Only 17 days after its premiere, Avatar will place itself among the most successful films in history by becoming only the fifth film ever to make $ 1 billion in worldwide box office sales.
Let’s put this in perspective: it took The Dark Knight 231 days to pass the coveted $1 billion mark back in 2008 and James Cameron’s other blockbuster Titanic, 44 days. Now, barely halfway into its second week, Cameron’s Avatar needs roughly $352.1 million domestically to glide across that finish line.
While Avatar was admittedly never intended to be a box office topper, it is currently doing so in Russia and is actually the best selling Hollywood movie ever in France, India and South Korea!
In this week’s Entertainment Weekly, the magazine tried to uncover the secret of the film’s success, since it had no franchise to build off of like most of its predecessors. According to Box Office Mojo, the fifth most successful film was The Dark Knight, then Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. In fact, the only movie to reach $1 billion outside a franchise was Cameron’s Titanic, the most successful movie of all time.
EW concluded the success lay in the glasses. Not only do some theaters charge up to $18.50 for IMAX tickets, but the buzz created by the new technology could be the cause for sold-out screenings.
Cameron is $800 million away from breaking his own box office record. So what if 75% of Avatar’s total worldwide gross was from the more expensive 3-D or IMAX tickets? Avatar may just become the highest grossing film, ever! If not it will certainly continue to break all kinds of other records, like the best gross ever for a film in its third fourth fifth weekend !
So what do you think? Does Pocahontas errrr I mean Avatar have what it takes to break the reigning champs record? Let us know in the comments below! See you there!







I honestly think Avatar does have a good chance of beating the 1.8 billion dollar mark. I mean look at how much it has grown! The world Cameron created is just absolutely beautiful, and even if the story is similar to what we have seen, the way he presents it is just amazing. It is for this reason that everyone wants to see the movie, they want something new, and fresh. Avatar definitely delivers. I hope it breaks Titanic, and i hope they make a sequel as Cameron said that if this movie makes money he may even have a trilogy planned
I honestly think Avatar does have a good chance of beating the 1.8 billion dollar mark. I mean look at how much it has grown! The world Cameron created is just absolutely beautiful, and even if the story is similar to what we have seen, the way he presents it is just amazing. It is for this reason that everyone wants to see the movie, they want something new, and fresh. Avatar definitely delivers. I hope it breaks Titanic, and i hope they make a sequel as Cameron said that if this movie makes money he may even have a trilogy planned
I hope it dose beat it because avatar is the best movie iv ever seen and seeing it in 3D was just amazing, but whatever happens James camera can be marked as the greatest film maker of all time the top 2 biggest movies ever made are both his.
it will beat titanic, obviously. It's averaging over 70 million a week and everyone is watching it atleast once. Keyword, ONCE! It is a fluke. . .total Tickets sold for movies like Titanic & Star Wars showed people watched them over 9 times! I hope nobody in there right mind would watch Trashatar 9 times! SOrry, no beef, I did like Avatar solely for the fact that it was groundbreaking, something new, pioneering someone else, wait, DARING someone else to do better special effects wise. . .Maybe Steven Speilberg & Michael Bay can come up with something. haha. Anyway, according to History the world is completely screwed by 2100, and the movie took place in 2154 so all that crap about no green on Earth is very possible, but seriously Cameron, everything in this movie is ABSOLUTELY FRESH except for the least most important thing nowadays. . .PLOT/SCRIPT/STORY. Proof, uhm, let's see, oh yeah, Transformers: Revenge Of THe Fallen total box office…$402 MILLION – $834million worldwide. . .worst writing ever, worst dialogue ever, worst story ever…but gosh darn it to heck I LOVED IT. Go BAY! SPielberg & Bay remake “MIDWAY” in 3-D, c'mon, whose with me?? A World WAR II EPIC in 3D, whaaaaaat! Anyway, sorry for the tangent…Avatar will beat Titanic's 600million…Dark Knight was only 70mil away! I blame all the people who downloaded it without ALSO watching it in IMAX or the Theater, just burning it on a DVD-R. . .I guarantee over 1 million people did that and if all of them spent $12.00 on a movie ticket instead, asta la vista Titanic, Dark Knight REIGNS. . .even though BATMAN BEGINS IS FAR SUPERIOR! Yea, I said it.
There are some really pathetic movies like Transformers 2 (I like to call it Crapformers 2) that make a lot of money, but does not equate to great movie making, just ridiculous storyline in nonsensical graphics to please the senses. And then there are those genuinely entertaining movies like Avatar that deserve the billions they earn, because they make most people walk out of the theater thinking “money worth spending” with a big smile on their faces. Watching Avatar was like watching 3 movies combined in outer space…..Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, and Apocalypto, but delivered with stunning perfection that no other director can replicate. It was a good change from Titanic which was a tragic romance, something people felt connected to in the 90’s, and times have changed, so the ending of Avatar had to be a good one and a happy ending. Go Avatar!!!! James Cameron happens to have his birthday the same day as mine….August 16th, so a Leo has to appreciate another Leo.
There are some really pathetic movies like Transformers 2 (I like to call it Crapformers 2) that make a lot of money, but does not equate to great movie making, just ridiculous storyline in nonsensical graphics to please the senses. And then there are those genuinely entertaining movies like Avatar that deserve the billions they earn, because they make most people walk out of the theater thinking “money worth spending” with a big smile on their faces. Watching Avatar was like watching 3 movies combined in outer space…..Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, and Apocalypto, but delivered with stunning perfection that no other director can replicate. It was a good change from Titanic which was a tragic romance, something people felt connected to in the 90’s, and times have changed, so the ending of Avatar had to be a good one and a happy ending. Go Avatar!!!! James Cameron happens to have his birthday the same day as mine….August 16th, so a Leo has to appreciate another Leo.
No Titanic is and will remain No.1
Titanic will fall , 1.4 billion and counting after 5 weeks in the running , with at least 11 weeks to go. That means that Avatar needs to make around 36 million a week worldwide,piece of cake imo. Avatar will topple Titanic's worldwide gross before the 1st of March and the U.S record maybe a week or two later……. I would say Avatar's total worldwide gross will come in around 2.1 billion.
no ur wrong it is #2 on the list and only on its fifth weekend.. it has almost passed titanic and it will because it is averaging over 70 million a week… you know what that means? it will get past the 2 billion mark
Yeah it will forsure. LOL, not just 'beat' (what an under estimate), it will slaughter! Just look at how fast it has taken off, and its been in theatres for only a little over a TENTH of the time titanic was. It may even come close to doubling titanics 1.8 bil. Seriously makes titantic's effort almost seem pathetic…
Yeah it will forsure. LOL, not just 'beat' (what an under estimate), it will slaughter! Just look at how fast it has taken off, and its been in theatres for only a little over a TENTH of the time titanic was. It may even come close to doubling titanics 1.8 bil. Seriously makes titantic's effort almost seem pathetic…
I forsee ~2.4 billion… Also Titanic will fall before the end of January or dang close to it.
pocahontas ? ignorant
You can't compare the Titanic to Avatar in terms of money because ticket prices were lower when Titanic came out.
Loved the movie. Titanic used to be my favorite movie of all time until i saw avatar. go james cameron!!! Avatar put the world in persepective for me and for all of you who think that it shows political views, your just dumb. It doesnt stop thinking and enjoy the movie!!!
Loved the movie. Titanic used to be my favorite movie of all time until i saw avatar. go james cameron!!! Avatar put the world in persepective for me and for all of you who think that it shows political views, your just dumb. It doesnt stop thinking and enjoy the movie!!!
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