Can Avatar Save Bloody Cinema?
On day one of release, fans of the film arrived as promised; theaters are filled with anticipation for the film
On the evening of December 16, the audience bought popcorn before the screening of the film “Avatar: The Way of Water” at the Changsha Jinyi Cinema Times Store.Photo/trainee reporter Xiao Tianjian
Reporter Zhou Shihao reports from Changsha
From 0:00 on December 16, “Avatar: The Way of Water” (hereinafter referred to as “Avatar 2”) will be officially released nationwide. As the most-watched imported heavyweight film released in the domestic film market after the recent adjustment of domestic epidemic prevention and control policies, the box office trend of “Avatar 2” has attracted a lot of attention and will also have an impact on the “crop” of theaters this year.
Some insiders predict that in the absence of new films, “Avatar 2” is undoubtedly the “rescue” of the film market, and the release of this film has also become the best catalyst for the recovery of theaters.
Fans eagerly took pictures, posted tickets, and took pictures with materials
Some insiders predict that in the absence of new films, “Avatar 2” is undoubtedly the “rescue” of the film market, and the release of this film has also become the best catalyst for the recovery of theaters.
Under the prestigious name, it lives up to expectations. As of press time, the cumulative domestic box office of “Avatar 2” has reached 126 million yuan, of which Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou are the top three cities in the country, with 8.902 million, 6.090 million and 3.771 million respectively. In Changsha, the cumulative box office of “Avatar 2” was 2.29 million. The first day of the film accounted for 80.9% of the film’s schedule, and the box office accounted for 99.4%.
Like the sequel to ‘Avatar’, which kicked off a wave of 3D movies that year, the magnificent and spectacular visual world created by noted director James Cameron in ‘Avatar 2’ also aroused heated discussions. “Avatar 2” continues the story of the previous work, and once again revolves around Jack Sully (played by Sam Worthington) and Natalie (played by Zoe Saldana), the princess of the Na’vi tribe, and tells the story of their parents In the new survival situation, the story of fighting against the evil forces with the tribe, the movie is 192 minutes long. To tell how popular the film is, it can be seen from the enthusiasm of the audience for watching the film.
Late at night on December 15th, Wanda Theaters located on Jiefang West Road in Changsha were filled with people. Avatar elements can be seen everywhere in the studio, fans enthusiastically took pictures, posted tickets and took pictures with materials… It has been a long time since such a scene has been seen in a cinema. Some movie fans were moved and said, “In the beautiful ocean world, it feels like I’m swimming in blue water. This makes me believe that the planet Pandora is real, and Cameron probably went to space to get it without telling us. When I secretly wiped away my tears, I found out I wasn’t the only one crying…” For many movie fans, “Avatar 2” is not just a movie, it can also bring with it the feeling of waiting for 12 years.
As for the plot and ticket price, many movie fans have something to say
However, among the many voices of praise, there are still some contradicting comments, most of which fall on the film’s storytelling and high ticket price.
As James Cameron’s masterpiece, the “God of Technology”, “Avatar” has captured a large number of Chinese fans after it landed in China in 2010. However, “Avatar” was lively then, and many people in the industry also pointed out that the story of the film was too ordinary, almost “Hollywood-style assembly line production”. Now, with the big debut of “Avatar 2”, does it make up for the “story charm” that was missing in the first film? The answer of many movie fans is: unfortunately or not.
Although the story of “Avatar 2” is a sequel to the first one, in reality its story is still a traditional Hollywood-style storytelling, and there is no surprising storyline, and even some key storylines require a series of characters The plot is promoted by the “wisdom-reducing behavior” and the coincidence of the story.
In addition to criticizing the clichés of the plot, many netizens pointed out that the film’s high ticket price is “not worth it.” On December 7, Huaxia Film Distribution Company issued the official release notice of “Avatar 2”. The minimum ticket price for the different versions is 3D digital: 25 yuan/person, IMAX, laser: 30 yuan/person, and CINITY: 30 yuan/person. The notice further stated that the above ticket prices are only clearance standards, the cinema ticket prices are market-adjusted prices, and the sales prices are set by the cinemas themselves. Huaxia Films specifically stated, “Our company does not place any restrictions on the ticket prices sold by cinemas and theaters to the public, and the ticket prices are completely market-oriented.”
“High ticket prices are generally for upscale cinemas. Ticket prices for other ordinary cinemas are still normal. Giant Screen, Dolby, VIP, China Giant Screen, etc. will raise the price appropriately.” He explained a theater manager in Changsha However, the ticket price that consumers choose depends on their needs.
There are enough cards in the lineup, it remains to be seen if he can save the market
Previously, according to media reports, the production cost of “Avatar 2” was about 310 million US dollars (about 2.2 billion yuan), which was higher than the first film’s 237 million US dollars. Director James Cameron called it “the worst business case in cinematic history”. The box office must reach the third or fourth place in the box office chart of a single film in cinema history before it can pay off, which means it must reach the North American box office of 800 million US dollars and the global box office. at the box office of 2 billion US dollars can ensure that “Avatar 2” is not a loss-making business.
Some theater managers have also said that the release of ‘Avatar 2’ has given a clear boost to the market and the high ticket prices of IMAX, Dolby and other shows are actually a consensus in the industry. The pressure of survival is something every theater faces. “The movie length of ‘Avatar 2’ has reached 192 minutes. Being a film of more than 3 hours, the movie length is actually not easy to arrange. Along with its brand effect, theaters will choose to sacrifice other film programs to maintain the number of performances of “Avatar 2.”As for the increase in ticket prices, it is also a purely market behavior, and it is a self-help behavior of the theater.
“The release of ‘Avatar 2’ has led to a significant increase in passenger flow to theaters across the country, and there is expected to be a small spike this weekend.” Many theater operators have expressed this emotion. However, it is still impossible to loudly announce that the release of “Avatar 2” will completely save the market. Some people in the industry pointed out, “Judging from the current domestic sales situation, the market recovery is still a slow trend, mainly because after the optimization of epidemic prevention and control measures, everyone has a higher awareness of the own protection, and most people are still hesitating. Go into a confined space and watch a movie.”
As for the level that will reach the box office of “Avatar 2”? Industry insiders said, “It’s hard to say now, but overall it may be lower than expected. As the biggest IP before the Spring Festival, ‘Avatar 2’ will definitely have a positive impact on the film. The recovery of the market will help a lot, but the current state of the whole market sector cannot recover quickly. Some people have predicted that “Avatar 2″ may reach more than 4.5 billion. 4.5 billion or less remains to be verified in time.” .
Source: Xiaoxiang Morning News
