ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author contextualizes the extraordinary success of James Cameron's movie Avatar by relating it to dominant global box office trends, with a particular emphasis on the prominence of fantasy and science-fiction films, and of what he has elsewhere labeled "family-adventure movies. In doing so, the author draws three themes as well as older writing on fantasy film: the relationship between fantasy and science-fiction; the close association of fantasy with childhood experiences and familial relations; and claims that in recent years fantasy has become more popular than ever before in the cinema. The tagline on some of the posters for the original theatrical release of James Cameron's movie Avatar read "Enter the World," which can be understood as an invitation, a promise or even a command. The word "world" references both the globe the landscape is located on, and the diegesis the story world of the generic tale to be told by the film.
