# Avatar is already the highest grossing film of all time. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991 "2010-04-22T15:25:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/21 "2010-04-22T18:33:01Z")
> [@Robbin\_Hood](#): > > I’m just pissed that the DVD came with NO extras! WTF? They’re saving them for the new version coming out in August. Since I never watch those anyway, I don’t care for the extras, but they do it so that people end up buying two versions of the same DVD. This has been going on for as long as DVDs have existed. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/22 "2010-04-22T20:05:53Z")
I thought Avatar was a crappy (but gorgeous) movie. Ok, so here’s what you want to happen. A: If we behave in this way, we’ll increase profits, pay people, produce more goods, blah blah blah. Evil Avatar Execs: Fuck that, somebody on a message board won’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/23 "2010-04-22T20:08:02Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > What’s wrong with earning more money while harming nobody? Oh right, nothing. Yes, but, see, it’s not _me_ that’s earning the money. So, clearly, something deeply immoral is going on here. ---
**Author:** ![Robbin\_Hood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Robbin\_Hood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robbin_Hood)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/24 "2010-04-22T20:49:41Z")
> [@MostlyClueless](#): > > It’s so they can release an extra special version later. Duh. No shit, Sherlock. The trouble with that is, they will have missed their window of opportunity with this consumer. By then, I will have moved on to something else and won’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Robbin\_Hood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Robbin\_Hood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robbin_Hood)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/25 "2010-04-22T20:53:13Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > They’re saving them for the new version coming out in August. Since I never watch those anyway, I don’t care for the extras, but they do it so that people end up buying two versions of the same DVD. This has been going on for as long as DVDs have existed. Not true. I have DVDs that provided commentaries and deleted scenes at the minimal. The days when I’ll buy multiple copies of the same DVD are long gone, and even then only LOTR trilogy managed that. If someone gives it to me as a gift–yay! If not, too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/26 "2010-04-22T20:59:59Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Ok, so here’s what you want to happen. > > A: If we behave in this way, we’ll increase profits, pay people, produce more goods, blah blah blah. > Evil Avatar Execs: Fuck that, somebody on a message board won’t like it. Based on Avatar’s results thus far, every time they’ve done something that somebody on a message board didn’t like, they’ve made tanker-holds full of cash. The angrier the netizens have become, the more cash Cameron has been buried under. So basically we can infer that **MOIDALIZE** is actually working for James Cameron, stirring up netrage to increase profits. Very sneaky. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/27 "2010-04-22T21:11:30Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Haven’t they made enough already? Does not compute. When has a company _ever_, in the history of Earth, said “OK, we’ve made enough money. We can stop promoting our shit now”? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/28 "2010-04-22T21:54:15Z")
The total worldwide gross for the movie is up to 2.7 billion. I think it would be nice if the DVD release drives enough traffic into the theater to see the “real” Avatar to push the total over 3 billion. They have only sold 75 million tickets in the United States, which means that most people haven’t seen the movie in the theater even once. Avatar was #12 in the weekend box office. I wouldn’t be be surprised if it makes it back in the top 10 this year. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/29 "2010-04-22T22:12:06Z")
How long until Avatar beats Gone With the Wind for the inflation record? I really want SOMETHING to beat GWTW just so all the nitpicking assholes can stop trying to asterisk it whenever a new movie’s making money. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/30 "2010-04-22T22:35:09Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > How long until Avatar beats Gone With the Wind for the inflation record? Never. [Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind made $1.5 trillion.](http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm) Avatar has made less than half that much. Aside from Titanic, all the movies at the top of that list are decades old and have been re-released into theaters over and over again, in many cases before home video even existed. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/31 "2010-04-22T23:53:28Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Does not compute. When has a company _ever_, in the history of Earth, said “OK, we’ve made enough money. We can stop promoting our shit now”? Whoever makes those “unbreakable” combs. Seriously, when was the last time you saw an ad for a comb? ---
**Author:** ![bsane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@bsane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bsane)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/32 "2010-04-23T00:38:16Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Never. [Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind made $1.5 trillion.](http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm) Your actually point may, but I’m here to point out you’re off by a thousand or so. Your cite claims 1.5 Billion. EDIT: after hitting submit, I suppose that may one of those british things? (billions and trillions backwards or some such) ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/33 "2010-04-23T01:57:30Z")
> [@bsane](#): > > Your actually point may, but I’m here to point out you’re off by a thousand or so. Your cite claims 1.5 Billion. > > EDIT: after hitting submit, I suppose that may one of those british things? (billions and trillions backwards or some such) No, you are correct. Trillion wouldn’t have made sense anyway, as Marley also said Avatar made almost half of what GWTW did. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/34 "2010-04-23T02:16:36Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > However, I see I’m not going to be able to convince anyone that this is annoying, since you all seem to be pulling for that scrappy underdog James Cameron to succeed. Annoying? Absolutely. But your OP implies that you don’t understand why they are doing this or that they should be happy with what they’ve made already and not try to maximize sales of the DVD. Making movies is a risky business answerable to stockholders. It’s pretty incumbent on them to try to squeeze every penny out of this that they can. Their next 5 movies may be costly bombs. It would be irresponsible not to try to maximize sales of the DVD. > [@Robbin\_Hood](#): > > Not true. I have DVDs that provided commentaries and deleted scenes at the minimal. The days when I’ll buy multiple copies of the same DVD are long gone, and even then only LOTR trilogy managed that. If someone gives it to me as a gift–yay! If not, too bad. I bet they think that Avatar will be similar to LOTR when it comes to fan loyalty. I bet that’s a safe guess. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/35 "2010-04-23T03:06:33Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > No, you are correct. Trillion wouldn’t have made sense anyway, as Marley also said Avatar made almost half of what GWTW did. Yeah, I’m off. I forgot it was only U.S. totals, which knocked Avatar’s total down to around $750 million from $2.7 billion. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991/36 "2010-04-23T03:16:17Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > How long until Avatar beats Gone With the Wind for the inflation record? I really want SOMETHING to beat GWTW just so all the nitpicking assholes can stop trying to asterisk it whenever a new movie’s making money. Well there’s two different records being conflated here. **Gone With the Wind** , adjusted for inflation, is the highest grossing _US domestic_ champ, with $1.5 billion. \*\*Avatar \*\*is at $745 million domestic. _Worldwide_, however, \*\*Avatar \*\*is the top earner with $2.7 billion. Meaning that Avatar took in $2 billion overseas alone. I doubt \*\*GWTW \*\*can come close to that. I haven’t found a chart that lists what the worldwide figures would be if they were adjusted. I don’t even know if it would be possible to figure something like that out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-is-already-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time/536991.md?page=1)