Culture
Action adventure film
Avatar (2009): Cast, Ratings, Box Office & Plot
Avatar is a 2009 action adventure film directed by James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez. It runs 2 hours 42 minutes and earned $2.92 billion worldwide on a $237 million budget. It won 3 Oscars, including Art Direction and Cinematography, and 18 awards in all. Critics gave it 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and 83 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 7.9/10.
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- Released
- Runtime
- 2h 42m (162 min)
- Director
- James Cameron
- Original language
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English - Budget
- $237M
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
The story
What Is Avatar About?
The premise of Avatar without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
On a distant planet, Pandora, a paraplegic Marine, Jake Sully, is given a second chance at life through an avatar, a genetically engineered body allowing him to walk again. Recruited for a mission to connect with the indigenous Na'vi people, he becomes immersed in their culture and forms a deep bond with Neytiri, a skilled and courageous warrior. As he experiences their world, Jake questions his orders and finds himself torn between two worlds.
Avatar Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- paraplegic
- forest protection
- spiritualism
- marine
- future
- ecology
- indigenous rights
- avatar
- battle
- native
- interspecies romance
- 3 dimensional
+38 more Show fewer
- alien
- environment
- environmental preservation
- environmentalism
- social commentary
- rainforest
- motion capture
- male alien
- epic battle
- strong female lead
- greed
- savior
- supernatural power
- death of brother
- scientist
- one word title
- title spoken by character
- space western
- original story
- archery
- villain not really dead cliche
- racism
- sociopath
- planetary romance
- female archer
- aircraft pilot
- projectile weapon
- pilot
- aircraft
- year 2154
- white savior
- final showdown
- final battle
- rotorcraft
- woman in jeopardy
- billion dollar club
- happy ending
- female aircraft pilot
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Cast & crew
Avatar Cast
Sam Worthington leads the cast, with Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez. Directed by James Cameron.
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Director James Cameron
From the director
More from James Cameron
More films directed by James Cameron, best-rated first: Aliens, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Ratings
Avatar Reviews & Ratings
Critics gave Avatar 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and 83 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 7.9/10.
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IMDb 7.9 /10
See on IMDb -
Rotten Tomatoes 81% Tomatometer
Popcornmeter 82%
See on Rotten Tomatoes -
Metacritic 83 Metascore
User score 7.3
See on Metacritic -
TMDB 76% User score
See on TMDB
Plot
Avatar Plot Summary
What happens in Avatar from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 15 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
In the year 2154, the Earth has reached a critical point due to the overexploitation of its natural resources, leading to a grave energy crisis. The Resources Development Administration (RDA) is actively mining a precious mineral known as Unobtanium on Pandora, a lush, forested moon that orbits the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri star system. However, Pandora’s atmosphere is toxic to humans, and it is inhabited by the Na’Vi—a majestic species of blue-skinned, sapient humanoids standing around 10 feet tall who live in close connection with nature and worship a goddess named Eywa. Traveling from Earth to Pandora takes a staggering six years due to the use of cryogenic sleep.
Full summary
The whole story of Avatar, scene by scene
Box office
Avatar Box Office & Budget
Avatar grossed $2.92 billion worldwide on a $237 million budget, 12 times what it cost. $785.2 million came from the US and Canada and $2.14 billion (73%) from the rest of the world.
Worldwide gross
$2.9B
12× its budget
- US & Canada
- $785.2M
- International
- $2.1B
- Budget
- $237M
US & Canada 27%
Rest of the world 73%
Awards
Avatar Awards & Nominations
Avatar won 3 Oscars, including Art Direction and Cinematography, and 18 awards in all. Its biggest night was the Critics' Choice 2010, with 6 wins from 9 nominations.
18 wins34 nominations7 ceremonies
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Critics' Choice 2010 6 wins · 9 nominations- Won Best Action Movie
- Won Best Art Direction
- Won Best Cinematography
- Won Best Editing
- Won Best Sound
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Saturn Awards 2010 5 wins · 5 nominations- Won Best Actress
- Won Best Director
- Won Best Supporting Actor
- Won Best Supporting Actress
- Won Best Writing – James Cameron
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Oscars 2010 3 wins · 6 nominations- Won Art Direction
- Won Cinematography
- Won Visual Effects
- Nominated Best Picture
- Nominated Directing – James Cameron
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BAFTA 2010 2 wins · 8 nominations- Won Best Production Design
- Won Best Special Visual Effects
- Nominated Best Cinematography
- Nominated Best Direction – James Cameron
- Nominated Best Editing
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Golden Globes 2010 2 wins · 4 nominations- Won Best Director – James Cameron
- Won Best Motion Picture – Drama
- Nominated Best Original Score
- Nominated Best Original Song
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Artios Awards 2010 1 nomination- Nominated Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Big Budget Feature - Drama
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DGA Awards 2010 1 nomination- Nominated Feature Film – James Cameron
Videos
Avatar Trailers & Videos
24 videos: 2 trailers, 7 teasers and 15 featurettes.
- Trailer Back in Theatres
- Teaser Stream on Disney+
- Teaser Neytiri
- Teaser Back in Theaters | Tickets on Sale
Quiz
How Well Do You Know Avatar?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
What injury confines Jake Sully to a wheelchair?
Seen Avatar?
More like this
Movies Like Avatar
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: Fire and Ash and Battle for Pandora.
From the blog
Articles About Avatar
32 articles about Avatar. The latest: “The Impact of Global Cinema on Hollywood Trends”.
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FAQ
Avatar FAQ: Cast, Box Office & Awards
Runtime, release date, director, cast, box office, ratings, awards and post-credit scenes of Avatar, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Avatar?
Avatar runs 2 hours 42 minutes (162 minutes).
When was Avatar released?
Avatar was released on December 18, 2009.
Who directed Avatar?
Avatar was directed by James Cameron.
More films by James Cameron Who is in the cast of Avatar?
Avatar stars Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez.
How much did Avatar make at the box office?
Avatar grossed $2.92 billion worldwide ($785.2 million domestic, $2.14 billion international) on a budget of $237 million.
How is Avatar rated?
Avatar has 7.9/10 on IMDb, 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, 83 on Metacritic and 76% on TMDB.
What awards did Avatar win?
Avatar won 18 awards from 34 nominations, including Best Action Movie at the Critics' Choice 2010.
Does Avatar have a post-credit scene?
No. Avatar has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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