Avatar stayed at the top of the international box office for the ninth consecutive weekend with an estimated $59 million in ticket sales at 8,453 screens in 71 markets. James Cameron's 3D sci-fi epic has amassed a total of $1.69 billion to date. Among its top markets are China ($155m), Japan ($121.9m), Germany ($125.4m), France ($156.5m), Spain ($92.9m), Australia ($92.9m), and Italy ($78.5m).
Avatar's staggering box-office success has pleased 20th Century Fox, James Cameron, and others, but definitely not everyone. Brazil and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus director Terry Gilliam, for one, complained at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards: "There are so many small, beautiful film-makers and actors and directors with so much potential that just can't get a look in because the studios are just pumping all their money into these huge projects. There are such incredible lower-budget films that are magical, but we've got our work cut out with things like Avatar coming out. How are these young talents supposed to get a look in without the budget? That's the sad thing, because they are just as good."
Box-office figures source: Screen Daily
Photo: Avatar (WETA / 20th Century Fox)
Movies don't need big budgets but they need to be good quality and appeal to the masses – which is something very few have in common with Avatar! The Hurt Locker (IMO the most overblown movie of the year) did not even finish watching it because it was so boring! I am tired of critics telling us – the people – what we should like to watch. Go back to your day jobs until you can actually critique a movie on how it connects on an emotional level! Regardless of the film's budget!
Oh and by the way quality works too as well as storyline. paranormal activity 13,000 to make I think. It's made 90,000,000 or will with DVDs etc.
Big budgets aren't required —-a good story is Terry.
Gilliam has always been one of the most inefficient and wasteful directors. His project on Don Quioxte
(cervantes) went bankrupt. Baron Munchausen which was a delight to watch was not profitABLE. The People rule if people want to spend their entertainment dollars and ESCAPE into another world where honor and nature prevail and forget about corrupt politicians taxes etc let them spend them their money. Maybe people don't want to spend their money ON MOVIES about corrupt politicians and taxes.
Get with the program Gilliam if people don't watch your movies you aren't providing entertainment. Go independent Gilliam. make a movie with consumer camcorders and premiere elements and then you can make your projects and the public be damned. BUT don't whine and complain that other movies are drawing all the money. The public has the right to spend its money where it wants. If you can't make a project that people wantto watch go independent low low budget or go where they force people to watch your movies. Such as North Korea Cuba USSR (Oh I forgot the USSR went into the dustbin of history)