But cant the reverse also happen?
To a certain degree, this is exactly what happened to James CameronsAvatar.
James Cameron was already talking aboutAvatarin interviews back in 1996, before the release ofTitanic.
But dark clouds were forming around Camerons epic drama set aboard the infamously doomed ocean liner.
There was talk of a spiralling budget and an imminent box office disaster.
Cameron, already a respected figure in Hollywood, was now a force to be reckoned with.
The directors success onTitanicgave him the creative latitude to bide his time onAvataras few filmmakers had been allowed before.
For the next few years, Cameron worked in secrecy.
There was talk of state-of-the-art camera systems and groundbreaking motion-capture and CGI, but precious little else.
In the midst of all this anticipation, there were mixed opinions overAvatars chances at the box office.
LikeTitanicover a decade earlier,Avatars huge budget led some to suspect that it would be a costly flop.
As it turned out, it was the latter argument that proved to be correct.
But in the wake ofAvatars phenomenal buzz, the film began to experience something of a backlash.
There was nothing for me to grab onto emotionally in the whole picture.
Other writers and internet commenters chimed in with similar sentiments.
Red Letter Media made a two-partYouTubefilm exploringAvatars weaknesses.
The problem, perhaps, was thatAvatarfell victim to its own pre-release hype.
Its here that the director ofAliensand theTerminatormovies displays his flair for pacing and technique.
Five years on, and the media hoopla surroundingAvatarhas long since died down.
Five years on, and 3D is no longer a novelty.
