The re-release of James Cameron’s “Avatar” on the big screen brought in $30.5 million worldwide this weekend, including $10 million from U.S. cinemas, with 93% of those viewing it doing so in 3D. $6 million of the overall global amount also came from IMAX screens.
This is being seen as a huge result for the film, which opened more than a decade ago and is quite easily available online. The film has now widened its lead as the biggest movie of all time with a $2.85 billion worldwide gross.
Getting it ready for the big screen again required a remastering process to bring the movie up to modern standards – 4K resolution, high-dynamic range, a new Dolby Atmos sound mix, and in the film’s 3D screenings – 48 frames-per-second.
The new sound mix and much of the postproduction on the new version were reportedly completed at Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post in Wellington, New Zealand, according to THR.
More than 100 different delivery versions of the original film were made available in 2009. Each delivery version is created for different projection equipment with varying light strength, aspect ratios, and more and offers the best possible presentation quality for that equipment. There are also versions to accommodate local languages, subtitles, and the hearing impaired.
The re-release, however, is going higher than that, and the upcoming “Avatar: The Way of Water” might encompass the largest number of deliverables ever created for a single movie.
Lightstorm Entertainment is also at work on a remaster of “Titanic” in 4K with high-dynamic range and a 48-frame-per-second frame rate.
