Fox sets Earth Day release of "Avatar" on DVD

Twentieth Century Fox hopes "Avatar" fans will take time off on Earth Day, April 22, to buy the DVD or Blu-ray disc for the blockbuster movie with a pro-environment message.

The studio said on Tuesday it set Earth Day as "Avatar's" home video release date for the U.S. and Canada, because the film's themes match the day's goal of environmental awareness.

"Avatar" has made a record-breaking $2.64 billion so far at worldwide box offices since its Dec. 18 release, with a large bulk of that coming from 3-D showings.

But the "Avatar" home video will be in 2-D, said Fox, a division of News Corp. A 3-D version will likely come out next year, when more consumers are expected to have 3-D televisions in their homes.

"Avatar," which won three Oscars, is about a soldier from an environmentally degraded Earth who is sent to infiltrate a tribe of humanoids aliens living atop a rich mineral deposit on the planet Pandora.

The soldier's mission is to find a way to move the tribe so humans can mine the mineral, but he falls in love with a member of the tall, blue Na'vi and leads a revolt against the human colonizers.

Some U.S. conservatives criticized the film, with columnist John Podhoretz of the Weekly Standard faulting it for displaying "hatred of the military and American institutions."

But the movie, starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, has become a pop culture sensation.

The DVD and Blu-ray disc for "Avatar" will be released in the U.S., Canada and some other countries on April 22. In France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, it will be available on April 21, and in Japan, Germany and Mexico it will hit stores April 23, with other dates varying by country.

Posted in: Tabloid

Reactions: