Fox: 'Avatar' is costliest film we've ever made

SHOOT: I'm seeing it this Friday at a press screening. Can't wait.

clipped from www.cnn.com London, England (CNN) -- Hundreds of millions of dollars is a lot to spend on a film featuring a bunch of blue aliens -- but that's exactly what Fox Features has done with new 3D sci-fi "Avatar," which the movie studio says is the most expensive production it has ever made. "It is the most expensive film we've made, but now, having the luxury of hindsight, it is money well spent, so I'm not concerned about it," Gianopulos told CNN at the Thessaloniki film festival in Greece. But then Fox has been here before with Cameron. "Titanic" (1997), his previous feature, cost a record-breaking estimated $200 million at the time. It was an investment that paid off -- "Titanic" bagged more than $1.8 billion worldwide as well as a clutch of movie awards including a best director Oscar for Cameron himself "As Jim says, we experience the world in 3D, why should we experience film any different?" In the meantime, Fox should know in a few months if the hundreds of millions invested in "Avatar" was worth it.