Avatar: The Way of Water has knocked Spiderman: No Way Home off its perch as the sixth highest grossing film of all time just as James Cameron roasted streaming services for offering up a sub-par experience to audiences.
As per Collider, Avatar: The Way of Water has now grossed over USD$1.916 billion worldwide.
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The sequel to Cameron's 2009 film Avatar is now projected to hit USD$2 billion in the near future.
Cameron sat down with NME to discuss the film's success, hitting out at those to choose to watch films at home or worse: on a mobile phone.
"I think when you start looking at something on a phone, you're sort of missing the point," the iconic director said.
"Going to a movie theater is less about the size of the screen and the perfection of the sound system. And it's more about a decision to not multitask."
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He added that this is what people are missing when it comes to streaming.
"You're making a deal between yourself and a piece of art to give it your full attention. And you don't when you're at home. People don't cry as much when they watch a movie at home as they will in a movie theater.
"You don't have the depth of emotion."
This isn't the first time Cameron has suggested that people are bored with streaming.
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While sitting down with Variety, the filmmaker said The Way of Water's staggering numbers indicates audiences are ready to return to theaters.
He told the outlet: "They’re even going back to theaters in China where they’re having this big COVID surge.
"We’re saying as a society, ‘We need this! We need to go to theaters.’ Enough with the streaming already! I’m tired of sitting on my a**.”
Last year, Quentin Tarantino shared a similar sentiment, believing Netflix had ruined the film industry.
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The Pulp Fiction director told Far Out that now, in the age of streaming, people are even bored by their own decisions.
He shared: “Maybe you watch it for 10 minutes or 20 minutes, and maybe you start doing something else, and [you decide], ‘Nah, I’m not really into this.’ And then that’s kind of where we’ve fallen into."
Tarantino said: “You were kind of invested in a way that you’re not invested with electronic technology when it comes to the movie.
"In a weird way, what’s lost is commitment”.
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He added: “It’s very sad to me…no one's looking back and they don’t really care”.
Topics: James Cameron, Film and TV, Entertainment
Rachel Lang