Surely there has never been as much hyperbole surrounding a film as there has been for James Cameron's science fiction epic Avatar. Apart from having the biggest opening weekend for an original film, it has been acclaimed as the movie that will change cinema forever and the best 3-D movie to date.
Amid all the hype and headlines, the story has been all but forgotten. Yes, it might be a well-meaning parable of the wrongs of colonialism, the horrors of war and the destruction of our natural resources, but wow! Check out that explosion! Don't the Na'vi people look realistic? Aren't those helicopters incredible?
Cameron probably won't care that much, but this week his quest to have the story taken seriously was once again hammered into submission by statistics: Avatar has reached the magic $1 billion (Dh3.7bn) in box office takings in record time.
It took just 17 days for the film to join The Dark Knight (2008, $1.001bn), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006, $1.066bn) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003, $1.119bn) in the small list of films to achieve such incredible success.
In fact, at $1.018bn and counting, Avatar has already surpassed The Dark Knight. And, by virtue of still being the must-see film at cinemas around the world, Avatar has a good chance of overtaking Pirates and Lord of the Rings. But it has a long way to go before being the undisputed biggest film of all time. That honour goes to Titanic: the 1997 film took a truly jaw-dropping $1.8bn.
But enough statistics. The director of Titanic was, of course, Cameron. Once again, although he turned the sinking of the ship into a perfectly serviceable love story with classic scenes (who can forget the defining image of Kate Winslet "flying" at the bow of the ship?), people went for the spectacle - the thrill, if you can call it that - of watching Cameron recreate a huge passenger liner sinking desperately into the Atlantic.
Avatar is much the same. It might be a bum-numbing epic (mercifully Avatar is shorter than Titanic, though it's still 162 minutes long), but its sheer escapism is the key to why people will always prefer the cinema to staying at home and waiting for the DVD release.
Avatar really does look the part, in a way that few CGI-heavy, motion capture films have been able to match. One that did succeed was The Lord of the Rings, and it's interesting that Cameron only decided he could tell the Avatar story effectively after Peter Jackson turned Gollum into a fully believable CGI character.
Cynics point to all these films being triumphs of marketing over movie making. But, on the whole, this does them a disservice. The Dark Knight was a successful combination of a hotly anticipated follow-up to a tremendous first instalment in a re-imagined Batman series and the posthumous acclaim given to Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. Of the five films to have achieved such box-office success, this is the darkest and most unlikely. The Lord of the Rings was something of a banker but deserved to be so: it was the final part in what had become a magical trilogy. Titanic was the kind of historical, epic love story that many thought had disappeared from movies forever.
Only Pirates of the Caribbean struggles to make a case for itself in this company. It was a truly shocking film, a theme-park ride masquerading as a movie so confused the characters kept having to explain to each other what was happening. And while Titanic and The Lord of the Rings won Best Picture Oscars and Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for The Dark Knight, Pirates got a few minor technical awards. Just about says it all, doesn't it?
Happily, Avatar delivers on the hype despite essentially being a Dances With Wolves set in 2154. And although it's not the greatest story ever told, Cameron knows what makes box office gold, and he knows how to persuade studios to finance it. Let's not forget: it might be the fourth-highest grossing film of all time, but it was also the fourth most expensive film of all time to make. So perhaps Cameron won't be cursing the emphasis on the technological bombast of Avatar after all. He'll probably be breathing a sigh of relief that, after $250 million was spent to make it, Avatar wasn't a Waterworld-style flop.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Scoreline
Bournemouth 2
Wilson 70', Ibe 74'
Arsenal 1
Bellerin 52'
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
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Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
RECORD%20BREAKER
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Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”