Whether he walks away with any or all of the nine Oscars that Avatar is nominated for -- or is eclipsed by his ex-wife -- James Cameron may still go home the hero of this year's awards. His 3D sci-fi epic has been a boon for the box office this year and could do the same for Oscar ratings tomorrow night, Hollywood watchers are saying.
Avatar, which has now raked in more than $2.5bn in ticket sales worldwide, is a contender for several honors, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director awards. The presence of the computer-generated blockbuster, which is Hollywood's most successful movie ever, could be just what the Oscars need.
The last time audience figures for the Oscars registered a big boost was in 1998, when another Cameron blockbuster, Titanic, won an unprecedented 11 awards, including Best Picture.A record 55.2m people in the United States watched the story of the ill-fated Belfast-built liner which sank to the floor of the Atlantic nearly a century ago.
By comparison, last year's show attracted just 36.3m American viewers.The slump over the last decade is correlated, to an extent, to the kinds of movies that have been nominated, says film critic Emanuel Levy, author of All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards.
"If people know the movies up for awards, they tend to tune in to the show in bigger numbers," he said."Avatar is the most popular movie in history so there's the chance people will be more interested in the show. People know about the movie and have a vested interest."
Avatar's main rival is of course The Hurt Locker -- made by former Mrs Cameron Kathryn Bigelow who is aiming to become the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar.Like Avatar, it has nine Academy Award nominations.
After British film Slumdog Millionaire cleaned up at last year's Oscars, homegrown talent is again dominating the nominees list with Dame Helen Mirren, Colin Firth and newcomer Carey Mulligan all in the running for the most sought-after awards.
Oscars veteran Dame Helen (64) is up for Best Actress for the second time for her role as Leo Tolstoy's wife in the historical drama The Last Station. She last graced the Kodak Theatre's podium in 2006 for her lead role in The Queen.But she will face stiff competition from An Education star Carey who theatre critics have likened to Audrey Hepburn, as well as newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.
Movie heartthrob Colin is nominated for Best Actor for his role in A Single Man, in which he plays a gay university professor.CAPTION: An Oscar background: Avatar director James Cameron is hoping to dominate tomorrow night's awards.