Avatar

Avatar is a 2009 American science fiction epic film, written and directed by James Cameron, and starring

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang. The film is set in the

year 2154 on Pandora, a moon in the Alpha Centauri star system.[5] Humans are engaged in mining Pandora's

reserves of a precious mineral, while the Na'vi—a race of indigenous humanoids—resist the colonists' expansion,

which threatens the continued existence of the Na'vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. The film's title refers to the

genetically engineered bodies used by the film's characters to interact with the Na'vi.[6]
Avatar had been in development since 1994 by Cameron, who wrote an 80-page scriptment for the film.[7] Filming

was supposed to take place after the completion of Titanic, and the film would have been released in 1999, but

according to Cameron, "technology needed to catch up" with his vision of the film.[8][9] In early 2006, Cameron

developed the script, the language,[10] and the culture of Pandora. He mentioned that sequels are possible if

Avatar is successful.[11]
The film was released in traditional 2-D and 3-D, as well as IMAX 3D formats. Avatar is officially budgeted at

$237 million;[2] other estimates put the cost at $280–310 million to produce and an estimated $150 million for

marketing.[12][13][14] The film is being touted as a breakthrough in terms of filmmaking technology, for its

development of 3D viewing and stereoscopic filmmaking with cameras that were specially designed for the film's

production.[15]
Opening to critical acclaim and commercial success, it grossed an estimated $27 million on its opening day and

made $77,025,481 in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend.[16] Worldwide, Avatar grossed an

estimated $232,180,000 on its opening weekend,[17] the ninth-largest opening-weekend gross of all time, and the

largest for a non-franchise, non-sequel and original film. After 17 days in release, it became the fastest film to

reach $1 billion in box office receipts[18] and the fifth to gross more than $1 billion worldwide. Within three weeks

of its release the film became the second highest grossing film of all time worldwide.[19]
Contents
• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast and characters
o 2.1 Humans
o 2.2 Na'vi
• 3 Production
o 3.1 Development
o 3.2 Themes and inspirations
o 3.3 Filming and effects
o 3.4 Music and soundtrack
• 4 Marketing
o 4.1 Books
o 4.2 Video games
o 4.3 Action figures
• 5 Release
o 5.1 Box office
o 5.2 Critical reception
o 5.3 Awards and nominations

Plot
In 2154, the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon of the planet Polyphemus.[20] Parker

Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) heads the mining operation, and it employs former marines for security. The corporation

intends to exploit Pandora's reserves of a valuable mineral called unobtanium. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a

blue-skinned species of sapient humanoids with feline characteristics.[21] Physically stronger and taller than humans,

the Na'vi live in harmony with Nature, worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa.
Humans cannot survive exposure to Pandora’s atmosphere for very long and use oxygen masks. In an attempt to

improve relations with the natives, scientists create human-Na’vi hybrids called avatars, controlled by

genetically-matched human operators.[22] Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, becomes a

last-minute replacement for his murdered identical twin brother, a scientist trained to be an avatar operator. Dr.

Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement

for his brother, and relegates him to a bodyguard role.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast and characters
o 2.1 Humans
o 2.2 Na'vi
• 3 Production
o 3.1 Development
o 3.2 Themes and inspirations
o 3.3 Filming and effects
o 3.4 Music and soundtrack
• 4 Marketing
o 4.1 Books
o 4.2 Video games
o 4.3 Action figures
• 5 Release
o 5.1 Box office
o 5.2 Critical reception
o 5.3 Awards and nominations

Plot
In 2154, the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon of the planet Polyphemus.[20] Parker

Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) heads the mining operation, and it employs former marines for security. The corporation

intends to exploit Pandora's reserves of a valuable mineral called unobtanium. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a

blue-skinned species of sapient humanoids with feline characteristics.[21] Physically stronger and taller than humans,

the Na'vi live in harmony with Nature, worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa.
Humans cannot survive exposure to Pandora’s atmosphere for very long and use oxygen masks. In an attempt to

improve relations with the natives, scientists create human-Na’vi hybrids called avatars, controlled by

genetically-matched human operators.[22] Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, becomes a

last-minute replacement for his murdered identical twin brother, a scientist trained to be an avatar operator. Dr.

Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement

for his brother, and relegates him to a bodyguard role.
Jake escorts Augustine and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) on an exploratory mission in their avatar

forms to make contact with the Na'vi, in order to help establish diplomatic relations, solve the problem of resources

and end the threat of violence. The group is attacked by a predator, and Jake becomes separated and lost. Forced

to survive the night in Pandora’s dangerous jungles, he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na'vi.

Neytiri brings Jake to Hometree, which is inhabited by Neytiri’s clan, the Omaticaya. Mo'at (C. C. H. Pounder),

the Na'vi shaman and Neytiri's mother, shows interest in the warrior "Dream-walker" (their term for the Avatars),

and instructs her daughter to teach Jake their ways. Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), leader of the security

forces for RDA, hears of Jake's unique relationship with the Omaticaya and promises Jake his "real legs" in

exchange for intelligence about the natives and what it will take for them to abandon Hometree, which rests above

a large deposit of unobtanium.
Over three months, Jake grows close to Neytiri and the Omaticaya and begins preferring their lifestyle, eroding his

loyalty toward RDA's agenda. He is initiated into the Omaticaya, and he and Neytiri reveal their love for each other,

choosing each other as mates. Jake's change of loyalty is revealed when he disables a bulldozer's cameras as it

destroys the tribe's "Tree of Voices". Col. Quaritch disconnects Jake from his avatar and presents Selfridge and

Augustine with a vlog in which Jake admits that his mission is fruitless; the Omaticaya will never abandon Hometree.

Selfridge is convinced that negotiations will fail and orders Hometree's destruction.
Augustine argues that the destruction of Hometree could affect the vast bio-botanical neural network that all

Pandoran organisms are connected to, and Selfridge gives Jake and Augustine one hour to convince the Na’vi to

leave Hometree. When he reveals his mission to the Omaticaya, Neytiri accuses him of betraying them, resulting in

Jake and Augustine's imprisonment. Quaritch’s forces destroy Hometree, killing Eytucan (Wes Studi), Neytiri's father

and clan chief, and many others. Jake and Augustine are disconnected from their avatars and detained for treason

along with Norm. Trudy Chacón (Michelle Rodriguez), a security force pilot who is disgusted by the violence,

breaks them out. During their escape Quaritch shoots Augustine. With Augustine dying, Jake turns to the Omaticaya

for help. To regain their trust he tames the Toruk, a powerful flying beast that only five Na'vi have ever tamed.

Jake flies to the Omaticaya, who have gathered at the sacred Tree of Souls, and pleads with Mo'at to heal

Augustine. They attempt to transplant her "soul" into her avatar, but her injuries are too severe and she dies

before the ritual can be completed.
With the assistance of Neytiri and Tsu'Tey (Laz Alonso), the new leader of the Omaticaya, Jake assembles

thousands of Na'vi from other clans. Jake prays to Eywa to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi in the coming battle.

Quaritch, noting the mobilization of Na'vi clans, convinces Selfridge to authorize a preemptive strike on the Tree of

Souls. Because it is a center of Na'vi religion and culture, its destruction would leave the Na'vi too demoralized to

resist further human encroachment.
As the corporation's army attacks, the Na'vi retaliate but suffer heavy casualties, among them Tsu'Tey and Trudy.

When the Na'vi are on the verge of defeat, the Pandoran wildlife suddenly attacks the corporation's forces,

overwhelming them. Neytiri interprets this as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Jake destroys the main bomber before it

can reach the Tree of Souls. Col. Quaritch escapes and finds the avatar interface pod where Jake's human body is

located and attacks it, exposing Jake to Pandora's atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake. With the attack

repelled, Neytiri and Jake reaffirm their love as she sees his human body for the first time.
Selfridge and the military personnel are expelled from Pandora, while Jake, Norm, and the scientists studying

Pandora are allowed to remain. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The film ends with

Jake's consciousness being transplanted into his Na'vi avatar permanently by the Tree of Souls.


Cast and characters
Main article: Fictional universe in Avatar
Humans
• Sam Worthington as Corporal Jake Sully, the film's protagonist, is a disabled Marine who becomes part of

the Avatar Program. Cameron cast the Australian actor after searching the world for promising young actors,

preferring relative unknowns to keep the budget down. Worthington, who was living in his car at the time,[23]

auditioned twice early in development,[7] and he has signed on for possible sequels.[24] Cameron felt that because

Worthington had not done a major film, he was "game for anything", giving the character "a quality that is really

real. He has that quality of being a guy you'd want to have a beer with, and he ultimately becomes a leader who

transforms the world".[25]
• Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine, a botanist and head of the Avatar Program. She mentors Jake

Sully, and was an advocate of peaceful relations with the Na'vi, setting up a school to teach them English.[26]

Weaver dyed her hair red for the part.[27] The character was named "Shipley" at one point, a reference to the

character she played in Aliens which was directed by Cameron.[28] Weaver said that Augustine reminded her of

Cameron, being "very driven and very idealistic".[29]
• Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacón, a Marine fighter pilot assigned to support the Avatar Program.

Cameron had wanted to work with Rodriguez since seeing her in Girlfight.[30]
• Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge, the corporate administrator for the RDA mining operation and one of

the film's primary antagonists.[31]
Joel David Moore as Norm Spellman, an anthropologist[32] who studies plant and nature life as part of

the Avatar Program. He arrives on Pandora at the same time as Jake Sully, and assumes control of an avatar.
• Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch, a security contractor who heads the mining operation's security

detail, and serves as the film's primary antagonist. Lang had unsuccessfully auditioned for a role in Cameron's Aliens

(1986); the director remembered Lang and cast him in Avatar.[30] Michael Biehn, who was in Aliens, read the

script and watched some of the 3D footage with Cameron,[33] but was ultimately not cast in the role.
• Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel, a scientist who works in the Avatar Program.[34]
• Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet, a security contractor working under Colonel Quaritch.[35]
Na'vi
• Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, princess of the Omaticaya, the Na'vi clan central to the story, who is attracted to

Jake because of his bravery.[36] The character, like all the Na'vi, was created using performance capture, and is

entirely computer generated.[37] Saldana has also signed on for potential sequels.[24]
• C. C. H. Pounder as Mo'at, the Omaticaya's spiritual leader, Neytiri's mother, and consort to clan leader

Eytucan.[38]
• Laz Alonso as Tsu'tey, heir to the chieftainship of the tribe, and Neytiri's betrothed, prior to the events of

the film.
• Wes Studi as Eytucan, the Omaticaya's clan leader, husband of Mo'at and Neytiri's father.
• Peter Mensah as Akwey, leader of a plains clan of Na'vi.
Production
Development
In 1994, director James Cameron wrote a 80-page scriptment for Avatar[7] and he reportedly wrote it in just two

weeks.[39][40] Cameron said his inspiration was "every single science fiction book I read as a kid", and that he

was particularly striving to update the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter series. In August 1996, Cameron

announced that after completing Titanic, he would film Avatar, which would make use of "synthetic", or

computer-generated, actors.[8] The project would cost $100 million and involve at least six actors in leading roles

"who appear to be real but do not exist in the physical world".[41] Visual effects house Digital Domain, with whom

Cameron has a partnership, joined the project, which was supposed to begin production in the summer of 1997 for

a 1999 release.[9]
In June 2005, Cameron was announced to be working on a project tentatively titled "Project 880", concurrently with

another project, Battle Angel.[42] By December, Cameron said that he planned to film Battle Angel first for a mid

2007 release, and to film Project 880 for a 2009 release.[43] In February 2006, Cameron said he had switched

goals for the two film projects – Project 880 was now scheduled for 2007 and Battle Angel for 2009. He indicated

that the release of Project 880 would possibly be delayed until 2008.[44] Later that February, Cameron revealed

that Project 880 was "a retooled version of Avatar", a film that he had tried to make years earlier,[45] citing the

technological advances in the creation of the computer-generated characters Gollum, King Kong and Davy Jones.[7]

Cameron had chosen Avatar over Battle Angel after completing a five-day camera test in the previous year.[46]
Wikinews has related news: Elvish, Klingon and Na'vi: Constructed languages gain foothold in filmCameron's

early scriptment for Avatar had circulated on the Internet for years. When the project was re-announced, copies

were subsequently removed from websites.[47] From January to April 2006, Cameron worked on the script. Working

with Dr. Paul Frommer, linguist and Director of the Center for Management Communication at USC, he developed a

Na'vi language and culture, the indigenous race on Pandora.[7] The language has a vocabulary of about 1000

words, with some 30 having been invented by Cameron. The tongue's phonemes include ejective consonants (such

as the "kx" in "skxawng") that are found in the Amharic language of Ethiopia, and the initial "ng" that Cameron

may have taken from New Zealand Maori.[10]
Jodie S. Holt, professor of plant physiology at UC Riverside, met with Sigourney Weaver and set designers to talk

about the way botanists would study and sample plants, but also about the way to explain the communication

between plants and the Na'vi.[48]
In July 2006, Cameron announced that he would film Avatar for a mid 2008 release and planned to begin principal

photography with an established cast by February 2007.[49] The following August, the visual effects studio Weta

Digital signed on to help Cameron produce Avatar.[50] Stan Winston, who had collaborated with Cameron in the

past, joined Avatar to help with the film's designs.[51] In September 2006, Cameron was announced to be using

his own Reality Camera System to film in 3-D. The system would use two high-definition cameras in a single

camera body to create depth perception.[52]
In December 2006, Cameron described Avatar as "a futuristic tale set on a planet 200 years hence [...] an

old-fashioned jungle adventure with an environmental conscience [that] aspires to a mythic level of storytelling".[53]

The January 2007 press release described the film: "Avatar is also an emotional journey of redemption and

revolution. It is the story of a wounded former Marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic

planet rich in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival," and

"We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and a native

people with a rich culture and language."[24]
Estimates put the cost of the film at about $280–310 million to produce and an estimated $150 million for

marketing, noting that about $30 million in tax credits will lessen the financial impact on the studio and its

financiers.[12][13][14] However, a studio spokesperson, speaking with film website The Wrap, said that the budget

"is $237 million, with $150 million for promotion, end of story".[2]
Cameron stated that if Avatar was successful, he hoped to make two sequels to the film.[11] In a 2009 interview,

he stated that the story arc he developed is large enough to cover two more films.[54] Cameron also mentioned

that the sequel's story arc would begin after the events of the first film and that it would continue to follow the

characters Jake and Neytiri.[55]
Themes and inspirations


Pandora's floating "Hallelujah Mountains" were inspired by the Chinese Huang Shan mountains[56]
Avatar is primarily an action-adventure journey of self-discovery, in the context of imperialism and biodiversity.[57]

Cameron has said that Avatar shares themes with the films At Play in the Fields of the Lord and The Emerald

Forest, which feature clashes between cultures and civilizations, and acknowledged the film's connection with Dances

With Wolves, where a battered soldier finds himself drawn to the culture he was initially fighting against.[58]
In a 2007 interview with Time magazine, Cameron addressed the meaning of the film's title: answering the question

"What is an avatar, anyway?" Cameron stated, "It's an incarnation of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form."

He said that "[i]n this film what that means is that the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a

human's intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body". Cameron stated, "It's not an avatar in the

sense of just existing as ones and zeroes in cyberspace. It's actually a physical body."[6]
The look of the Na'vi, the characters native to the world depicted in the film, was inspired by a dream that

Cameron's mother had long before he wrote Avatar. She dreamt about a 12-foot-tall blue woman and he thought

"that's kind of a cool image". So in 1976 or 1977, he put into his first screenplay a planet with a native

population that was 12 feet tall and blue, and "gorgeous", which later became the basis for the Na'vi in

Avatar.[57]
At Comic Con 2009, Cameron told attendees that he wanted to make "something that has this spoonful of sugar of

all the action and the adventure and all that". He wanted this to thrill him "as a fan" but also have a conscience

"that maybe in the enjoying of it makes you think a little bit about the way you interact with nature and your fellow

man".[59] He added that "the Na'vi represent something that is our higher selves, or our aspirational selves, what

we would like to think we are" and that even though there are good humans within the film, the humans "represent

what we know to be the parts of ourselves that are trashing our world and maybe condemning ourselves to a grim

future".[59]
The film has vivid scenes of combat, but it is also about peace.[60] Cameron acknowledged that it implicitly

criticizes America's War in Iraq and the impersonal nature of mechanized warfare in general.[61] In reference to the

use of the term "shock and awe" in the film, Cameron stated, "We know what it feels like to launch the missiles.

We don't know what it feels like for them to land on our home soil, not in America." A scene in the film portrays

the violent destruction of the towering Na'vi Hometree, which collapses in flames after a missile attack, coating the

landscape with ash and floating embers. When asked about the scene's visual resemblance to the events of the

September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Cameron said he had been "surprised at how much it did look

like September 11".[61]
Filming and effects
In December 2006, Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until

the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough. The director planned to create photo-realistic

computer-generated characters by using motion-capture animation technology, on which he had been doing work for

the past 14 months. Unlike previous motion-capture systems, where the digital environment is added after the actors'

motions have been captured, Cameron's new virtual camera allows him to observe directly on a monitor how the

actors' virtual counterparts interact with the movie's digital world in real time and adjust and direct the scenes just

as if shooting live action; "It’s like a big, powerful game engine. If I want to fly through space, or change my

perspective, I can. I can turn the whole scene into a living miniature and go through it on a 50 to 1 scale."[62]


Cameron pioneered a specially designed camera built into a 6-inch boom that allowed the facial expressions of the

actors to be captured and digitally recorded for the animators to use later.[63]
Cameron planned to continue developing the special effects for Avatar, which he hoped would be released in

mid-2009. He also gave fellow directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson a chance to test the new

technology.[53] Spielberg and George Lucas were also able to visit the set to watch Cameron direct with the

equipment.[64]
Other technological innovations include "The Volume", a motion-capture stage six times larger than any previously

used, and an improved method of capturing facial expressions, enabling full performance capture. To achieve the

latter, actors wore individually-made skull caps fitted with a tiny camera positioned in front of the actors' faces; the

information collected about their facial expressions and eyes is then transmitted to computers. According to Cameron,

the method allows the filmmakers to transfer about 95% of the actors' performances to their digital counterparts.

Besides a real-time virtual world, the team also experimented with a way of allowing the computer-generated

characters to interact with real actors on a real, live-action set while shooting live action.[65]

Avatar was filmed with newly developed stereoscopic cameras that simulate human sight. In this scene, Jake Sully

flies into battle to save his newly adopted tribe.
In January 2007, Fox announced that the studio's Avatar would be filmed in 3D at 24 frames per second despite

Cameron's strong opinion that a 3D film requires higher frame rate to make strobing less noticeable.[66] Cameron

described the film as a hybrid with a full live-action shoot in combination with computer-generated characters and

live environments. "Ideally at the end of the day the audience has no idea which they’re looking at," Cameron said.

The director indicated that he had already worked four months on nonprincipal scenes for the film. Principal

photography began in April 2007,[67] and was done around parts of Los Angeles as well as New Zealand. The

live action was shot with a modified version of the proprietary digital 3D Fusion Camera System, developed by

Cameron and Vince Pace.[68] According to Cameron, the film is composed of 60% computer-generated elements

and 40% live action, as well as traditional miniatures.[69] Motion-capture photography would last 31 days at the

Hughes Aircraft stage in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California.[46][70] In October, Cameron was scheduled to shoot

live-action in New Zealand[30] for another 31 days.[7]
"It's this form of pure creation where if you want to move a tree or a mountain or the sky or change the time of

day, you have complete control over the elements."
—James Cameron on virtual filmmaking [71]To create the human mining colony on Pandora, production designers

visited the Noble Clyde Boudreaux drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico during June 2007. They photographed,

measured and filmed every aspect of the rig, which was replicated on-screen with photorealistic CGI.[72] More than

a thousand people worked on the production.[70] Cameron sent the cast of Avatar off to the jungle for bonding

boot-camp exercises before he started shooting the film.[73] Cameron has revealed that a deleted extended "sex

scene" between characters Jake Sully and Neytiri will be included with the future DVD releases of the film.[74] It

was excluded from the theatrical version to maintain a PG-13 rating.[74]
In a 2009 profile in The New Yorker, Cameron claimed that the digital elements of Avatar are believable enough

that the audience will be unable to tell reality from computer animation. In Cameron's words, "This film integrates

my life's achievements... it's the most complicated stuff anyone's ever done."[75]
Music and soundtrack
Main article: Avatar: Music from the Motion Picture
Composer James Horner scored the film, his third collaboration with Cameron after Aliens and Titanic.[76] Horner

recorded parts of the score with a small chorus singing in the alien language Na'vi in March 2008.[77] He has

also worked with Wanda Bryant, an ethnomusicologist, to create a music culture for the alien race.[78] The first

scoring sessions were planned to take place in Spring 2009.[79] British singer Leona Lewis was chosen to sing the

theme song for the film, called "I See You". An accompanying music video, directed by Jake Nava, premiered

December 15, 2009 on MySpace.[80]
Marketing


Cameron at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con promoting the film
Cameron, producer Jon Landau, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and Sigourney Weaver appeared at a panel,

moderated by Tom Rothman, at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con on July 23. Twenty-five minutes of footage was

screened[81] in Dolby 3D.[82] Weaver and Cameron appeared at additional panels to promote the film, speaking

on the 23rd[83] and 24th[84] respectively. James Cameron announced at the Comic-Con Avatar Panel that August

21 will be 'Avatar Day'. On this day the trailer for the film was released in all theatrical formats. The official game

trailer and toy line of the film were also unveiled on this day.[85]
The 129 second trailer was released online on August 20, 2009.[86] The new 210-second trailer was premiered in

theatres with on October 23, 2009, then soon after premiered online on Yahoo! on October 29, 2009, to positive

reviews.[87][88] An extended version in IMAX 3D received overwhelmingly positive reviews.[86] The Hollywood

Reporter said that audience expectations were coloured by "the [same] establishment skepticism that preceded

Titanic" and suggested the showing reflected the desire for original storytelling.[89][90] The teaser has been among

the most viewed trailers in the history of film marketing, reaching the 1st place of all trailers viewed on Apple.com

with 4 million views.[91] On October 30, to celebrate the opening of the first 3D cinema in Vietnam, Fox allowed

Megastar Cinema to screen exclusive 16 minutes of Avatar to a number of press.[92]
The three-and-a-half minute trailer of the film premiered live on November 1, 2009 during a Dallas Cowboys

football game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on the Diamond Vision screen, the world's largest video

display, and to TV audiences viewing the game on Fox. It is said to be the largest live motion picture trailer

viewing in history.[93][94]
The film is heavily promoted in an episode of the Fox Network series Bones in the episode "The Gamer In The

Grease" (Season 5, Episode 9). Avatar star Joel David Moore has a recurring role on the program, and is seen

in the episode anxiously awaiting the release of the film.[95]
Books
Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora, a 224-page book in the form of a

field guide to the film's fictional setting of the planet of Pandora, was released by Harper Entertainment on

November 24, 2009.[96] It is presented as a compilation of data collected by the humans about Pandora and the

life on it, written by Maria Wilhelm and Dirk Mathison. HarperFestival also released Wilhelm's 48-page James

Cameron's Avatar: The Reusable Scrapbook for children.[97] The Art of Avatar: James Cameron's Epic Adventure

was released on November 30, 2009 by Abrams Books.[98] The book features detailed production artwork from the

film, including production sketches, illustrations by Lisa Fitzpatrick, and film stills. Producer John Landau wrote the

foreword, Cameron wrote the epilogue, and director Peter Jackson wrote the preface.
In a 2009 interview, Cameron said that he planned to write a novel version of Avatar some time after the film

released.[99]
Video games
Main article: James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
Cameron chose Ubisoft Montreal to create an Avatar game for the film in 2007. The filmmakers and game

developers collaborated heavily, and Cameron decided to include some of Ubisoft's vehicle and creature designs into

the film.[100] James Cameron's Avatar: The Game was released on December 1, 2009,[101] for most home video

game consoles (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, iPhone), Microsoft Windows and December 8 for PSP. All

versions are rated T by the ESRB (the iPhone version is rated +9 by Apple).[102]
Action figures
Mattel Toys announced in December 2009 that it would be introducing a line of Avatar action figures.[103][104]

Each action figure will be made with a 3D web tag, called an i-TAG, that consumers can scan using a web cam,

revealing unique on-screen content that is special to each specific action figure.[103] A series of toys representing

six different characters from the film are also being distributed in McDonald's Happy Meals in the United States,

Canada and also China.[105]
Release
Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was released theatrically worldwide from December

16–18.[106] The film was originally set for release on May 22, 2009 during filming,[107] but was pushed back to

allow more post-production time, and to also give more time for theatres worldwide to install 3-D projectors.[108]

Cameron stated that the film's aspect ratio would be 1.78:1 for 3-D screenings and that a 2.39:1 image would be

extracted for 2-D screenings.[109] However, the 1.78:1 aspect ratio is actually exclusive to IMAX 3D screenings

while all other projection methods (including digital 3-D) use the 2.35:1 extract.[110] The first photo of the film

was released on August 14, 2009,[111] and Empire magazine released exclusive images from the film in its October

issue.[112]
Internationally, Avatar opened between December 16 and 18, on a total of 14,604 screens in 106 territories, of

which 3,671 are running it in 3D (56% of the first weekend gross).[113][114]
IMAX Corporation and Twentieth Century Fox announced that James Cameron's Avatar would open in 178 IMAX

theatres in the US on December 18, 2009, simultaneously with the motion picture's premiere in conventional

theatres. The IMAX 3D release also opened in 83 IMAX theatres internationally starting on December 16, for a total

of 261 theatres, making this the widest IMAX release to date.[115] The previous IMAX theatres record was 231,

when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened up in 161 IMAX theatres in the US, and about 70

international.[116] Avatar was released in a total of 3457 theatres in the US, of which 2032 theatres are running it

in 3D. In total 90% of all advance ticket sales for Avatar were for 3D screenings.[117]
Box office
Avatar earned $3,537,000 from midnight screenings in the United States and Canada, partly due to the fact that it

was limited to 2,200 3D screens.[118] The film earned $27 million on its opening day, and $77,025,481 over its

opening weekend in the United States and Canada, making it the second largest December opening ever, behind I

Am Legend,[3][16] and the 25th largest national United States weekend opening,[3] despite a blizzard which

blanketed the East Coast of the United States and reportedly hurt its opening weekend.[12][16][17] International

markets generating opening weekend tallies of at least $10 million were: Russia ($20.8 million), France ($20.3

million), the UK ($14.1 million), Germany ($13.2 million), Australia ($11.9 million), South Korea ($11.4 million)

and Spain ($10.9 million).[119] Avatar's worldwide gross was an estimated $232,180,000 after three days,[3][17]

the ninth largest opening-weekend gross of all time, and the largest for a non-franchise, non-sequel and original

film.[3] The film's revenues decreased by a mere 1.9% in its second weekend in the United States and Canada

markets, earning $75,589,048 to remain in first place at the box office.[120] The film broke The Dark Knight 's

record for the biggest second weekend of all time.[121] The film experienced another small decrease in revenue in

its third weekend, dropping 9.7% for an estimated $68,300,000 domestically, once again remaining #1 at the box

office.[122] This breaks Spider-Man 's long standing record of $45,036,912 as the highest grossing third weekend

of all time.[123] On the 17th day of the film's release, it crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide making it the

fastest film ever to do so in history.[18] After only 22 days of being released, Avatar has come to gross

$380,540,297 in the United States and Canada and $781,821,010 in other territories with a worldwide total of

$1,162,361,307.[3][4] This now makes the film the second highest grossing of all time worldwide.[19] It is also

currently the tenth highest grossing film of all time domestically (unadjusted for inflation).[124]
Before its release, various film critics and fan communities predicted the film would be a significant disappointment at

the box office, much like had been thought of Cameron's previous film Titanic (though it later became the

highest-grossing film of all time, unadjusted for inflation).[125][126] This criticism ranged from Avatar's film budget,

to its concept and use of 3-D "blue cat people".[125] Slate magazine's Daniel Engber complimented the 3-D

effects, but also criticized their character aspect for reminding him of certain CGI characters from the Star Wars

prequel films and for having the "uncanny valley" effect.[127]
"I think if everybody was embracing the film before the fact, the film could never live up to that expectation. Having

that doubt, having it be controversial right now, having people arguing about it, I think is absolutely the healthy

place. Have them go with some sense of wanting to find the answer. When they sit down in that movie theatre

and the lights go down."
—James Cameron on Avatar's criticism[128]Box office analysts' opinions differed from much of the Internet criticism

about the film. Traditional analysts estimated that the film would be a box office success.[125][129] "The holy grail

of 3-D has finally arrived," said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "This is why all these 3-D

venues were built: for Avatar. This is the one. The behemoth."[129] The "cautionary estimate" was that Avatar

would bring in around $60 million in its opening weekend. Bock felt that the number would fall between $80 million

and 100 million, or more than that.[129] Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere quoted a box-office seer who

believed Avatar would make about $70 million on its opening weekend.[130] Additionally, analysts believed the film's

three-dimensionality would help its box office performance, given that recent 3-D films had been successful.[125]
Cameron said he felt the pressure of the predictions, but that pressure is good for film-makers. "It makes us think

about our audiences and what the audience wants," he stated. "We owe them a good time. We owe them a piece

of good entertainment."[128] Cameron did not want to preach to the audience, but rather "bring them in" and

make sure they have a good time.[128] Though he felt Avatar would appeal to everyone and that the film could

not afford to have a target demographic,[128] he especially wanted hard-core science-fiction fans to see it. "If I

can just get 'em in the damn theater, the film will act on them in the way it's supposed to, in terms of taking

them on an amazing journey and giving them this rich emotional experience," stated Cameron.[131]
Regarding sentiment that Avatar would need repeat business to be a true success, Cameron agreed that sharing is

a part of successful films. "When people have an experience that's very powerful in the movie theatre, they want to

go share it. They want to grab their friend and bring them, so that they can enjoy it," he said. "They want to be

the person to bring them the news that this is something worth having in their life. That's how Titanic worked."[128]
Since the film's release and unusually strong box office performance, it has been debated as the one film capable

of surpassing Titanic's worldwide gross, and its seemingly surreal strength has perplexed box office

analysts.[132][133][134][135]
"Most films are considered to be healthy if they manage anything less than a 50%

drop from their first weekend to their second. Dipping just more 11% from the first to the third is unheard of,"

relayed Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office analysis for Hollywood.com. "This is just unprecedented," he

said. "I had to do a double take. I thought it was a miscalculation."[134] Though other films in recent years have

been cited as contenders for surpassing Titanic, most recently The Dark Knight,[135] Avatar is considered the first

genuine film with a chance at doing so, and its numbers being aided by higher ticket prices for 3D screenings[132]

has failed to explain its thorough success to box office analysts. "What's also impressive is that Avatar made it

through the holiday season in first place three consecutive weekends with a number of other highly competitive titles

standing in its way," stated Dergarabedian. "Everyone stayed out of the way for Dark Knight. But nobody got out of

the way for Avatar."[134]
Dergarabedian and other analysts predicted that second place for the all-time box office gross would be guaranteed

for the film, but first place is not as certain. "...[I]t's a big, $800 million leap from The Lord of the Rings: The

Return of the King to Titanic," Dergarabedian said. "Avatar still would have to claim the worldwide box-office that

2009's second-place film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, got during its entire three-month run. Today's films

flame out much faster than they did when Titanic was released."[134] Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo,

stated, "It certainly has a chance to [beat Titanic]. But it's too early to say because it's only played during the

holidays." He said, "While Avatar may beat Titanic's revenue record, it will be tough, and the film is unlikely to

surpass Titanic in attendance. Ticket prices were about $3 cheaper in the late 1990s."[134]
Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 82% of

241 professional critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.4 out of 10.[136] Among

Rotten Tomatoes's Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites,

television and radio programs,[137] the film holds an even better overall approval rating of 94%, based on a

sample of 34 reviews.[138] The site's general consensus is that "It might be more impressive on a technical level

than as a piece of storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron's singular gift for imaginative, absorbing

filmmaking."[136] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, the film

has a rating score of 84 based on 35 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[139]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "extraordinary" and gave it four stars out of four. "Watching

Avatar, I felt sort of the same as when I saw Star Wars in 1977," he said. Like Star Wars and The Lord of the

Rings, the film "employs a new generation of special effects".[126] A. O. Scott of At The Movies also compared

viewing the film to the first time he viewed Star Wars. He said "the script is a little bit ... obvious" but that "is

part of what made it work".[140] Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film. "The King of the World sets his sights

on creating another world entirely in Avatar, and it's very much a place worth visiting."[141] Kirk Honeycutt of The

Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review. "The screen is alive with more action and the soundtrack pops

with more robust music than any dozen sci-fi shoot-'em-ups you care to mention," he stated.[142] Rolling Stone

film critic Peter Travers praised the film, giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars and in his print review wrote,
"It extends the

possibilities of what movies can do. Cameron's talent may just be as big as his dreams."[143] Richard Corliss of

TIME Magazine stated, "Embrace the movie — surely the most vivid and convincing creation of a fantasy world ever

seen in the history of moving pictures."[144] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times felt the film has "powerful"

visual accomplishments but "flat dialogue" and "obvious characterization".[145] James Berardinelli, film critic for

ReelViews, praised the film and its story, giving it 4 out of 4 stars he wrote, "In 3D, it's immersive - but the

traditional film elements - story, character, editing, theme, emotional resonance, etc. - are presented with sufficient

expertise to make even the 2D version an engrossing 2 1/2-hour experience."[146]
Armond White of the New York Press wrote that Cameron used villainous American characters to misrepresent the

facts of militarism, capitalism, and imperialism.[147] [148] Russell D. Moore in The Christian Post reasoned

propaganda exists in the film and stated, "If you can get a theater full of people in Kentucky to stand and applaud

the defeat of their country in war, then you’ve got some amazing special effects."[149] The filmmaker Cameron

said, "The film is definitely not anti-American."[150] Ross Douthat of The New York Times opined that the film is

Cameron’s case for pantheism, which "has been Hollywood’s religion of choice for a generation now".[151] Adam

Cohen of The New York Times was more positive, calling the anti-imperialist message "a 22nd-century version of

the American colonists vs. the British, India vs. the Raj, or Latin America vs. United Fruit".[152] Annalee Newitz of

io9 concluded that Avatar is another film that has the recurring "fantasy about race" where "some white guy"

becomes the "most awesome" member of a non-white culture.[153]
In terms of plot, film critic Ty Burr of the Boston Globe called it "the same movie" as Dances with Wolves.[154]

Parallels to the concept and use of an avatar were in Poul Anderson's 1957 short story Call Me Joe, where a

paralyzed man uses his mind to remotely control an alien body.[155][156] Other reviews have compared it to the

films FernGully: The Last Rainforest[157] and Pocahontas.[158] NPR's Morning Edition has compared the movie to a

montage of tropes with one friend of an editor stating that Avatar was made by mixing a bunch of movie scripts in

a blender.[159] Cameron acknowledged that the film is thematically similar to such classic "going-native" films as

Dances with Wolves and At Play in the Fields of the Lord.[58]
The movie blog /Film accumulated a list of quotes about Avatar from fourteen writers and directors in Hollywood.

From Steven Spielberg, "The most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since Star Wars." Frank Marshall

wrote, "Avatar is audacious and awe inspiring. It’s truly extraordinary...". Richard Kelly stated that the film was

"amazing". John August called the film a "master class". Michael Moore recommended, "Go see Avatar, a brilliant

movie [for] our times." The only negative reaction in the list was from Duncan Jones, "It’s not in my top three Jim

Cameron films. " ... "at what point in the film did you have any doubt what was going to happen next?"[160]

Director Guillermo del Toro was reportedly "blown away" by the film, and also praised the technology behind it,[161]

while Cameron's ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow stated that she "loved" the film.[162]
Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Avatar
The New York Film Critics Online have honored the film with its Best Picture award.[163] The film also received

nine nominations for the Critics' Choice Awards of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, including those for Best

Picture and Best Director.[164] St. Louis Film Critics have nominated the film for two of its annual awards—Best

Visual Effects and Most Original, Innovative or Creative Film,[165] and the film won both awards.[166] The film was

a runner-up for the best Production Design award of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association annual awards.[167]

The film also picked up four nominations for the 67th Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture – Drama,

Best Director, Best Film Score and Best Film Song.[168] The Austin Film Critics Association and the Dallas-Fort

Worth Film Critics Association have placed the film on their top ten films of the year lists,[169][170] while Chicago

Film Critics Association has nominated the film for its annual Best Cinematography and Best Original Score

awards.[171] The Las Vegas Film Critics Society has awarded the film with Best Art Direction award,[172] while

Florida Film Critics Circle honored the film with Best Cinematography award.[173] London Film Critics' Circle has

nominated the film for its Film of the Year and Director of the Year annual awards.[174] Phoenix Film Critics

Society has honored the film with Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design and "Best Visual

Effect awards and also included it on its top-ten films of the year list.[175] The Online Film Critics Society has

nominated the film for "Best Director", "Best Cinematography" and "Best Editing" awards.[176] The film was also

nominated by the Producers Guild of America for its "Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical

Motion Pictures".[177] James Cameron has been named as one of the 2009 Nominees for Outstanding Directorial

Achievement in Feature Film awarded by the Directors Guild of America.[178]
The film is considered to be a front-runner for Best Picture at the 82nd Academy Awards due to its strong

box-office and critical reception, and reportedly successful screening held for Academy members.