Avatar crashes in at the BFI IMAX

Demand to see James Cameron’s Avatar when it launches at the BFI IMAX this week has been such that the online booking site crashed; the box office has now gone to 24-hour opening; and over 35,000 tickets have been sold in just four days. The IMAX has now scheduled extra screenings.

Justin Johnson, Head of Operations, BFI IMAX commented: “The demand to see AVATAR at the BFI IMAX is so great that we are keeping the cinema open for 24 hours during the initial four days of the run so that as many people as possible can see the film on Britain’s biggest screen.

“We expect to beat all records with this film and our advance sales figures are already suggesting that we have a Box Office smash on our hands.”

Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of Titanic, first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the technological means to carry out his dream did not yet exist. Avatar transports viewers to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption as he battles to save civilisation. Finally, after four years of production, Avatar – An IMAX 3D Experience opens at the BFI IMAX, in conjunction with the world-wide release of the film, on Thursday, December 16.

Early box office figures will be available on MediaTel’s cinema database next week.