Fueling the hype is the fact that "Avatar" is Cameron's first film since "Titanic" in 1997 -- the most successful film of modern times -- and a return to sci-fi for the "Aliens" and "Terminator" series director.
Many cinemas faced a lot of "hassle" from parents whose young children wanted to see 1997's Titanic, which was a 12 - and did not want to repeat the experience, Mr Wilkinson said.
Thanks to the success of the 1997 movie, an unfortunate number of people now think of the sinking of the Titanic primarily as the setting for a romance.