Business students, put away your books; James Cameron and Fox Studios are about to give you a marketing lesson to remember. Some of you might have had a feeling of déjà vu if you bumped into an Avatar: Soon in Theatres poster. I thought I was suffering from a space-time continuum illness. But I wasn’t. This September, Avatar was re-released on the big screen with nine extra minutes of footage. Same story, same actors, same images— exact same movie, but nine minutes longer.
Given the movie’s amazing critical and commercial success since its release last winter, it’s not much of a gamble to bet on its continued market appeal (DVD, merchandise, etc.) But the stakes here are a bit higher. Whether Cameron thinks we are all gullible or if he relies solely on unconditional Avatar fans (I’m talking about those who dream of a better life on Pandora on a daily basis), the plan is to try to sell something that has already been sold; make something new from something old, or in this case, make millions from something that has already pulled in $2.7 billion.
What gives Fox and Cameron the confidence to do this and expect the big bucks once again? The frenzy of a “3D experience” is probably playing an important role. As much as movie theaters are, or were, about discovering new films, it is now also about the experience in itself. Simply look at the box office receipts of Shrek 4, Alice in Wonderland, and Toy Story 3. These movies have proven that technology and the visual experience have become a significant factor in the popularity and success of a movie. Who cares if we’ve all seen a particular love story or action scene 100 times? If you experience it in 3D, it’s fun, new, and cool. But I still can’t imagine cinema relying on the visual experience of special effects so much that it becomes an excuse to neglect the story and the cinematography behind it.
Now, my question is, what would cinema—that is, the art thereof—have to say about this? The fact that this is the second edition of the same movie brings up many questions about the lure of the 3D experience. Will everybody run back to theaters and spend the $12 to live it again for nine additional minutes? If every lucrative movie were to be re-released just because the producer found a couple of extra reels, a lot of us would feel like Hollywood was pulling our legs.
Will Avatar’s re-release work, or is it an obvious marketing trap nobody will fall into? It raises questions about the film industry, and reminds us that no matter how far cinema can take us—in this case, to a crazy world with blue people—it remains a business, and we remain its faithful consumers.
