Avatar?

Eh, I considered Avatar, but I didn't think I couldn't really warrant its inclusion. All of the other choices were huge events with incredible anticipation and burst sales. Avatar was a slow burner that got by on a lot of other tricks. I was the only person I knew looking forward to it, really.

Edit: I guess the way I worded the thread means it should be included, though.

I feel like I don't relate to your description of the phenomenon at all. It exploded out the gate considering December doesn't usually see massive openings, and it had grossed over $1B worldwide in a matter of 17 days.

Stuff like LOTR, HP, and SW traded on large fanbases, but an event like Avatar (which was really the first of its kind since... Titanic) transcends all that and become part of the cultural currency, at least for that moment in time.

I don't really like the movie, though.

2001, Britney Spears Releases Oops!... I Did It Again with an opening week of 1.7 million units sold outright.

2003, Britney Spears and Madonna kiss. Christina Aguilera's career starts to go downhill.

2007, Britney Spears shaves her head. People question God's work ethic.

2008, Britney Spears releases Womanizer. God proves that he still has everything under control.

2011, Britney successfully integrates dubstep into mainstream music. Rest of pop music to follow in 2012.

I guess what I had in mind when I created the poll was the single-day magnitude of an event, not its entire run, which is further complicated by the fact that the two sporting events happened over a span of time. That's why I included the dates though.

I see what you're going for now.

Sorry but Harry Potter and Born This way should not be in the same poll

Usain Bolt >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Michael Phelps

You didn't get it.

Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the single release is perfectly deserving of being included.

http://www.google.com/trends?q=born+...ate=all&sort=0

It's a perfect example of why it is included with a lot of these high-profile releases and why I didn't include any recent moments from other artists. Name for me something that has been as anticipated musically as Born This Way recently. Nothing. I would have included some old boy bands + Britney if I was going to pull back from 2001, but that feels ancient. I didn't really want to include LOTR either since it was so old, but I decided to because it fit with the Star Wars a bit.

As far as the interest generated, the release of the final Harry Potter book obviously dwarfed most of the choices here, but I tried to include at least one from music to go with the movies + book. I meant to include the Modern Warfare 2 release, too.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

and Britney Spears Sing Gimme More in the MTV Music Awards

Sad Moment:

September 11th