"Avatar" Hits 1.6 Billion

James Cameron's Avatar has now earned $1.6 Billion. In an unprecedented display of strength, Avatar led the worldwide box office for a fifth consecutive weekend, fast catching up on all-time champ Titanic, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday (1/17/10). Cameron's sci-fi epic has now earned $1.6 Billion, just $237 Million short of the $1.8 Billion record set by the filmmaker's Titanic in 1998. "Titanic was a ship. Avatar's a rocket ship," said Chris Aronson, Fox's senior vice-president of domestic distribution. The North American contribution stands at $491.8 Million (the third-highest tally of all time) thanks to a $41.3 Million weekend. Fox, a unit of News Corp, expects it to hit $500 Million on Monday, when business will get a boost from the U.S. Martin Luther King holiday. That will mark the Avatar's 32nd day of release. By contrast, Titanic took 98 days to reach that tally on its way to a record $601 Million. Keep in mind, Avatar sales are inflated by higher ticket prices in general and premium pricing for 3-D screenings. Avatar is enjoying strong holds every weekend. In the current period, it was off just 18%. Titanic was the last movie to lead the box office for five consecutive weekends, although Avatar might struggle to reach its record of 15 unbroken weekends. The foreign total stands at $1.1 Billion after a $125 Million weekend. Avatar trails the Titanic overseas haul of $1.2 Billion by just $127 Million. Avatar, the tale of a disabled ex-Marine sent from Earth to infiltrate a race of 10-foot (3-meter) blue aliens and persuade them to let his employer mine their homeland for natural resources, is reportedly the most expensive film ever made, with a budget of at least $300 million.



For all those who didn't believe that Avatar could surpass Titanic's $1.8 Billion first place trophy spot, think again. For all those who believed in Avatar's inevitable domination (includes myself), thank you for helping that becom a reality. All we can do now is wait for Avatar to dethrone Titanic, something that even James Cameron himself has said will happen.