Two of this holiday season’s wide releases, Avatar and Sherlock Holmes open a week apart from each other (with the latter arriving a day later in the UK than the US). SInce Avatar is directed by James Cameron, it has been pimped (and anti-pimped) into infinity and will likely carry over strongly into Sherlock Holmes‘ opening weekend. So, it’s natural to assume that Guy Ritchie is a wee bit nervous. Popbitch duly sets up the battleground:
Guy Ritchie’s film, Sherlock Holmes, is released on Boxing Day, just a week after James Cameron’s much-anticipated Avatar.
Ritchie was spotted at the IMAX preview of Avatar with his producer Joel Silver. They were obviously keeping tabs on the competition. Ritchie’s verdict? “Well, nothing to worry about here, then.”
Sadly, as it was dark, we weren’t able to see whether the remark was said with any seriousness.
No telling if Ritchie’s remark indicates that he was truly unimpressed or if that old English irony is simply rearing its head. Whatever the case, Avatar will undoubtedly bring in a shitload of money due to the notoriety of its director. Still, it may not do well enough to recover its budget, but that’s probably irrelevant to the fanboys out there anyway, and in an era where Transformers rules the box office, the actual quality of the film really means nothing. Hell, I’ll quickly choose to see a Victorian buddy comedy (one that’s campy and homoerotic to boot) over a $500 million monstrosity that, essentially, is a love story wrapped within a battle between an overreaching humanity and overgrown Smurfs.
