OSCAR FEVER GRIPS FILM INDUSTRY
It comes as no surprise that 3D sensation Avatar has received
nods in nine Academy Award categories including Best Picture,
pitting it against movies including The Hurt Locker, An Education
and Up In The Air.
Fantastic Mr. Fox and Up are among those nominated for Best
Animated Feature Film, while British nominees include Colin
Firth, Dame Helen Mirren and Carey Mulligan.
Meanwhile, the British film industry eagerly awaits the Bafta
awards ceremony on 21 February. With Best Film awards seen
as an indication for the outcome of the Oscars, this year
the Best Short Film category includes a nomination for Virgin
Media Shorts Award winner Luke Snellin. It is the first time
a winner of the undiscovered film talent competition, promoted
only in cinema, has received such a high-profile award nomination.
AVATAR TOPS BOX OFFICE FOR 7TH
WEEK
This week has seen another star performance from the fantasy
spectacular. It has extended its run for at least another
six weeks following its phenomenal success, and has now taken
a total of £65m in the UK. Audience figures fell only
6% from the previous weekend.
Avatar is also on track to usurp Mamma Mia! as the highest-grossing
UK film of all time by next week. Its takings are expected
to reach £70m, overtaking the musical film’s 69.2m
in 2008.
Globally, it has finally broken the $2bn mark.
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PRECIOUS MAKES STRONG
DEBUT
New opener and Oscar contender Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push'
by Sapphire had a solid opening at the weekend, grossing £260,921
despite its limited release in just 47 sites.
Distributor Icon is planning a word-of-mouth
campaign to build momentum toward the Oscars next month.
The film has been nominated in the
directing category and Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title character
in the movie, has a nomination for Actress in a Leading Role.
INTERESTING FILM FACTS
This year the Academy Awards Best Picture category has been expanded
to include 10 nominations, a reflection both of the Oscars’
desire to appeal to a wider audience and also the vast number
of new releases.
About 550 films will be released in the UK in 2010 – nearly
11 a week, of which about 30 will now be delivered in 3D.
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