‘Avatar’ Breaks ‘Titanic’ Record; Cameron is King of the World…Again

James Cameron is the winner. Who did he beat? Everyone, including himself. “Avatar” is the new worldwide box-office champion.

Distributor 20th Century Fox confirmed that “Avatar” had surpassed “Titanic’s” previous worldwide gross theatrical revenue record of $1.843 billion early Monday with a current total of $1.859 billion, and counting.

Keys to “Avatar’s” success are its massive foreign numbers having raked in 70% of its gross from markets outside of the US and Canada. Even more critical in its victory over Cameron’s own “Titanic” is its employment of new 3D technology as a source of revenue. The latest tallies show that roughly 80% of “Avatar’s” worldwide revenues derive from 3D ticket prices, which are generally a few dollars higher than standard movie ticket prices.

Domestically, however, “Titanic” is still king. “Avatar’s” $555 million domestic earnings are just short of “Titanic’s” 1997 record of $600 million.

Still, it’s up for debate where “Avatar” stands in the history of mega-successful films. Many are calling “Avatar” The Biggest Movie of All-Time thanks to its box-office triumph, but that doesn’t mean it’s the most watched film ever. Factor in inflation and ticket sales and surprisingly, “Avatar” doesn’t even crack the top 25.

Top 20 biggest movies of all-time in ticket sales:

1. “Gone With the Wind” (1939) 202,044,600
2. “Star Wars” (1977) 178,119,600
3. “The Sound of Music” (1965) 142,415,400
4. “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) 141,854,300
5. “The Ten Commandments” (1956) 131,000,000
6. “Titanic” (1997) 128,345,900
7. “Jaws” (1975) 128,078,800
8. “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) 124,135,500
9. “The Exorcist” (1973) 110,568,700
10. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937) 109,000,000
11. “101 Dalmatians” (1961) 99,917,300
12. “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) 98,180,600
13. “Ben-Hur” (1959) 98,000,000
14. “Return of the Jedi” (1983) 94,059,400
15. “The Sting” (1973) 89,142,900
16. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) 88,141,900
17. “Jurassic Park” (1993) 86,205,800
18. “The Graduate” (1967) 85,571,400
19. “Star Wars: Episode I” (1999) 84,825,800
20. “Fantasia” (1941) 83,043,500