AVATAR (prog) ROCKS

An almighty row has broken out after artist, Roger Dean,the man responsible for many classic prog rock album covers, noticed similarities between the worlds of Avatar and his famous paintings.

AVATAR BLASTS STAR WARS

The Chicago Tribune carries the report than James Cameron's Avatar has now taken more than Star Wars in domestic ticket sales - "Avatar's" domestic total stands at $491.8 million after taking in another $41.3 million over the weekend, The Associated Press reports.

"Star Wars" made $460.9 million domestically in its original run and several reissues. Factoring in today's higher admission prices, "Star Wars" is ahead on tickets sold.

"Titanic" made $600 million; "The Dark Knight," $533.3 million.

AVATAR ACCUSED OF ANTI CAPITALIST POLITICAL BRAINWASHING

"I call it the 'liberal tell,' where the early and obvious politics of the film gives away the entire story before the second act begins, and 'Avatar' might be the sorriest example of this yet," wrote conservative movie critic John Nolte.

Filmmaker Cameron does little to hide the political nuances in his $230 million hit, which has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide and is on its way to becoming one of the top 10 highest domestic grossing movies of all time.

From its portrayal of the corporation that wants to take over the natural resources on the planet Pandora -- a not-so-subtle allusion to the likes of Halliburton and defense contractor Blackwater -- to distinct religious, anti-war and pro-environment themes, the film's political messaging has rubbed many conservatives the wrong way.

"I wasn't infuriated by 'Avatar.' I was infuriated by the way it framed the culture-war debate... as if there are no secular people on the right," Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large of the National Review, told ABC News.

"Like the holiday season itself, the science fiction epic is a crass embodiment of capitalistic excess wrapped around a deeply felt religious message," Conservative writer and blogger Ross Douthat wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times. "'Avatar' is Cameron's long apologia for pantheism -- a faith that equates God with Nature, and calls humanity into religious communion with the natural world."

AVATAR - THAT OPENING WEEKEND

Spending £300 million to make a motion picture given the state of the world at the moment may seem obscene and perhaps, in many ways it is, but early reports of James Cameron's Avatar is that it will change the face of cinema. So maybe the mega bucks were well spent.

However given its massive cost there is much debate over how successful its opening weekend stateside actually was.

This from WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REVIEW - The much anticipated and debated (amongst film nerds at least) Avatar debuted this weekend with $73 million. That's the second-biggest December opening in history, behind the $77 million debut of Will Smith's I Am Legend. In Avatar's defense, I Am Legend was an hour shorter, had a great tag-line that doubled as an easy-to-understand plot synopsis ("The last man on earth is not alone."), and had the added buzz of the debuting trailers for The Dark Knight. While Warner Bros. held its non-IMAX Dark Knight trailer off the internet until Sunday night, Paramount did Fox no similar favors, releasing its Iron Man 2 teaser online two days before Avatar's opening day. It's also worth noting that Avatar actually opened on fewer screens than many of the top December openings. On the other hand, Avatar debuted in countless 3D and mini-IMAX screens, which increased the general ticket prices to more than overcome the running-time and screen-count disadvantage. But Avatar did break one very notable record. It is the biggest debut in history for a completely unaffiliated original movie. By that, I mean it was not a sequel, not a franchise adaptation, not a literary adaptation, and not a star-vehicle. It's also racked up $159 million overseas, for a global total of $232 million.