After a record-breaking $2.74 billion run over the winter, followed the best DVD sales in years, is there really still latent theatrical demand for “Avatar”?
The film’s commercially savvy maker seems to think so.
Just 19 days after the movie finally wound down its epic $749.8 million domestic run, Fox will release “Avatar: Special Edition” in 3D within 811 theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
Two other films debut wide this weekend: Sony's PG-13-rated ensemble caper movie “Takers,” which stars Idris Elba, Chris Brown, Matt Dillon, Hayden Christensen, T.I., Paul Walker and Zoe Saldana; and Lionsgate's low-budget horror film “The Last Exorcism,” produced by Eli Roth.
With these two newcomers expected to gross in the mid-teens or slightly higher, “Avatar” could finish either first or last, given its fuzzy tracking. The industry consensus seems to fall around the $10 million mark, or just below it.
Also re-deploying in 14 overseas territories, the second theatrical wave of “Avatar” will run exclusively in 3D, with 125 domestic IMAX theaters signed on to the release, as well as another 50 abroad.
The “Special Edition” features eight minutes and 33 seconds of unseen footage dispersed throughout the film and arrives about three months before the special-edition DVD and Blu-ray editions of “Avatar” hit stores in November.
Since they were released in April, barebones disc editions have sold 19 million copies, a figure almost unheard-of in the age of declining packaged media returns.
With “Avatar” running so long in theaters, and so well-distributed on disc and on cable VOD and pay-per-view, is there really a sizeable audience segment that will pay IMAX 3D money to see it again?
Answer: Quite likely.
While the film’s run extended into the summer months, most of its 3D exhibition was pulled on March 5 with the debut of “Alice in Wonderland.”
“Mr. Cameron believes we came off with a lot of want-to-see still there,” noted one Fox executive. “It’s hard to argue with him.”
Coming off a soft weekend, the box office is expected to be won this time around by Sony’s “Takers,” which cost $32 million to make and is expected to bring in between $15 million to $20 million.
Lionsgate, meanwhile, faces little monetary risk with “Last Exorcism,” which was produced by Roth, StudioCanal and Strike Entertainment for under $2 million.
During a conference call with investors earlier in the month, Lionsgate officials revealed that they had acquired “Exocrism,” as well as “The Expendables” and September release “Buried,” for under $22 million combined.
“Expendables” has already grossed $71 million in North America.
Scoring a respectable 61 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, Lionsgate will release “Exorcism” in 2,874 North American venues.
Among limited releases, Rob Reiner’s Warner-distributed family film “Flipped” will not being wide as planned this weekend, with the film grossing just over $570,000 after three weeks.
