Exhibition of Avatar: The Release of DVD/Blu-Ray

Avatar on DVD/Blu-Ray

- 20th Century Fox proceeded to release Avatar on DVD and Blu-Ray fairly quickly on April 22, 2010, which was also Earth Day. This is beneficial to the institutions associated with Avatar such as 20th Century Fox because it promotes positive media surrounding the film and people will be more inclined to invest in the film.

- Cameron decided to release Avatar on DVD on Earth Day, as the storyline of Avatar reflected the issues raised on Earth Day, and he cared a lot about the environment, and was quoted saying:

"[I] certainly feel a personal sense of responsibility because I made a movie on these issues. Why? Because they were personally important to me. It's not like the studio said, 'Jim we want you to make a movie about the environment.' No. … They said, 'We really like the big epic science fiction story, but is there any way we can get this tree-hugging crap out of it?'”

- It was then released on the 26th in the UK and was also staggered for the rest of the world with dates ranging from April 21st (In France) to May 6th (In Italy).
- This staggered release meant that a hype could be generated, via word of mouth and viral techniques.

- And coinciding with the DVD's Earth Day release, Cameron announced an initiative to plant 1,000,000 trees around the world. 

- The DVDs/Blu-ray discs also had a code that allowed fans to sign up to the Avatar programme on the Avatar website, where they could adopt one of the trees that were planted. 
- This code and adopting tree programme was beneficial for both parties: Avatar and Earth Day. It benefitted Avatar as it gave it a lot of press and advertising, and the code could also be another incentive for consumers to buy the DVD. It was also beneficial for Earth Day too though, as Avatar was a huge phenomenon, so by getting linked to the film, it also got a lot of advertising, and the key issues and awareness were raised with the public. So as we can see, Avatar and Earth Day had a symbiotic relationship.

Avatar on 3D DVD/Blu-Ray

Although Avatar was a 3D movie, it was only released in 2D on DVD. This was due to many reasons, including:
- 3D TVs had just been intorduced in the market, and not that many people had actually bought them and owned them, meaning that releasing a DVD in 3D was not hugely advantageous. So by waiting till late 2010/ early 2011, it allows time for more people to purchase these 3D TVs, creating a larger market-place for all 3D movies, especially Avatar.
- Secondly, by holding the 3D DVD/Blu-Ray version, Fox were allowed to re-release Avatar in cinemas in the summer, which was shown in 3D. This meant that fans of the movie had the incentive to return to cinemas and see it in 3D without thinking "Oh, I can just see that in the comfort of my home since I have the 3D Blu-Ray version of the film". This meant the film created even more money for the institutions.

 

Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition

- Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 16 2010. Three different versions of the film are present on the discs; the original theatrical cut, the special edition cut, and a collector's extended cut.

- There also also many bonus features, including deleted scenes and featurettes, and documentaries how the film was made and produced. Because the film was made in such a unique way the audience will want to know more about the process behind it, and by offering them this on the 'extended collectors edition' they are more likely to buy it.

Before release, the Extended Collector's Edition recieved many preorders on Amazon, and after just one day of sales, the Blu-Ray version shot up to 5th place in Amazon's 'best selling movie and TV titles' chart, while the DVD version was placed at number 20.