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Has James Cameron overestimated the support for 4 new Avatar movies?


Avatar, the highest grossing movie of all time, seemed like a good bet to have successful sequels.
But that was in 2009.

The success of the movie was based on mostly on it's amazing use of 3D CGI, interconnected with real life people, also shot with 3D cameras.

The result was an immersive 3D experience in an age with 3D movies were very much the "next great thing."

But since then, 3D has lost its shine. Most don't really care for it. Sure, we'd probably opt to see Avatar 2 in 3D but it's not the drawcard it was in 2009.

Then there is the use of amazing CGI. What was once ground breaking, is now standard. The Marvel movies have really established CGI characters and the bar is set very high. It's not 'ground breaking' to have amazing lifelike quality for a character like the Hulk anymore, it's simply expected.

Avatar hasn't enjoyed a cult following. It doesn't seem to have the 'universe' feel that Star Wars or the Marvel movies created.

James may go down in history for having both the most successful movie of all time, and the most expensive bomb if this goes sideways.

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Most of those people talking shit about avatar will be the first to buy tickets. It will be a huge success.

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Success is depended on the budget tho'. I think to make a movie like Avatar today would not be as expensive as it was back then. I agree that it would probably not be the highest grossing movie of all time again, but at least they will make their budget back.

The opportunity to launch a Star Wars like cinematic universe is apparently too great to be passed on by the producers. Should Avatar 2 be moderate success, it will be enough to build for the next installment(s).

Think of Toy Story 2. It was not as sucessful as the original Toy Story. But who would expect that. Toy Story 2 was simply easier and cheaper to produce, so why not? It's still succesful enough to warrant the making of Toy Story 3 and 4. All were not as good as Toy Story 1, which was REVOLUTIONARY at the time, just like Avatar. Of course, but who cares? Profit is profit.

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If anybody can pull a George Lucas and create a new mega multi-media universe to explore for decades to come, it's Cameron.

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I’ve never had interest in seeing the first one so I’m probably not the person to ask. But it does seem odd that Cameron waited over 10 years to make all these sequels unless he is developing some new technology.

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I have a feeling his Avatar sequels might end up being what rebuilds the theater industry after the world gets done being shut down for 18 months.

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If the world really got shutdown for 18 months, the state of economics will not involve frivolities like movies.

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Whatever happens, the world leaders will not let the economies shut down for 18 months! The doors will open when the think it's politically expedient to do so, not when the virus is gone.

But movie theaters will take a hit, the virus will still be around when all the lockdown orders are lifted, and people will need to be cautious when they go back into public life. Some of us will still avoid crowds and keep our masks and gloves handy if we do, and that's bad news for movie theaters.

But I also love movies, so I think it would be great if Cameron managed the kind of big splashy hit that drew people back to the movie theaters.

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I fully agree with you. I expect them to get things open again by the end of May regardless of where this virus stands. Complete economic collapse would probably lead to more injuries and death in the long run, that letting the virus run its course.

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Economy will definitely reopen sooner than later. It's not about waiting out the epidemic. It's about giving the medical industry the time to ramp up the tools it needs to continue combating the pandemic.

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Hard guy to bet against.

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Personally, I think so. Of course, I am speaking as a non-fan. I saw Avatar and didn't really care for it. It felt like all style with no true substance.

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More and more blockbuster movies come out every year. The spectacle of Avatar is not the same as it was. Unless the first one is absolutely amazing, way beyond average, these won't have the success they hoped for. On the other hand, if anyone knows how to make a monster box office success, it's JC.

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every Transformer film makes a ton of money, and they are all complete shit, so I don't see any reason an Avatar series can't have that same level of success

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Transformers is a very popular IP outside of the movies. Avatar does not have the same built in fan base.

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is it though? no one has watched those cartoons in years

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Yes it is. It's still a very strong toy line, it's had many ongoing shows over the years and a new one coming out this year, they still make a ton of video games, and they have really good and very successful comic by IDW. There's also Bumblebee, which is a decent movie that Bay had nothing to do with that performed very well at the box office. Transformers is very much alive in current culture.

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ok

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