Avatar is now the highest grossing movie of all time, pushing aside Titanic, which previously held the top spot.
Figures from 20th Century Fox indicate that Avatar’s global rakings in six weeks were recorded at $1.859 billion compared to Titanic’s $1.843 billion. Keep in mind though that these figures are as is, and are not adjusted to take into account, factors such as inflation or the more expensive 3D movie tickets.
The fight for top spot however, keeps James Cameron still in top spot, but even better, making him the director of both the world’s top grossing movies.
Starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic established a new box office record when it was released in 1997-1998. The movie also secured an Oscar for Cameron, earning him the title of Best Director.
With inflation taken into account, the biggest movie in North America is ‘Gone with the Wind’, a 1939 production starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. The movie brought in $1.5 billion worth of ticket sales, based on statistics by Box Office Mojo, a tracking firm. If the same inflationary adjustments are made for Avatar, then the movie stands at the 26th spot.
At the Golden Globes in January 2010, Avatar won two awards, and expectations are that it would bring in an Oscar nomination as well. This month, Avatar also won the title of being the fastest movie to earn $1 billion in ticket sales in the world. The movie has also proved to be widely popular across the world, with Avatar proving to be a success in even countries such as China and Russia.
Avatar is also the most expensive film to be produced with a reported budget of approximately $300 million.