James Cameron truly is king of the box office.
Over the weekend, the Canadian director’s new sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” crossed his own 1997 classic “Titanic” to become the third highest-grossing film of all time.
Since its release on Dec. 16, the film has racked up a whopping $2.244 billion at the box office, beating out the $2.243 billion earned by “Titanic” over the 25 years since it premiered.
Cameron also owns the top stop on the all-time chart with the original 2009 “Avatar”, which has earned $2.92 billion, including re-releases.
That gives the director three of the four highest-grossing movies of all time, with Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” sitting at No. 2, with $2.8 billion.
The box office success of the “Avatar” sequel has also put Cameron on track to complete the series, with the upcoming “Avatar 3” dated for 2024, as well as a fourth and fifth entry to come.
At the North American box office, “The Way of Water” sits lower down the Top 10, at No. 9, with “$658.9 million. The top spot is currently held by “Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens”, which earned $936.7 million when it was released in 2015.
Last year’s “Top Gun: Maverick” also sits ahead of the “Avatar” sequel on that chart, with $718.7 million, as does 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, which earned $814.1 million in the U.S. and Canada.
