Sandra Bullock, Redbox, and 'Avatar': signs of change in the movie business

By Sarah Sluis

A quick scan of today's top stories shows records falling, new material, genres and stars bringing in big dollars at the box office, and the rental business changing--all signs of an exciting, change-filled year ahead.

First off, Sandra Bullock became the first sole female headliner to bring a movie to $200 million domestically with The Blind Side. A couple caveats: "Sole headliner" is kind of an arbitrary distinction. In fact, it mattered little to me that both what's-their-names Nia Vardalos and John Corbett both received credit on My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And add in inflation, and Pretty Woman's $178.4 million gross twenty years ago doesn't look so shabby (though perhaps Richard Gere had something to do with it). So while I appreciate the record, it's not like a female has never brought a film to $200 million before, it's just that they had some prominent supporting actors or co-stars that also received billing. Now that I've said my piece, congratulations to Sandra Bullock! There's a reason your goofy films like Miss Congeniality always merit watching when they come up on cable, and why you're a part of so many people's DVD collections.

Next up, Redbox, which added $1 billion to the rental market. DVD sales are down a lot, Blockbuster is down a little, but Redbox and Netflix have come in with two models that make renting a movie easy and economical. Even illegal downloaders pay for the convenience of these products. As a Manhattanite, I've never seen a Redbox (though I've heard of sightings of them in Brooklyn), but rest assured, if I were driving to strip malls, I'd be using them for their convenience and pricing structure. I also love that while Netflix is working the market of "deep cuts," using a robust recommendation system to get people to discover unlikely movies, Redbox has been working only on the small percentage of new releases with hyperawareness. Who ever thought that rental markets could be divided in this way? It's pretty clever.

Finally, Avatar, which I'm sure I will be talking about on this blog for months to come. It's the first adult broad-appeal 3D movie of the era, and it's breaking records left and right. A few weeks into its run, my mother just got around to telling me she plans to see it. With this kind of slow build of awareness through the grapevine, this movie will be playing in theatres for months to come. What does James Cameron have up his sleeve that will give him the #1 and #2 movie of all time? In fact, it's that neglected Hollywood demographic: women. Both of these two films have paired action and romance against a background of special-effects and spectacle, making it a must-see for both men and women. Avatar doesn't have as much of a love story as Titanic, so it probably won't do as well. It's worth noting that Cameron'sTerminator films and Aliens also have some of the most memorable female action heroes of all time, minus the love stories that figure into Avatar and Titanic, so that just might be the difference.