James Cameron's Avatar, Avatar | featured news

James Cameron will start writing the scripts for two "Avatar" sequels early next year, aiming to land the first one in theaters four years from now. Executives at 20th Century Fox announced Wednesday that Cameron has settled on two sequels to the blockbuster hit as his next film projects with plans to begin production in late 2011.

Moviegoers wanted to get scared just as much as they wanted to enjoy a good crime caper this weekend, but very few were interested in a return trip to Pandora. Based on studio estimates released Sunday morning, indie horror film "The Last Exorcism" and heist film "Takers" were in a virtual dead heat, with both selling about $21 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada for the weekend.

"Avatar" remained the top-selling DVD and Blu-ray Disc for a third consecutive week.

News Corp.'s profit fell 69% from a year earlier, which included big one-time gains, offsetting the success of "Avatar" and continued growth at the company's cable-television channels.

"Avatar" is maintaining its popularity in the move from box office to home video, with sales of 6.7 million DVDs and Blu-ray disks in the first four days....

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese continue to lure movie-goers to "Shutter Island," while James Cameron's "Avatar" has surpassed $700 million domestically....

James Cameron told The Wall Street Journal today that Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release the Blu-ray and "standard def" DVD for Avatar on Thursday, April 22, which is Earth Day.

Romantic drama "Dear John" unexpectedly ended the seven-week reign of "Avatar" at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday, grossing an estimated $32.4 million.

It was love that slayed the mighty "Avatar" -- or, at least, knocked it out of the top position at the boxoffice that it has commanded for the previous seven weeks. "Dear John" proved to be more popular than expected, taking in an estimated $13.8 million on Friday in 2,969 theaters.

"Avatar" climbed to $601.1 million domestically on Tuesday, putting it a fraction ahead of the $600.8 million haul for "Titanic."