Avatar may be little more than a visually stunning screen-saver, but the folks at 20th Century Fox sure know how to market the hell out of it.
After grossing over $2.5 billion worldwide (and counting) since its release less than three months ago, Avatar has already finally been announced for arrival on Blu-ray and DVD. Per Hero Complex (and later confirmed by Fox), James Cameron’s eco-warrior masterpiece will be available in at least three distinct flavors over the course of many months.
On April 22nd, Earth Day (aww), a single disc version will hit shelves devoid of any special features. It’ll even be missing the normal features according to producer Jon Landeau.
We went to Fox and told them that, for this movie, we wanted to do something really special and reach for the best presentation of any film in the history of the format,” Landau said. “This is a movie that has done the unexpected every step of the way. Fox agreed with us and the result is amazing. Everything that is put on a disc takes up room – the menus, the extras, the trailers and studio promotions – and we got rid of all of that so we could give this movie the best picture and sound possible.”
So because Fox and friends care so much about the consumer, they’re delivering a movie-only version that will maximize the video and audio potential of both formats. It’s definitely not because they know they’ll sell bajillions of the damn thing regardless of the extras. (And bajillions more when a version with extras is released…) Since it’s a bare-bones release you may be wondering if Fox will be pricing it accordingly. Fools. The single-disc of Avatar will have a suggested retail price of $29.98/DVD and $39.99/Blu-ray. The actual sale prices will be around $20/DVD and $30/Blu-ray of course, but that’s still fairly hefty for a movie-only release.
A multi-disc edition will have to wait until November as the technology needed to package more than one Blu-ray/DVD into a package won’t be ready until then. Further down the road will be the eventual 3D release once new 3D-equipped players begin to saturate the market.
So that’s three different releases, all of which will undoubtedly be scooped up by the masses. I’ve long ago stopped wondering why people responded so slavishly to Cameron’s movie, but if I still had my doubts Landeau was kind enough to answer them.
The reason the movie has done so well isn’t because of the 3-D, it’s because of the story and the messages and the imagination. The way I view the Blu-ray is a chance for people to finance my summer home in the Bahamas, ahem, I mean to go back to Pandora.”
There’s a slim chance that quote may have been edited. And for the record, I’m not knocking Fox for taking this route with the Blu-ray/DVD release. They’re a business, and their goal is to make money for their shareholders. Doesn’t mean I can’t make fun of them for doing it…
Which editions of Avatar will you be buying? All three? None?
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