It's a new day, which means there's more Avatar to talk about. Yes, it's now the highest grossing film of all time, and yes it won Best Picture at the Golden Globes, and yes it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar yesterday along with nine other movies. But what about the sequel? Because that's all we really care about at this point, right?
Well, good news for those anticipating a sequel is that during News Corp.'s quarterly earnings call yesterday, Rupert Murdoch said that they are in early discussions with James Cameron regarding an Avatar 2. He stressed that these are "very early talks about it," that Cameron "has ideas" for a sequel and that they (meaning News Corp.) "will be pushing for one." He did note not "to hold your breath for an early one," meaning that any Avatar sequel could potentially take years to hit the big screen, especially since everything that James Cameron does takes years to hit the big screen. Regardless of whether he'll direct it or not, though, chances are very great that we'll see an Avatar 2 at some point in the future, however my best guess would be 4 or 5 years down the line.
But we have a DVD to look forward to, right? I guess so, though don't count on that DVD coming equipped with 3D because it won't. While you will be able to buy the DVD prior to June 30th, Murdoch announced that this first version won't be in 3D because the technology isn't developed enough yet. That won't stop them from releasing a 3D version further down the road when the technology is ready, though, according to News Corp. deputy chairman Chase Carey. No word on special features or an official DVD release date just yet.
Before we start licking our lips for that DVD, we might want to take a look to see how Avatar is doing in theaters. It was announced this morning that the film has officially passed Titanic in domestic grosses, making it the highest grossing domestic film of all time at a little over $600 million. Additionally, according to our Fandango computers here at headquarters, advance ticket sales for Avatar jumped 45% after the film was announced as a Best Picture candidate. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means that there's a good chance the film will remain number one at the box office for the next gabillion years…or something like that.
