Who's getting the Avatar DVD?

[The Wormhole]

Indeed. Colonel Badass was the only interesting character in the movie.

About that...

Spoiler: sequel

Didn't Stephen Lang say that he might be back for the sequel? Something about "You think two arrows in the chest is going to stop me? As long as they have my DNA..."

That sounds awesome. Sadly, I may actually have to see the movie is this turns out to be true.

 

[Tulin]

Fast and Dirty, a quick review on the Avatar BD DVD.

Grade: D, generously a D+

As we all knew the DVD wouldn't have any special features on it. It litteraly has none. Not even the damn trailer. Hell, not even a digital copy.

Picture for the BD is awesome, sound is good through my TV speakers, but this BD is bullshit. Oh? And the BD release? Comes with a DVD version! Seriously. A whole other disc including a lesser version of the movie. How many DVDs came out 13 years ago included a VHS copy of the movie?

Oh well, the movie is on it which is sufficent enough it's just bullshit that such a relase could exsist in this day.

Umm...didn't you know all that before buying it?

Indeed.

The fact that there's no features is ALL people have been talking about!

[Cartman]"Lame![/Cartman]

 

[Tulin]

It just strikes me as dirty and disgusting to put out such a release like this knowing full-well a better edition is coming out in November.

Oh calm down!

Geez, I am THE LAST person to stand up for Cameron and this stupid film but your comments are over the top!

The movie already made 2 or 3 billion dollars so it's not like they need the money. It's just being greedy. Nothing more.

Aaaahhhh.......you think?!?

And THE REASON HOLLWOOD KEEPS MAKING SO MUCH DAMNED MONEY IS BECAUSE OF RUBES WHO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU JUST DID!!!

I am SO OVER the scores of zombie-like maroons who troup out on places like AICN and elsewhere who rip on Lucas and others for the multiple dipping re-releases of DVDs even though they are the very ones who buy them!

I bought it today not because I just "had to have the movie now!!!!" but because I wanted it

Then what are you complaining about?!?

Damn.....even for this place, this is weird!!!

 

[RoJoHen]

For me, the question is, how much of a price difference will it be between this barebones version and the next release?

 

[Gryffindorian]

Well, the sale price of the BD/DVD combo is $19.99 at Target, and I'm sure that's the norm for other retailers. I expect the Super Deluxe edition due later this year to be at least a few dollars more, about $22.99 - $24.99, which was the sale price range of Transformers II and other new-release Blu-Rays.

I tested both the DVD and BD versions of Avatar on my PS3 (I got the combo set), and there was a HUGE difference in video quality that it was even pointless for the studios to release the DVD/BD combo. The DVD version was rather blurry and almost grainy in quality; the funny thing is that most other DVDs look just fine on my 42-inch LCD TV (full HD). Avatar on DVD looks almost horrendous.

 

[Scotty]

I'm not. I enjoyed the film and would very much like to see it in HD, but I'm not buying any barebone releases in this day and age. This just screams double dip. We all know a super duper avatard edition will eventually be released. I'll wait for that one.

Me and my big mouth. I just bought the damn thing after reading on blu-ray.com what a great demo disc it is. I can't believe myself!

 

[RobertScorpio]

I'm starting to network now for Bluray DVDs. Two of my friends, and I, have started rotating buying these DVDS. I mean, if I buy it, how many times will I watch it in the next five years? Twice?

My friend who didn't see it in the movies got it and watched it last night. I will borrow it over the weekend to show my wife and kids, who didn't see it either, and be done with it for three years or so and save that money for BETTER movies. Like Godzilla vs Gigan.

Avatar was good, technically, but for a plot? It wasn't all that original. I'd rather watch ALIENS...

Rob

 

[stj]

Avatar made boatloads of money in the US, but the last time I looked, it was still about a 30/70 split with world box office. There's a reason for that.

Because most major Hollywood blockbusters nowadays split like that?

Not so far as I know. The rule of thumb is 50/50. Alexander split 20/80. Dark Knight split foreign/domestic at 47/53. Iron Man split 46/54. Star Trek split 33/67. Movies with themes disturbing to a large portion of the US audience are generally criticized for supposed artistic failings invisible to the rest of the world, while movies with America ueber alles don't rouse the same enthusiasm.

 

[Harvey]

I'm not sure where you're getting that rule of thumb from. Looking at the list of all-time worldwide grossing films here, and comparing it to the list of all-time domestic grossing films here, the trend definitely seems to be 60/40 foreign/domestic.

Alexander, a financial bomb, is a bad example.

Some properties, such as Star Trek and Batman are more popular in the United States than overseas. With these two particular franchises, these trends are not limited to the latest sequels (Burton's Batman splits 61/39 domestic/foreign, for example). Why that is is certainly open for debate, and an interesting question.

But most Hollywood blockbusters earn more foreign dollars than domestic dollars.

 

[23skidoo]

I gave buying it some serious thought, but decided ultimately to wait for November. I'm not at all interested in having a 3-D version, but I want extra features like deleted scenes. I might pick up a previously viewed copy in a month or so when they start showing up in one of the few video rental places still operating.

Alex

 

[od0_ital]

I'm not. I enjoyed the film and would very much like to see it in HD, but I'm not buying any barebone releases in this day and age. This just screams double dip. We all know a super duper avatard edition will eventually be released. I'll wait for that one.

Me and my big mouth. I just bought the damn thing after reading on blu-ray.com what a great demo disc it is. I can't believe myself!

Demo disc?

 

[Colonel Midnight]

Have to admit -- the more times I close the stupid Flash ad for this movie, the less inclined I am to buy the DVD or BD. Technical marvel or not... *oy*

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Scotty]

I'm not. I enjoyed the film and would very much like to see it in HD, but I'm not buying any barebone releases in this day and age. This just screams double dip. We all know a super duper avatard edition will eventually be released. I'll wait for that one.

Me and my big mouth. I just bought the damn thing after reading on blu-ray.com what a great demo disc it is. I can't believe myself!

Demo disc?

To show off you home cinema set with.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ The IMAX film Super Speedway is better for that use.

 

[stj]

I'm not sure where you're getting that rule of thumb from.

An article from Boxofficemojo, way back in the days when they would still let Scott Halloran strut his Objectivism. I suspect the decline in the value of the dollar is playing a role, just as inflation tends to play a role in skewing the lists to modern releases. Whether Halloran was right then, 60/40 foreign/domestic seems to be about right.

Another bbs favorite, Serenity, split about 66/34 domestic/foreign.

Alexander was an excellent example of how some movies don't play as well in the US than they do elsewhere, and how the difference is quite interesting. By the way, Alexander was a disappointment, meaning the movie didn't make money until the DVD sales and rentals, and broadcast rights kicked in. (Especially since it seems quite likely they took a dive on marketing costs in the US.) It is only seems to be a bomb looking at the US box office.

The old rule of thumb that box office needs to be half again the production costs seems to have been changed to twice, to allow for inflation in marketing costs. The reason for the emphasis on box office making a profit is that getting your money back quicker is equivalent to higher profit.

 

[Harvey]

Marketing costs have certainly gone through the roof in recent years. Advertsing and print costs worldwide for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King were an estimated $75 million. That's almost as high as the film's production budget of 94 million!

For any film in wide-release, grosses have to be at least twice the cost of production and marketing in order to become profitable for the distributor, since exhibitors and distributors split the grosses, though these arrangements vary from film to film.

Thus, ROTK needed to gross over $338 million in order to profit.

Have a link to that article, btw? Box Office Mojo has become a mess to navigate.

Alexander barely grossed more than it's $155 million production budget. It as a financial failure.

 

[RoJoHen]

My parents visited me today, and my mom was very impressed with my new HDTV, especially once I flipped back and forth between standard ESPN and ESPNHD. So then we went to Best Buy, where she looked at more TVs and became even more impressed.

Then she bought me Avatar on Blu-Ray because she wanted to see how pretty it would be on my TV.

I was never planning to buy it, but it really does look amazing!

 

[Trekker4747]

I was never planning to buy it, but it really does look amazing!

That's what she said!

 

[od0_ital]

AVATAR's one day DVD/blu ray sales topped THE DARK KNIGHT.

I was at Fry's yesterday, and they were completely sold out of the blu ray/DVD combo pack, but still had plenty of copies on DVD. I was at Best Buy earlier tonight, and they still have plenty of copies, either way. Of course, they also have a price of $29.99 on the blu ray already.

 

[Tulin]

Well, there goes my theory the BR would not sell very much!