10 Movies turning 10 in 2019
By Sandy C.
#7 Zombieland
Premiere date: September 25, 2009
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Synopsis: Zombieland is a post-apocalyptic zombie movie that follows a small group of survivors navigating through what’s left of the world after a zombie apocalypse. Their mission is to find a sanctuary they heard is free of zombies.
Culture impact today: When the film was released, it quickly had a cult following. It’s features great comedy and even better characters. During a time when zombies were all the rage, Zombieland managed to feel like a fresh addition to the growing genre. It’s surprising that a sequel wasn’t promptly announced. It took ten years of fans being persistent for production to reveal a sequel, titled simply Zombieland 2, would be happening. So far, most of the original cast is set to return. The movie premieres October 11, 2019.
Zombieland had a small reported budget of $23.6 million. Worldwide, the movie accumulated $102.3 million. For a film with an R rating and small budget, this is a great result. The sequel will surely collect more now.
Some of the movie’s award nominations include Best Supporting Actor (Woody Harrelson), Best Comedy Movie by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Ensemble, Best Horror, and Best Comedy of the Year.
#6 Avatar
Premiere date: December 18, 2009
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver
Synopsis: Avatar is a sci-fi film by James Cameron set in the mid-22nd century. In search of a special mineral, humans begin to colonize Pandora, threatening the existence of a local tribe of Na’vi, a humanoid species.
Culture impact today: A lot of work, and patience, was put into the movie. Cameron intended to release the movie in 1999, but the technology he desired to feature was not available. It was a film ahead of its time. Instead, Cameron decided to wait so that his vision of the movie was realized. Patience and hard work paid off. The total budget for the movie was $237 million, and became one of the highest grossing movies of all-time with a $2.7 billion worldwide total. Currently, still today, Avatar has the highest worldwide gross ever.
It helps that the movie was released in every platform available, from 3D to IMAX 3D formats, it also screened worldwide.
Four sequels are planned and lined up to premiere, beginning December 18, 2020, with Avatar 5 slated for December 19, 2025. But after ten years, will it still be received as well as the original did? Are four sequels a bit too ambitious?