked about it again. Which is probably normal for normies (for instance I can't remember the last time anyone talked about The Force Awakens offline) but it didn't really develop some hardcore following to keep it relevant even in nerd spaces.
 
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SentientStone

SentientStone

Member
Overrated film but I can see how this aligns with China’s cultural goals: environmentalism, nationalism (shot in China), and anti-colonialism.
 
TheMan

TheMan

Member
Interesting...Avatar 2 isn't set for release until the end of next year. You'd think they'd wait a little bit before stoking the fires.
 
Fbh

Fbh

Member
Goro Majima said:
Avatar is one of those weird things that everyone saw, went "yeah it was okay", and then never, ever talked about it again. Which is probably normal for normies (for instance I can't remember the last time anyone talked about The Force Awakens offline) but it didn't really develop some hardcore following to keep it relevant even in nerd spaces.
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I think a part of it is that unlike a lot of other properties, the single selling point here was the tech and visuals (Music was great too, RIP James Horner =( ) . The characters, story and performances are all very bland and basic, so there isn't much to get attached there.

I don't care about the world or characters of Avatar but I honestly had a blast watching the movie at the theater (one of the few movies I went to watch more than once). In a way I think what Scorsese had to say about Marvel movies is even more true for Avatar, it's more like an amusement park ride.

But then again I think it could have developed more of a following if it didn't take 11+ Years (and counting) to release a sequel.
 
SantaC

SantaC

Member
ManaByte said:
They welded people into their homes.
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There is something more fishy to this story than just that. You just cant fool this virus, and there is like 2 billion people in china. My country has 4X the deaths with just a ten million popularion.
 
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SentientStone

SentientStone

Member
ZehDon said:
Avatar was filmed in New Zealand, and the United States - Hawaii, and California, to be exact. As for "overrated", the movie has been dumped on for twelve years; there are literally half a dozen posts in this thread shitting on it. Avatar is many things, but its not overrated.
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Some of the landscape scenes were filmed in China. There is a mountain unofficially named after Avatar in China.
I think there has been a backlash over the years because at the time it was hyped like crazy. I still recall everyone talking about it in the office when I was on my internship.
I watched it months later in IMAX but felt it was okay only, not as timeless as Terminator 2 and Titanic.
 
ZehDon

ZehDon

Member
SentientStone said:
Some of the landscape scenes were filmed in China. There is a mountain unofficially named after Avatar in China.
I think there has been a backlash over the years because at the time it was hyped like crazy. I still recall everyone talking about it in the office when I was on my internship.
I watched it months later in IMAX but felt it was okay only, not as timeless as Terminator 2 and Titanic.
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No, Avatar's crews never filmed in China. They took inspiration from the Mountains for the "Hallelujah Mountains" on Pandora, and as a result the Southern Sky Column was famously named the "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" after the film came out, due to the films success and impact.

As for Avatar's reception, prior to Avatar, Titanic was the previous highest grossing film. It, too, was shit on from just about every angle. IGN, for example, ran a 2008 article promoting The Dark Knight in order to help it beat Titanic's record because - and I quote - "Time passed, and cinematic tastes evolved. Now, there are plenty of classic Hollywood films that have weathered these changes. But Titanic isn't one of them. Ironically, the things that made it so very appropriate for the late-1990s, are the things that make it seem so incredibly dated now". You're viewing Titanic some 22 years removed; for its time, Titanic received a massive backlash to its success that only died off once Avatar beat its record. I suspect the same will happen with Avatar over time. The sequels will certainly play a role there. It's a good movie - not a great one - but its very enjoyable.
 
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SentientStone

SentientStone

Member
ZehDon said:
No, Avatar's crews never filmed in China. They took inspiration from the Mountains for the "Hallelujah Mountains" on Pandora, and as a result the Southern Sky Column was famously named the "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" after the film came out, due to the films success and impact.

As for Avatar's reception, prior to Avatar, Titanic was the previous highest grossing film. It, too, was shit on from just about every angle. IGN, for example, ran a 2008 article promoting The Dark Knight in order to help it beat Titanic's record because - and I quote - "Time passed, and cinematic tastes evolved. Now, there are plenty of classic Hollywood films that have weathered these changes. But Titanic isn't one of them. Ironically, the things that made it so very appropriate for the late-1990s, are the things that make it seem so incredibly dated now". You're viewing Titanic some 22 years removed; for its time, Titanic received a massive backlash to its success that only died off once Avatar beat its record. I suspect the same will happen with Avatar over time. The sequels will certainly play a role there. It's a good movie - not a great one - but its very enjoyable.
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As you can see I am not a big enough fan of this film to know this stuff. lol
I extrapolated from what I heard about that mountain. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
Subjectively speaking I still enjoy Titanic, must be sexy Leo or the boobs.
 
Kamina

Kamina

Golden Boy
SantaC said:
How is that possible?
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Totalitarian State locking people into their homes
Total control with health apps that are mandatory to scan at checkpoints
People are used to wear masks and don’t bitch about it, let alone dare to demonstrate

Lot’s of things are possible if you don't need to take human rights into account.
 
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Spaceman292

Spaceman292

Banned
Soodanim said:
Ain't much of a surprise if it's being reported on.

I don't get the fascination with Avatar, I watched some of the start on TV once but got bored so I went off and did something else.
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To be fair, that's not the ideal way to watch any movie.
But yeah Avatar isn't all that special.
 
Reality Czar

Reality Czar

Banned
SantaC said:
There is something more fishy to this story than just that. You just cant fool this virus, and there is like 2 billion people in china. My country has 4X the deaths with just a ten million popularion.
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Nothing fishy about it. China has only had 4,000 deaths from all of COVID despite the country having 4 times the population of the United States. Also the entire country of China had less cases in total than the state of Rhode Island.

You just have to take their word for it HONK HONK 🤡

Oh and don't mind us, we are just going to weld your neighbor's door shut so they are trapped inside.
 
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nush

nush

Member
Batiman said:
I’d say the opposite actually. Locked that shit down like the end of the world instantly.
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I was there, still am and they did. Everything stayed shut from Chinese new year except supermarkets, mask wearing was at 99% and people were afraid to go out at all. This was in the small town I'm living in, can't talk for the whole country obviously.
 
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