"Avatar," directed by James Cameron, tells the story of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a human who is part of an expedition to study the culture of an alien species, the Na'vi. Sully uses a hybrid human-Na'vi body called an avatar to enter the poisonous atmosphere of the alien planet, Pandora. As Jake comes into contact with the Na'vi culture and falls in love with an alien, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), he begins to side with the Na'vi, helping them in their struggle against the humans who seek to exploit their planet's mineral resources.
"District 9," directed by Neill Blomkamp, takes place in a near-future version of Johannesburg, South Africa. Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is a bureaucrat tasked with serving eviction notices to a community of alien refugees located in a ghetto known as District 9. When he becomes infected with an unknown substance, Wikus's body begins to alter, becoming more like an alien's. Hunted by military contractors who want to use his alien DNA for their own purposes, Wikus flees into District 9, where he allies himself with an alien scientist seeking to help his people escape Earth.
Although major themes of the film are similar, the two films explore them in very different ways. Unlike Jake Sully, Wikus van de Merwe begins "District 9" as a highly unlikeable character. It is his transformation into an alien that, ironically, humanizes him. In addition, the settings of the films are different. "Avatar" is set more than a century in the future on a distant planet, while "District 9" is set in the near future on Earth.
"Avatar" was a major Hollywood production, costing more than $200 million to produce. It is the highest-grossing film of all time, having earned more than $2 billion. By contrast, "District 9" had a budget of $30 million and grossed more than $200 million. The two films also differ in style. While "Avatar" is a lavish science-fiction war epic, "District 9" makes use of interviews, handheld camera and other features to mimic the style of a documentary, giving it a sense of everyday realism.