If you're looking for a way to celebrate/remember Earth Day, Fox has just announced that they will release the mega-hit Avatar on Blu-ray on Thursday, April 22, 2010.

James Cameron's Oscar-winner (it got three!) made history as the biggest cinematic moneymaker, so far taking in $2.6 billion worldwide. They are celebrating that success by getting the Blu-ray right out there, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

As part of the special celebration, Avatar's launch will be pushed to a Thursday release. In case you don't mark your calendar, most new releases usually hit on Tuesdays.  

Another little something we weren't expecting: The release will be pretty bare-bones. According to the Los Angeles Times, the studio wants to save that precious disc space for all of the A/V goodies.

However, a standard-def DVD will be bundled with the Blu-ray.

That also means no 3D version of the movie -- for now. We heard that Fox wants to hold off on a 3D version until it can be viewed in its best possible format, which probably means after a few 3DTVs and 3D-capable Blu-ray players are sold. Cameron and producer Jon Landau are expected to talk up the release at a March 23 press conference. They will also talk about a possible multi-disc douple-dip "ultimate" version, which is expected in November.

For now though, the high-def version should still be a garden of visual delights. We can't wait to see those blues!

Avatar stars Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi and Laz Alonso.

Avatar will be available on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in the U.S. and Canada on Thursday, April 22. International release dates are as follows:

• April 21: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain
• April 22: China, Brazil, Russia, North America
• April 23: Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Mexico
• April 26: UK
• April 27: Denmark
• April 28: Norway, Sweden, New Zealand
• April 29: Australia
• April 30: Finland
• May 6: Italy

Where to Buy:

• Avatar Blu-ray on Amazon