On August 21st this year, audiences around the world were treated to a special sneak preview of approximately 20 minutes of footage from James Cameron's Avatar. The extended preview was an unprecedented event, but one that would allow a wider audience than just those reading the hype online to get a look at the Titanic director's first film in over 12 years.
However, the event that was being referred to as "Avatar Day" reportedly didn't even get close to selling out its screenings; early opinion was that interest in the film wasn't as strong as was first surmised. However, I'm going to chalk the low turnout up to the fact that people (en masse) weren't interested in seeing just part of the movie, when in a few months the whole thing will be available on a wider, more easily accessible level.
Speaking of which, the tickets for the 3D IMAX midnight screenings of Avatar have now gone on sale at Fandango and Movietickets.com. Yes, they're selling tickets for a movie that is still over three and a half months away. I don't know about you but that seems a bit premature, even for a movie on the scale of Avatar.
Even if Avatar Day wasn't the success that it was suppossed to be, nonetheless, four million viewings of the Avatar trailer on Apple.com show there's interest in the film out there (let's try and forget about the fiasco of people being unable to view the trailer straight away due to an Apple server error...). I'll also re-posit the theory that it was probably the disinterest in seeing just 20 minutes of a movie that led Avatar Day to not completely selling out.
The Avatar trailer disappointed some people, but I personally thought it looked quite stunning. Our own Kofi Outlaw was lucky enough to snag an Avatar Day ticket and he has said the fantasy element of the film (its aliens) is, "brought closer to life than ever before." The fantasy aspect is one of the key things I hope Cameron has gotten right, and it's great to hear that's even more than the case.
Avatar is a movie built for the biggest screen possible, and the lack of impact the trailer may have had for some people could be due to the fact that a computer screen doesn't do it justice. I'm expecting that when we finally get to see Avatar on the big-big screen it was meant for, it will truly be a sight to behold.
What do you think about the midnight screening tickets for Avatar going on sale already? Will you be buying them this soon for the earliest screening possible, or will you wait a couple of months before you even think about ordering tickets?
As stated, midnight tickets for Avatar are already on sale and can be purchased from Fandango and Movietickets.com. But if you're planning on purchasing them at this early stage, I'd do it quick as tickets are likely to sell out pretty fast (we'll keep you posted on that front).
Avatar hits 3D and regular theaters on December 18th, 2009.
Source: Collider