LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The groundbreaking sci-fi movie “Avatar,” Michael Jackson’s death and Hollywood’s $10 billion-plus box office record rank among the 2009 “moments of significance” recognized by the American Film Institute.

The advent of Twitter as a promotional force in television and movie marketing, NBC’s cost-cutting TV experiment with “The Jay Leno Show,” and what the AFI called a loss of boundaries for reality TV also were included in the institute’s list of 2009 top media trends, accomplishments and influences.

The AFI called the 3-D extravaganza “Avatar” — released two weeks ago to critical acclaim and robust ticket sales — director James Cameron’s “milepost in the evolution” of filmmaking. It said the movie’s mix of storytelling and the technology behind its spell-binding visual flourishes “will have profound effects on the future of the (film) art form.”

Michael Jackson’s sudden death in June at age 50 was notable for the worldwide outpouring of grief and the “unprecedented global eulogy” of his posthumous concert rehearsal movie “This is It,” the institute said.

Movie musicals and comedies in particular proved a refuge for Americans at a time of economic distress, the AFI said. North American ticket sales for 2009 crossed the annual $10 billion mark for the first time last week. Read more from Yahoo