Avatar Looks to Make More in DVD Sales

by Casey Williams

James Cameron’s Avatar, the highest-grossing box office hit of all time, is available for the public to own on DVD and Blu-ray this week.

The film is coming off what many considered to be an upset in the Best Picture category of the Academy Awards, as the low-budget, independent film The Hurt Locker took home the top honor. Twentieth Century Fox, which released Avatar, has stated that the April 22 DVD release is in recognition of the film’s environmental themes for Earth Day.

Photo: Avatarmovie.com

Avatar surpassed Cameron’s previous work, The Titanic, as the highest-earning movie of all time. The film took in $2.7 billion world-wide. The commemorative Earth Day release is the first of three planned releases, which include a special edition DVD in November and a 3-D version in 2011.

Despite shifting away from the spectacle of 3-D and IMAX screens, Avatar is expected to continue earning, with the increased popularity of Blu-ray technology in home entertainment. According to Variety and the Digital Entertainment Group, Blu-ray sales in the first quarter of 2010 are up 74 percent from last year.

Earlier in the week, Cameron revealed details about future sequels, expressing his desire to focus on Pandora’s ocean life in “Avatar 2.”  He also hinted at expanding outside of Pandora to other planets and moons in the fictional solar system in a third Avatar movie.

Future DVD releases will include special features and deleted footage that did not make the theatrical version, including a much-hyped “sex scene” between the two main Na’vi characters. Avatar can also still be seen in select theaters.