Avatar Tops $1 Billion - Cameron Again 'King of World' - Pandora's Plant Life - Sigourney Interview Video

James Cameron's science-fiction blockbuster "Avatar" takes place in 2154 on the lush moon Pandora. To help make the set believable, Jodie Holt, chairwoman of the department of botany and plant sciences at UC Riverside, was approached to consult on the film's plant life, as well as how a botanist would study such flora.

Holt, a plant physiologist, talked about her involvement in the film and the "Pandorapedia," a detailed catalog of the moon's features, including its many plants.

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Sam Worthington (Jake Sully) Zoe Saldana (Neytiri)

'Avatar' Rules, Tops $1 BILLION Worldwide

AP Posted 01.03.2010

LOS ANGELES — James Cameron's science-fiction epic "Avatar" had another stellar weekend with $68.3 million domestically, shooting past $1 billion worldwide, only the fifth movie ever to hit that mark.

No. 1 for the third-straight weekend, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" raised its domestic total to $352.1 million after just 17 days. The film added $133 million overseas to lift its international haul to $670 million, for a worldwide gross of $1.02 billion.

"Avatar" opened two weekends earlier with $77 million, a strong start but far below dozens of other blockbusters that debuted as high as $158 million. But business for other blockbusters usually tumbles in following weekends, while "Avatar" revenues barely dropped over the busy Christmas and New Year's weekends.

"It's like a runaway freight train. It just keeps doing business," said Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. "Here's what's happening: I think everybody has to see `Avatar' once. Even people who don't normally go to the movies, they've heard about it and are saying, `I have to see it.' Then there's those people seeing it multiple times."

"Avatar" was Cameron's first film since 1997's "Titanic," the biggest modern blockbuster with $1.8 billion worldwide.

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I'm in the 'seen it multiple times' group.

The third time was by necessity as the second was in stomach-turning, barely watchable 3D and I saw little of it as it was meant to be seen. We were about 25 feet from the screen, in maybe row six of the jammed-to-the gills movie theatre. We'd only gotten to the box office twenty minutes before Avatar was to start and didn't think to ask if there were still seats together. There were not. Not more that 2, anyway.

So. We went again to see Avatar on New Year's Day and got there one hour before start time.They were sold out. We opted to stick around and wait for the next show which was in 2 hours. They probably let us in the theater about 40 minutes before the show--and booyah! we were first in line so the seats we picked were exactly were we wanted to be.

So far then I've see Avatar in 2-D with no crowds, in 3-D unable to enjoy in by sitting in the way-wrong place and finally, two nights ago in a very crowded theatre in 3-D--but sans stomach issues so able to really pay attention to it.

Everyone has something to say about Avatar. Though Sigourney Weaver may not super tops on most lists, for me both Weaver and director-writer James Cameron were compelling reasons for wanting to see the film.

I loved Sigourney Weaver in Avatar. I'm beyond thrilled that she's yet again been in a film that will long be remembered as outstanding. Besides her role as Ripley in the Alien film quadrilogy (with 'Aliens' having been directed by James Cameron) she kicked butt in Galaxy Quest--a spoof on sci-fi television. She's 60, she's lovely and compelling, and she's awesome-looking in blue!