Avatar still drawing crowds

• Source: Global Times
• [15:37 March 02 2010]
• Comments

By Zhu Husheng and Duan Wuning

Although the showings of the movie Avatar are coming to an end, advance tickets from March 1 to March 23 have been sold out since February 27.

At 7:45 am on February 27, moviegoers with tickets in hand were seen outside the Peace Cinema, located near People’s Square.

A security guard there said that the audience began arrive at around 5 am.

College student Wu Wei told the Global Times that he has always wanted to watch the IMAX version of Avatar, but couldn’t get a ticket. He hopes to get another shot with the March tickets.

“It depends on the ticket sales in different theatres. If they still sell well, we won’t stipulate the exact time for Avatar to be replaced. Avatar’s China’s box office totaled 1.18 billion yuan ($170 million), second only to the US. So we have no reason to have it replaced,” said an official surnamed Wen from Propaganda Department of the China Film Group Corporation.

“You can see the wait is becoming shorter and shorter. In our cinema, the 3D version has already disappeared and the IMAX version will last till March 23, making way for Alice in Wonderland,” a staff member from the Peace Cinema told the Global Times.

A staff member named Liu Hui from the Beijing Huaxing Movie Theater told the Global Times that her cinema’s 3D version will probably vanish on March 14 and that the IMAX version will give way to the new film, Alice in Wonderland by March 25.

The Peace Cinema currently shows Avatar five times a day, four of which are at the full price of 150 yuan (＄22.06), and one matinee at 80 yuan (＄11.76).

Ticket scalpers can still be seen at the cinema box office, selling 80 yuan (＄11.76) tickets for 100 yuan ($14.71), far cheaper than it was in January. One scalper told the Global Times that as the cinema has plenty of tickets, business has not been easy for him in March.