“Avatar: The Way of Water” surpasses “Titanic” as the third highest grossing film ever

The blockbuster epic “Titanic” by James Cameron has lost its position as the third highest grossing film in history to another blockbuster epic by James Cameron, “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

The sci-fi sequel has grossed $2.2433 billion worldwide, surpassing “Titanic”‘s $2.2428 billion worldwide gross. On the all-time charts, “The Way of Water” is now behind only “Avatar” ($2.92 billion) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.7 billion). The first, third, and fourth biggest movies ever have all been directed by Cameron, the only filmmaker with three films that have grossed at least $2 billion.

According to Shawn Robbins, the chief analyst at BoxOfficePro, “James Cameron just continues to chase himself on the box office charts. He clearly knows how to engage a modern audience.”

The success of the sequel to “Avatar” can be attributed, like that of the original, to its appeal across generations and the incentive to watch it in premium and 3D formats. The movie has grossed more than $250 million on Imax screens. That is more money than many movies ever manage to make during their entire run in theaters.

With $657 million to date, “The Way of Water” is the ninth highest-grossing film ever in North America. It will need to defeat “Titanic,” which currently sits at No. 1, in order to rise higher on the all-time domestic charts. 8 with $659 million) and “Avengers: Infinity War” 7, totaling $678 million).

With $1.585 billion, “Avatar 2” recently surpassed “Titanic” as the third highest grossing international release ever. In terms of overseas ticket sales, it is only behind 2009’s “Avatar” ($2.1 billion) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($1.9 billion). China ($242 million), France ($144 million), Germany ($135 million), and Korea ($106 million) are notable markets. More than 20 nations, including France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, UAE, Cambodia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Colombia, and Puerto Rico, all ranked it as the highest-grossing film of all time.

One of the most expensive films ever made, “The Way of Water” was produced and promoted for approximately $460 million by Disney and 20th Century Fox. The long-awaited sequel opened in theaters in December and has topped the box office charts for ten weeks in a row. The supernatural family drama stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaa. The third installment is scheduled to debut in December 2024, and fourth and fifth installments are planned for subsequent years.