Fox is considering re-releasing "Avatar" in theaters this summer with additional scenes that were originally left on the cutting-room floor, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The studio plans to show James Cameron's sci-fi epic primarily in 3D theaters, since the Academy Award-nominated movie had to exit digital and IMAX screens when Disney launched "Alice in Wonderland" on March 5.
Although "Avatar" is the highest-grossing movie of all time, Fox feels it could have raked in even more money if it had been able to hold on to some of those 3D screens.
The Academy Award-winning director of "Titanic" told USA Today this week that "the word we're getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple hundred million dollars on the table as a result," of making room for "Alice."
The Hollywood Reporter adds that "Avatar" had grossed $127.1 million of its $712.5 million domestic haul in IMAX theaters through March 4, and this week's giant-screen haul was $175,884.
In fact, more than 80% of "Avatar's" domestic business was done in 3D theaters, which represent less than half of its runs, so maybe Fox is on to something.
And with that tantalizing extra footage, even fans who have already seen the flick could be reeled back in for a second viewing.
IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond recently revealed that Cameron had about 40 minutes of material that didn't make the theatrical cut in the rush to make the movie's Dec. 18 release.
Cameron adds that he has 10 to 12 minutes of extra scenes that he could push through postproduction pretty quickly to tack onto a director's cut for a theatrical re-release, or as an extra on the DVD release.
One such scene involves leading man Jake Sully's avatar proving himself to Pandora's Na'vi people. Another features a native festival where tribe member Tsu'tey gets drunk.
However, IMAX sets a 170-minute cap on movies released in its theaters, which means Cameron can only add about 10 minutes to "Avatar's" existing 160-minute runtime if he wants to show the new cut in IMAX locations.
(NYDailyNews.com)
We all knew this day would come.
I leave you humming "Some Day My Prince Will Come."
No comments:
Post a Comment