'Avatar' DVD Release Planned For Earth Day April 22: Coincidence?

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Avatar Release On Earth Day: Coincidence, Or Marketing At Its Best?

The Oscar-winning movie Avatar is scheduled to be released on DVD on April 22, which co-incidentally is Earth Day. But, is it really co-incidental? After all, Avatar centers on the issues of indigenous culture and tolerance as much as it focuses on the issues of sustainability and the ethical dilemmas that the over-use of planet's resources can bring.

In Avatar, the coveted planet Pandora is a lush and vibrant environment inhabited by the blue people of Na'vi. Meanwhile, humans, long oblivious and disrespectful of their own planet's natural beauty, are on the hunt for more fuel sources to supply their unending desire for progress. So, they conjure up an elaborate scheme to trick the people of Pandora into trusting them, all in an effort to destroy Pandora while mining unobtanium, a valuable mineral worth $20 million a kilogram. But, the indigenous people of Pandora are stubborn and protective of their land. After failed attempts to play nice, humans can't think of anything better than to start bulldozing Pandora and slaughtering Na'vi. Ultimately, nature and mother goddess Eywa come to the rescue of Na'vi, forcing the humans out. How is that for an Earth Day prophecy?

After its release, Avatar was slammed for advocating a message of nature worship and paganism. Vatican leaders criticized Avatar creators for propagating ecology as the new "religion of the millennium." It was alleged that Avatar portrayed "nature" as divinity to worship rather than a creation of God to defend.

But, it seems Avatar producers do not take much heed of their critics. Reuters reports Twentieth Century Fox said on Tuesday that the DVD release date was set for Earth Day because "the film's themes match the day's goal of environmental awareness."

The DVD comes out on the Earth Day, and the nature-conserving message is definitely tied in. The question now is whether jumping on the environmental bandwagon will indeed do the trick to boost DVD sales of Avatar.

And, is the Earth Day release really just a concealed desperate marketing attempt? It may sound strange to use the word "desperate" when speaking of Avatar's financial success, but grossing from DVD sales might become a challenge for Avatar creators and here is why. Millions of people around the world watched the movie in theatres, earning the producers well over $2 billion in box office sales. But, is Avatar a one-time see kind of movie? Will people want to own a DVD copy of the movie after seeing it in 3-D at movie theatres? What is more, Twentieth Century Fox is not releasing the movie on 3-D DVDs until next year, citing a small number of consumers using 3-D televisions in their homes as the reason. But, will the lack of 3-D effects take away from Avatar's appeal? It could. But maybe this is where marketers stop concentrating on playing up special effects, and start pushing up sales based on the themes and what the movie is actually trying to say. Earth Day vibe to the rescue? What is your take?

Meanwhile, here is a list of the midnight store openings, if you do decide to own a copy of Avatar on DVD.