‘Avatar’ Nearing Ridiculous $500M In Budget

James Cameron’ soon to be released epic “Avatar” is one of the most expensive films to date with an estimated cost of $500 million dollars. Now the question remains, can 20th Century Fox recoup the cost?

According to a NY Times report, however, the movie carries “little financial risk for Fox’s parent company, the News Corporation, even if it disappoints.” The lack of risk is attributed to assistance on outside investors and help from a network of allied companies and in-house business units.

The report continues on by saying that various partners in “Avatar” would see profit from the film generated from both box office numbers and then home video as well as other media around the world. It’s believed that should the film hit $250 million “Fox and its allies would appear to be headed into the black.”

Other reasons include a report that if final production cost exceed $300 million, Cameron would defer much of his payout until the studio and other partners were compensated. So if “Avatar” somehow ends up becoming a box office disaster, Cameron may not even be paid for a project that he’s devoted more than 15 years of labor to.

With an estimated $150 million worldwide marketing plan, it’s perhaps also one of the biggest to date. But other partners have jumped in to help such as IMAX when it stepped up to host “Avatar Day” this past summer by previewing a 15 minute clip of the film.

Haven’t seen the trailer for the $500 million dollar film? You can watch it here.

Source: NYT