James Cameron really is King of the World; the 55-year old director is now the proud papa of the top two highest-grossing movies ever. Twentieth Century Fox announced today that Avatar has crossed Titanic’s worldwide box office gross of $1.843 billion on Monday and now holds the global box office record of $1.859 billion. Most of the credit for the film’s success has to be given to its phenomenal performance in 3-D, which accounts for 80% of the film’s domestic box-office gross. Avatar still needs another $45 million to cross Titanic’s domestic gross of $600 million, a feat that will be achieved in the next two weeks. It’s rather amazing that Titanic held its record for so long considering ticket prices have obviously risen since the film debuted in 1997 and grosses are not adjusted for inflation. Don’t expect Avatar to drop off anytime soon. With the film falling only 20% every weekend, its likely to remain in theaters for many weeks to come.
Jan 26
2010
06:44 PM ET
Box office special report: 'Avatar' beats 'Titanic' as worldwide box office leader
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Congrats James Cameron!! I wish I were you.
Bravo Mr. C. LOVE AVATAR. Love it. Saw it again the other day (my 2nd time) and enjoyed it even more because I knew the story so I could really appreciate more of the eye-popping visuals. I know Sam, Zoe and Sigourney haven’t really received kudos for their acting, but they should. They rocked in the film. I felt all their moods through the CGI. They were just wonderful. I hope Sigourney comes back in the next film as a Spirit or Goddess. That would be cool. Congrats again, and thanks for making AVATAR.
And I thought the Twilight fans were bad.
I couldn’t agree more!
That was directed toward Kat’s comment btw.
T I T A N I C – 287 days in domestic theaters.
Domestic: $600,788,188 32.6%
+ Foreign: $1,242,413,080 67.4%
= Worldwide: $1,843,201,268
A V A T A R – 39 days in domestic theaters.
Domestic: $554,981,691 29.9%
+ Foreign: $1,303,580,507 70.1%
= Worldwide: $1,858,562,198
Avatar is probably going to be in theaters for another 2 months.
$2.3 – $2.4 Billion seems like a likely final number for Avatar.
to JJ
That’s very impressive but if adjusted for inflation Titanic would still be beating Avatar although GWTW would still be #1.
Also $$ made does not equal bums on seats as the 3D and Imax tickets are a lot more expensive and, as noted above, 80% of Avatar’s box office is for the higher 3D tickets.
LAJackie-
1. More tickets sold or more money in the bank? I’ll take the money.
2. Inflation is a technically. I’ll take the $1,858,562,198.
I don’t know why everyone has such issue with the fact that the money has been made off of the more expensie 3-D IMAX tickets, I say so what? Doesn’t really matter if it’s making money. The real question is comparing gross sales to the money spent to make it in the first place….revenue-cost=profit. I say it’s pretty amazing that people want to spend more to see it in the IMAX (I sure did) and that is a definite feat in its own. Worth every penny to see in the IMAX…might do it twice just for the visuals alone. And, Titanic was awesome but it took almost a year to get those figures so I would say that with inflation Avatar will beat it either way.
actually, tickets sold is a very important issue.
this movie has sold half as many tickets at a jacked up prices compared to any other film at the top of worldwide or domestic gross lists. and i’m not saying Avatar is a bad movie, i’m saying that when you sell half as many tickets for a higher price, can you really call yourself champion?
as others have pointed out before, when it comes to ACTUAL tickets sold, Avatar isn’t even in the top 10. that is an important distinction that should not be overlooked.
tickets sold: Avatar has only been out 39 days. Titanic was out 287 days. Give Avatar time.
What I will never understand is why movie studios seem to think people care what movie made more money, it does not make the movie any more enjoyable. If I am not getting a cut or related to someone who made or was in the movie, who cares?
And I don’t get a cut of my favorite sports team’s salaries, nor am I related to any of the athletes. Does that mean that I shouldn’t care how well they do? What an asinine comment.
Some people like following the BO of movies that they enjoyed and like seeing movies that they enjoyed do well. I saw Avatar on opening day and loved it; at that point, it could easily have been a bomb (didn’t EW call trash its “weak” opening weekend?), but I liked it anyway and wanted it to do well.
I don’t understand why some people get so offended when other people like following BO reports.
Well Stephanie, to follow your train of thought….Why read EW which is mainly a weekly update on all thats popular in pop culture and the world of entertainment? Are you “getting a cut” from any of the stories they report from other media input? I DO enjoy reading Box Office reports. The fact that BO $$$ does not make a movie more enjoyable does NOT negate the enjoyment of reading such things…..
Lame argument. Someone tried that before. A sports team represents your city and the income helps surrounding neighborhoods.
I think it’s a fair argument. Most of the sports teams I like/follow aren’t anywhere near my city, so they don’t represent me geographically. What’s dumber: Following the BO success of a movie you love, or following a team just because of the name on their jersey?
Dumber? Following the Box Office. If Titanic only made 15 million, would you like it any less?
Yep, I would like Titanic if it had only made $15 million. I saw Avatar on opening weekend and loved it, and this was before its opening weekend numbers came in at all.
Some people just like seeing movies they enjoyed do well at the box office. That doesn’t necessarily mean they like them BECAUSE they do well. Plenty of movies I love (like The Hurt Locker) made hardly any money. But I like following BO because I like statistics in general, it’s fascinating. I don’t expect you to feel the same. And I don’t know why you have such a problem with people rooting for movies they enjoy to do well. You say no one’s life is affected when movie records go down. So how is your life affected by other people following the box office of movies they like? Why does that bother you so much?
How many sports fans do you think are actually concerned about the team supporting the income of the city? They are passionate about the team and the game. My Boyfriend has never been to los angeles but he has been a lakers fan for years cos he likes the team. People who care about the box office want to see their favorite movies do well because they are passionate about it and the industry. Who are you to dictate what people can be interested in. It’s a free country.
New article, same lame debates.
Glad for Avatar’s success (Cameron has bills to pay, yo!) and the excitement it has added to a pretty decent movie season.
Yeah, so why Stephanie, are you reading an article about the box office gross?
Aw, apparently A doesn’t have an answer for me.
And yeah, Ron, why do people who say they have no interest in box-office reports post in an article that’s about box-office reports, and that would draw in readers who are interested in box-office reports (duh)? That’s like going to a message board about college basketball and then saying that it doesn’t matter, isn’t worth following, etc.
What I will never understand is why I love the fact that your screen name is Stephanie Tanner. Perfection.
I agree, it’s pretty foolish to care about the amount of money a movie has or hasn’t made, unless you personally share in its success or failure. I have no interest in sports, so that analogy doesn’t apply to me. But even if somebody does care which team wins, someone would have to be a bit off to care how much money the stadium took in, or the salary of one of the players. Yes, it’s interesting to see what movies did well over the weekend, but what people find goofy is the people that get so worked up over it, as if they are sharing in the profits. That is what is so foolish.
Katie just OWNED you. Try again
Katie hasn’t even responded to me. But as I said, that analogy doesn’t work, if somebody really cares that much about how much the stadium took in, or the salary of a player, then that person would be just as foolish as the box office ones.
You shouldn’t be quick to call people foolish when it was very obvious Joseph was not referring to you but you could not see that.
I think you kind of missed the point. Someone said that you shouldn’t care about box office grosses unless you’re getting a cut. To which Katie said that would be like saying you shouldn’t care if the Yankees (or any other sports team) won unless you got a cut of the profits. It’s not about following the exact numbers. It’s about rooting for a movie you enjoy to do well in general. And you said you have “no interest in sports,” but I hope you have the common sense to realize that a sports team’s winning percentage affects the money its makes in ticket sales and endorsements, and that winning teams cost money (again, see the Yankees). The success of a sports team and the money it brings in are pretty inextricably linked.
And all of this analysis kind of misses the big question: If you think following the box office is foolish, why the hell are you posting in a thread about a box office report? Surely if you think following box office reports are “foolish,” you’d ignore such topics entirely? But that would make too much sense…
You know what. Stephanie Tanner, A and Gwen are right. I won’t watch the Oscars this year because even though I would want to see my favorite movie win, I won’t be getting anything from the Academy. By their logic, I should not care unless I will get my own Oscar award in the mail. By their logic, the public should not read the billboard charts because who cares how many records the aritist sells if we won’t get a cut of the profit. We should not want to see our favorite artists succeed over other acts because these three geniuses think we must actually get something other than the joy and satisfaction. The box office is one of the way the movies compete and the three of you are so not so smart if you can’t see how people can be interested in a competition.
without the profit incentive, great movies like Titanic and Avatar would be impossible to finance. The numbers matter!
Without the content, centered on a great story that gives viewers an amazing experience, the numbers wouldn’t happen.
So….
Try to get along, everyone.
Avatar got my 70 year old parents into a movie theater. Since then, they’ve gotten their friends into the movie theaters to watch Avatar, too. My 13 year old child loved the movie, and so did my parents, aunts, and uncles. James Cameron knows how to fill the theater seats.
I LOVE your comment, WayBeyondSoccerMom. People who are quibbling about the screenplay, which btw, has never been told in this way, are missing the point.
The rediscovery of joy in movies I saw in the faces of the people of all ages and backgrounds is worth the price of any film. As a cinophile, this is marvelous stuff, and only comes around once in a very long while.
As to the ‘adjusted for inflation’ nattering, entire panels have attempted to do this, with a good dose of conjecture. It isnt surprising that the numbers by these teams of adjusters, arent quite the same.
Let’s give Avatar seventy years, and we’ll see what happens.
Not bad for a film that is scarcely six weeks old.
And Canadian, to boot.
I’m 64. Avatar 3D twice at the Camera 7 in Campbell, CA.
both matinees, with mostly retired people attending.
First time, when the end titles were rolling I heard a young
woman in her late 20′s say, “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,
Grandma, I’m so glad you were here to share this with us.”
Second time, last week, I was wearing my Avatar T shirt and
standing to the side listening to the music, when a woman about my age asked me,
“How many times for you?” “Four”, counting two times at IMAX3D.
She said, “Three times for me, and I’m ready to watch it again, right now.”
I’m deciding if I will go back to IMAX and find the perfect seat.
I have a little home theater. When it hits Blu Ray, I will buy the disc,
and THEN I’ll watch it in 2D.
This is the first movie in years to get me out to a theater,
though I’ve been a cinephile all my life. —So yeah. Old people too.
Yay, Avatar. So, anyway…
That’s how we do it. Knew this would happen since I first heard about this movie two years ago, since I saw the first trailer. I SAID THAT IT WOULD TOP TITANIC THEN!!
It takes a Cameron to beat a Cameron. Spielberg and Lucas – I love ya’ll – but FALL BACK.
I saw the 15 minute footage back in August last year and I knew it was going to be something special. I alwasy thought it was possible to beat Titanic.
I’m not specifically talking about you two, but so many people are coming out now and saying they knew it was going to be amazing and the preview footage was great… where were all these people when the previews came out and the reaction was really lukewarm?
What I mean is that after seeing the trailers and extended footage I was still not totally convinced… although I had faith that James Cameron could make an awesome movie, plus I remember all the negative buzz about titanic before it came out.
What “lukewarm” previews are you talking about, Maggie? I admit the teaser didn’t do the film justice, but the theatrical was awesome and PLENTY of people saw footage at Comic Con and in August and came out swearing that this film would be huge. What’s really funny is remembering how many people said that Avatar would bomb or not do well or that Cameron would end up with egg on his face.
It’s just those people saying it would bomb that I mean. I even remember on EW comment boards reactions were pretty mixed.
I’m not trying to be confrontational or anything. It’s definitely possible that I just missed a lot of the positive reactions to the previews/footage
Psssh, Lucas’ Star Wars and Spielberg’s E.T. beat out both of Cameron’s biggest hits when adjusted for inflation.
And how much of Star Wars and E.T.’s “final” grosses came from re-releases? Funny how people forget about those…just like they forget that those films never had to compete with home theaters, VHS/DVD, piracy, HBO, cable TV, PayPer View, and so on.
To answer my own question, about $150 million of Star Wars’ $460 million lifetime domestic total was from its re-releases. About $80 million of E.T.’s lifetime domestic total of $435 million came from its re-releases. Not exactly chump change.
Actually HBO has been around long enough to compete with Star Wars to be honest. As a child, we looked forward to any HBO free weekend…and I was 7 when Star Wars came out. Just pointing it out.
congratulations – you both win the “who gives a flying f*ck” award. you know what’s cooler? i predicted avatar would best titanic before titanic even came out.
Man, I’m going to miss Titanic being on the top. I absolutely LOVED Avatar so I’m okay with that.
How did Titanic being on top really affect your life?
A, you are obviously just trying to be a S. disturber. I will kind of miss Titanic being on top too. It seemed like this unbeatable power. Also, I love Titanic.
Why will you miss Titanic on top. What possible way does that affect you. Who cares. Does box office determine if you like a movie?
Obviously not. And obviously it doesn’t affect me. I’m not going to be sitting at home crying about it. It’s like a record in baseball, the longer it holds the cooler it seems. Also, I don’t need you to tell me that sports records are ostensibly achieved through skill whereas some really bad movies make a lot of money. I’m not stupid.
I have to agree, caring so much about where a movie is on a list, to the point of missing it being at a certain point on a list, is really strange. Sorry Maggie, you may be otherwise intelligent, but that is pretty dumb.
And I’m pretty sure you have interests and hobbies that other people don’t, and that other people might consider a waste of time. Does that make you “dumb”?
Seriously, it baffles me why so many people are taking time out of their lives to put other people down because they happen to like following box office totals. Does it make you feel better about yourself to do that? Do you have nothing better to do?
Box office success doesn’t necessarily make the a film “the best.” Some of the greatest movies ever made were financial flops when they were released or never made much money.
I think this record should always have an asterisk next to it that notes that Avatar made this much money because the 3D ticket prices cost almost twice as much as the regular ticket prices. So, this record is kind of a cheat. And of course, in terms of actual tickets sold, Avatar isn’t even close to being the all-time champ.
Maybe create separate categories.
But Anne, people were willing to PAY for the 3D seats, so how is that cheating? If other studios want to cash in on the 3D pie, let them make more 3D movies. That’s also assuming that just any old 3D movie would have made what Avatar did, and I don’t think that’s the case.
Let’s compromise. You can put an asterisk next to Avatar’s gross because of 3D and inflation, and I’ll put an asterisk next to all the movies that never had to compete with VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray, home theaters, cable television, basic television in general, pay-per-view, HBO/Showtime/Cinemax or Web piracy. That’s also not even mentioning movies like Star Wars, Gone With the Wind and E.T. that made a lot of their money from re-releases.
It’s not cheating, but it isn’t the fairest comparison. That’s what lists adjusted for inflation are for or lists that document amount of tickets sold rather than money earned.
I’m willing to concede the inflation point when other people are willing to take the blinders off and realize that inflation IS NOT THE ONLY FACTOR. For pete’s sake, back when Gone With the Wind came out, home entertainment was still the RADIO, no one could get a DVD from Netflix, there was no Internet, etc. Don’t you think that some of that MIGHT just have some kind of influence on today’s numbers?
Inflation is definitely part of the story, but it isn’t the entire story.
not really. 3D movies are only 2 to 3 bucks extra. Which definately isn’t twice the price of a ticket.
All you IDIOTS shut up. All we need to know is that both films are James Cameron…so why does it matter if it tops Titanic? None of yall getting a penny. Avatar is the best movie ever but still i think the all time great movie and will be Star Wars. You cant beat the story of that movie.
LOL..Exactly, who cares? If it wasn’t for the 3D this movie flops. Before some nerd types “if you don’t care, then why did you come and comment on the article” it’s because we like coming in here and laughing at all the Avartards on how excited they get. (I wonder how long before someone calls me a hater)
HATER
21 minutes….I expected better
actually shamrock your so much worse then any avatar fan because you come to avatar article’s just to post negativity since your not a fan.. i mean how low is that.. i’v seen two avatar article’s here on EW and seen your negative post on both.. yea that’s really low..
That’s what comes with being a fan of something you will get made fun of for it.
It will pass the domestic gross too. I know quite a few people who still haven’t seen Avatar and plan on seeing it sometime this weekend or next weekend. That’s insane!
@Shamrock: Even without 3-D, it’s still pretty impressive.
I’m one of those people. I haven’t seen it yet but plan to this weekend or next weekend.
No way. Are you really going to tell me without the 3D it would have made this much money.
Again, so what, money is money. The fact that 80% of its viewers want to pay double for an IMAX ticket is impressive to be honest. It doesn’t matter if it would have made as much money with/without 3D point is it made this much money and people are going for seconds at an IMAX ticket price.
Rumor has it…the new Clash of the Titans movie and both parts of the Harry Potter 7 movies might be in 3-D, so they might give Avatar a run for it’s money considering how much 3-D tickets cost.
WB is supposed to announce one way or the other in the next few days. I don’t expect Clash of the Titans to be on Avatar’s level, but either one or both installments of DH could hit a billion worldwide if they’re in 3D (or even if they weren’t).
And yes, even if Avatar was only in 2D, it would’ve made a haul, just because it was a James Cameron movie. The vitriol against the 3D treatment baffles me, though. That’s the way it was made. It wasn’t retroactively fit for it like most “3D movies” are these days. Cameron developed the tech, he put in the legwork and now he’s reaping the benefits. What’s so wrong with that?
HAHA!
And Eclipse…don’t forget about Eclipse…
Mmmmuahahahaha!
The only other movie that has a chance at beating avatar might be deathly hallows part 2. Otherwise, I dont see anything beating it.
Eclipse isn’t going to come anywhere close, sorry. Do you realize Avatar is going to end up with THREE TIMES New Moon’s worldwide gross? Then again, you were probably joking…
Ugh I hope Harry Potter isn’t in 3D.
Actually I hope it is!
Wow, it’s all the way up to 26th all time. That’s awesome.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm
Just imagine how much money it would have made if Sam Worthington had died six months before release.
Harsh but probably true. As good as The Dark Knight was, you’d have to be in denial to think that Heath Ledger’s death didn’t have some positive influence on its BO.
And also its critical mass…
Why, CGI could have covered for him. Not like they needed him that much.
Or he imagine if Worthington actually had to act.
Wow, A, it seems that Avatar is a really fascinating presence in your life!
It’s interesting that you look down your nose at people who take time out of their lives to enjoy or praise Avatar, and yet don’t see yourself as equally pathetic and without a life for taking time to trash it.
Oh, sorry, didn’t know the comment section was for happy, huggy feeling comments. Did I trash the movie? Show me where?
I just don’t understand why you’re so bitter about people being happy for Avatat’s success. Why does it bother you so much?
Well, A… Avatar’s success certainly seems to bother you, doesn’t it? You’ve posted more than anyone else on this article so far.
I’m so proud! Haha I’m really not this geeky in real life but this is a big deal. It has been so fun to have seen this on opening weekend, because I’ve been able to follow its amazing success every step of the way as a loving fan. For all the risks and work and heart that JC and the countless cast and crew put in this, it absolutely deserves this honor.
I love this movie! Have seen it seven times, and got a date to see it again later this week again. And I’m 63 years old. Wow!
Yeah, sure
It’s amazing to me that James Cameron has now made two movies which basically everyone ‘has’ to see. No wonder his ego is huge.
And I still don’t care! Don’t like Titanic and I will never watch Avatar! Inform me when a real movie becomes the box office winner! Oh wait, Gone With the Wind is the real winner! Never mind!
And how many times did Gone With the Wind need to be released for it to make what it did? I don’t deny that GWTW was a major success and one of the great commercial successes of all time. But it had certain advantages that today’s movies don’t have, and which people conveniently forget. For example, back when it came out, if you wanted to see a movie, you HAD to see it in theaters. There was no Web piracy, no DVDs or VHS, no pay cable, no Pay-Per-View or HBO, and no widespread TV ownership in general. You couldn’t see a trailer and think, “Oh, I’ll wait for Blu-Ray.” If you didn’t see it in theaters, you didn’t see it!
Lynn, there were EIGHT reissues of Gone With the Wind over the following 40 years, so it had a lot of chances to expand what it made in its initial run. But the AFI’ers conveniently leave that out (Adjusted for Inflation).
Yep. You see the same thing with the Star Wars trilogy and E.T. That’s not even counting all the other factors I mentioned.
Somehow they never think of this…
Inform me when a real movie becomes the box office winner!
——–
And who the hell are you to say what’s a “real movie” or not? What are Avatar and Titanic, fake movies?
Regardless of whether you or anyone think either of those movies “deserve” the money they made, the fact remains that that’s what they made.
What would really make this article better is to see a proceeding article with the title “James Cameron donates percentage of his earnings to charity.” Wouldn’t that be nice?
While I’m pretty sure he does contribute to charitable causes, Cameron kept several thousand people employed for five years while this film was made. That’s not counting the many thousands of people who were kept employed working on his other films. That has to count for something, no?