When it’s All Said and Done AVATAR Would have Cost $500 Million to Make!
Comments(4)
- By Venkman
$500 million dollars is just an insane investment on a movie, especially one that I know for a fact will not make more than Titanic or The Dark Knight. After it’s all said and done with production and marketing, it is reported that Avatar’s budget will be around $500 million dollars. NYTimes says:
The final cost of the film has not been tallied, as Mr. Cameron, who has worked on the film for 15 years, and his collaborators, as far-flung as Weta Digital in New Zealand, continue to complete their work. Published reports have put the production budget at more than $230 million.
But the price tag would be higher if the financial contribution of Mr. Cameron and others were included. When global marketing expenses are added, Avatar may cost its various backers $500 million.
Sure, James Cameron’s Avatar looks like it is going to be a pretty amazing film, but does it have what it takes to make well over $500 million dollars at the box office? I don’t know, there’s been a lot of negative feedback from what people have seen from the film… that’s not a good sign. I hate to say it, but Twilight’s New Moon has more hype and a bigger audience behind it than Avatar does.
Just because Cameron made Titanic, the highest grossing movie of all time, doesn’t mean that Avatar is going to make as much money. Titanic was a film that teenage girls and women all over the world were seeing over and over again. I don’t see teenage girls going out to see Avatar more than once, that’s if they even go see it at all! On top of that, I know for myself, I don’t think I’m going to drop another $20 bucks to go see it in the theaters again.
FOX thinks they won’t have a problem getting their money back. Unfortunately, I think they will. I’m sure they will end up with a profit, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big one, definitely not a Titanic size profit. Cameron may have made one of the best looking CGI films ever made with the best 3D technology around, but that doesn’t mean it is going to make a profit.
What do you all think? Do you think Avatar will make over $500 million bucks?
Well the film's cost has been divided amongst a few film studios, so Fox doesn't get totally killed. And Fox has a deal with Cameron that he doesn't his profits until they've made back their money. So Jimmy must be real confident about this one. I know I'm going to be see it.
Gonna be tough to out-do Dark Knight at the box office. This could either be a hand over fist success or one of the most epic film failures ever.
Depends on a lot of things. Does it have the hype of a Dark Knight caliber film? No. But you have to consider not only domestic revenue but also international. Cameron films tend to do very well overseas. I would like to note that if you look at The Dark Knights international tally, it was actually a 1:1 ratio when compared to US revenue, which is actually quite rare for hollywood tentpoles. Dark Knight was not received well in some cultures because of it's tone. Will this or will this not be the case with Avatar is tough to tell at this point.
Unless this movie is god awful it is pretty much a lock for 180-250m in the US alone. If it can add that same amount overseas, a low end estimate, we're looking at 360 – 500m worldwide. I personally think it will do more. Then on the international front, what are the distribution terms? Cause film distribution rights are often sold overseas. 20th Century Fox could be getting a large lump sum up front plus a percentage of ticket sales… It's tough to tell until we know the details of their release plan.
And the final thing to consider is that, on average, most big budget movies do not even make money during their theatrical run. And Avatar will make money outside the theaters. Fox will be able to sell TV rights for 20-60m, there there are DVD sales, Blu Ray Sales. Odds are we're going to get action figures, toys, video games.
Point being, yes it's going to be very difficult to recoup such a massive investment. But movies these days aren't just theaters and home video anymore, the scope has broadened and this movie will be very much an event and a gateway to hundreds of revenue streams.
In reply to Tylar: Action figures, video games and all the related Comic and 7/11 merch crap are already in the works so all said and done this will make its money back somehow.
I back everything you just said, after everything is tallied up Avatar will be profitable. And add that this is a big boost/push for Digital 3D theaters, there are many ulterior motives from the studios for this film to do well.