"Avatar" Exceeds $1 Billion Worldwide

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

James Cameron must've known what he was doing releasing "Avatar" this past December--after the spectacular opening weekend following its release on the 18th, it was followed by two holiday weekends in a row, the perfect time to get people in the seats, and it has done the film wonders in the box office. Seventeen days into its release and it's already exceeded $1 billion, making it the fourth highest grossing film of all time, and, more significantly, James Cameron's second film to make over $1 billion, thus making him the first director to do so.

How does Cameron do it? What about his films draws in the crowds, even after more than a decade of nobody hearing his name?

Obviousl, his technical prowess and overall tone is a draw. Whereas other big moneymakers like Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich strive for a sort of goofy, messy, mean-spirited and loud tone with their films, Cameron serves up a more quiet and comparitively ponderous blockbuster, where we don't get setpiece after setpiece of things exploding but actually have time to stop and look around at the world Cameron's created. He also uses the hefty running time to good effect, taking time to develop the plot so that he doesn't have to rush exposition through ridiculous dialogue like Bay and Emmerich tend to do.

Cameron also has a way of appealing to a more broad audience than the general blockbuster crowd. By mixing action with more traditional elements of romance and drama (and of course little bits of humor here and there), "Avatar" (and his other big moneymaker "Titanic") draws in crowds of all sorts, from the date crowd to families to film snobs.

Whatever it is Cameron is doing, it's working. Not even a month out and "Avatar" is a bigger moneymaker than I ever expected, and it's sure to continue long into January, which always is a weaker month for film releases.

And, for once, the big moneymaker really deserves it.