After the 20-minute clip screened at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con was met with lukewarm reception, James Cameron’s “Avatar” was bombarded with almost universal skepticism. Giant blue aliens?  Motion capture CGI?  Heavy-handed environmental message?  It sounded like a recipe for disaster (and still does).  And with a production budget rumored to be in the ballpark of $400 million, many were expecting the biggest flop in history, this writer included.

Apparently Mr. Cameron knows something the rest of us don’t.

His first film since 1997′s record smashing, $1.8 billion-grossing “Titanic,” has become the second-highest-grossing film ever, with a current tally of $1.14 billion worldwide, and rising.

“Avatar” arrived at No. 2 after passing Peter Jackson’s epic J.R.R Tolkien adaptation, “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,” and effectively gives Cameron the top two spots.

The film, which features Sam Worthington (“Terminator Salvation”) as Jake Sully, a paraplegic war veteran who travels to a distant planet called Pandora and becomes involved in the culture of the indigenous inhabitants called the Na’vi, is only the fifth movie ever to top the $1 billion mark.

What’s even more impressive about “Avatar’s” massive success is that it has occurred in only three weeks, putting it on pace to give “Titanic” a legitimate run for its money (pardon the pun).

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