Mikey's Musings: What makes an event movie?

Last week James Cameron's Avatar became the highest grossing film of all time passing James Cameron's Titanic. According to Boxofficemojo as of 30/01/10 it has earned $1,924,744,073 worldwide and it's still looking comfortable.



Cynics might attest this success to the release date, the lack of any huge competition and of course the substantial extra revenue brought in from the 3D priced tickets, but there is no denying that Avatar has become something of a phenomenon. A film that just keeps going and going topping the weekend box office week after week living off word of mouth and repeat business.

It's an event movie.



If I'm being honest it's been exciting watching it hurtle towards Titanic. Titanic which has been the figurative Everest of the Box Office chart for thirteen years. There was a time when box office experts claimed that it would take decades (plural) before Titanic was conquered. They claimed that the cultural impact and hype that kept it number one for fifteen consecutive weekends simply couldn't be replicated. That with the birth of the DVD and rise in internet piracy people just wouldn't want/need to revisit a film in the cinema. Some even suggested that we would have to wait until inflation caught up before seeing a new champ.

That was an event move too.

But what makes an "Event Movie"?

Sayeth Wikipedia: "An event movie is a film whose release itself is considered a major event, such as an anticipated sequel or a big budget film with major stars generating considerable attention."

That sounds about right. I suppose by that logic most of the big summer pictures from the last few years are "event movies" right? But there must be something more that propelled Avatar this far. Something that sets it apart.

Quick: Take a look at the All Time World Wide Boxoffice list. Excluding Titanic and Avatar the entire top ten are sequels or based on pre-existing works. In fact you have to scroll all the way down to number 19 to find a completely original work (Finding Nemo). Okay, yes, I'm being a bit charitable here. Titanic, I suppose is a remake of "A Night to Remember" and we can't really ignore the Avatar-is-DanceswithFernGully arguement, but neither had a serious existing fanbase to rely on.

So what then? Let's ask Mr Cynic. Firstly, the release date; would Avatar have made as much money had it gone up against Transformers or Harry Potter? Probably not. The decision to push the release back until December obviously paid off. Only a few big releases came out to put up a fight but Avatar reigned supreme. Even more impressive is that while Avatar dominated the charts the films that came didn't seem to suffer much as a result, it wasn't that the other films weren't making money, it was just that Avatar was making more. In fact those that were released, like Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks did pretty healthy business. Not Avatar business, but solid nonetheless.

So that leaves the increased price of the 3D tickets doesn't it? As of the 13th of January 3D tickets sales for Avatar accounted for 79% of the total (15.6% 2D and 5.4% Imax). Consider that, in my local cinema, 2D tickets cost £7 and 3D cost £9 and it hardly seems fair does it? (At this point my cinema isn't even showing the film in 2D anymore.)

One point to Mr Cynic.

But beyond that must be a reason that people are paying that extra money to see it.

It's because Cameron made a film quite unlike anything else. The narrative is pretty weak and the characters are (as many have pointed out) ironically 2-dimensional but it is spectacular. Even it's harshest critics agree that from a technical standpoint the hype was justified. He took bleeding edge technology and created a dazzling action adventure. He made something that needed to be seen.

That's where the word of mouth came from. The online community had to see it because of the twelve years of top secret development, Joe Public sees it (based on a huge marketing push from Fox) and it becomes the talk of the water cooler. The film gathers momentum and the rest is history. It's release and box office have become a "major event" and it has "generated considerable attention".

Avatar is the ultimate event movie.