'Avatar' Sinks 'Titanic' in Overseas Box Office

And so, one more record has fallen to Avatar. Titanic is just about to hit James Cameron's other iceberg, as Avatar stands less than $50 million away from the US box office title, and maybe one day away from the global box office record, a heretofore unthinkable summit of $1.842 billion. It's worth noting that only three movies not made by James Cameron have ever hit one billion in total grosses, none of them getting within $700 million of Titanic before now, and Avatar will almost certainly hit $2 billion in less than two months' time. How much movie money is $2 billion? More than two of the three Lord of the Rings movies put together - or - nearly three times as much as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. In less than 60 days. The latest record to fall is international box office, which is different than worldwide, because "international" means non-domestic in this scenario. Titanic had the record by several hundred million dollars ($1.24 billion), but now Avatar is closing in on $1.3 billion, which is flat-out a stupid amount of money. By the time Avatar is through, that number - just in foreign territories - should eclipse $1.5 billion, doubling the non-Cameron mark of Return of the King, which is third on the list. Realistically, since the box office isn't dipping by natural percentages anywhere in the world, it's not incomprehensible to see Avatar go for one-and-three-quarters-billion overseas, meaning that without the domestic totals, it will almost dethrone Titanic worldwide. I'd hate to pin a number on it, but $1.5 seems too low at the rate it's going, and $2 billion seems too high. But even if it stops at $1.5 billion overseas, that means the global total could rise as high as $2.2 - $2.3 billion, pushing Titanic's adjusted-for-inflation amount out of the way, too. And, perhaps most remarkably, we've noted before that Avatar is doing this without drastically infringing on the box office performance of other films. Both Sherlock and Alvin and the Chipmunks are over $350 million in worldwide grosses in a month. Domestically, the top 11 films each weekend this month - removing Avatar from the equation completely, so numbers two through 12 - have grossed $366.7 million. Last year, the top 11 films from each weekend - removing the top movie in each of those frames - earned $446.3 million. Considering that Avatar has made over $250 million in January, those numbers are fairly comparable. Titanic will no longer be the biggest movie in any discussion by the end of this weekend, maybe Monday or Tuesday of next week, depending on how the next four days go for Avatar. Who would have ever thought it? Especially the way it's accomplished it. I know I didn't. You look at the first weekend - $77 million - and even being gracious enough to say it wouldn't slide 40 - 50% in the first weekend, I think most observers felt $400 million domestic and about $1 billion total was the ceiling.

Comments

[Chad]

glad to see this happen, when i saw the trailors i was like this isn't anything special, and i think based on the first day's number a lot of people thought that, but then word of mouth spread and now it just took off. And im glad cause i think this proves, you can do sci fi and stuff and be great but the story has to be there too along with the visuals to be a success. Hope more of hollywood does this

[SEAN]

To all the doubters, to all the haters, who doubted this was gonna be MASSIVE & records wouldnt fall.........

I have 1 thing to say....

TOLD YA!!!!!

Glad to see this happen, Go J.C. GO AVATAR, goodbye Titanic you were a great piece of work yourself but your glorious unthinkable reign at the top has finished....RIP

[common]

Now time will tell if this movie holds up. Will we be watching it 20 years from now or will it be Tron, cool look for the time, now just cheesy. My vote is cheese.

[renantech]

Avatar sink Titanic for internationally Avatar now the number 1 movie of all time after breaking the record of Titanic. Visit here for more information about Filipino most popular Sikat ang Pinoy

[Honz Brix]

I said from the beginning the trailers hurt Avatar and it would start out slow and then word of mouth would take over. I said most of its gross would come after opening weekend. But i never thought it would be close to this big. I'm very glad to see it breaking Titanics record. The most i've ever seen a movie in theaters before Avatar was 3 times and i will be going to see Avatar for a 5th time atleast, maybe more. That is how impressed i was with this movie. It might do $2.5 billion which is more than double what i thought it might do originally. Just incredible that only 4 movies have ever made $1 billion before Avatar and it is doing this against big competition and in the "DVD era". Movies just don't do this anymore. I hope everyone understands just how special this is and we may not ever see this again for 30 years

[common]

Honz, competition from what exactly? Titanic and Avatar have none. No Ironman or other blockbusters around it. Titanic had a huge window of nothing around it. This seems to have the same thing.

[Get The Big Picture]

Common, two $200 million movies opened within seven days of Avatar. Both of them will be among 2009's top ten earners. So a full 33% of the year's top ten films came out within a week. No other all-timer has ever had that to contend with. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of any weekend that debuted what would become a pair of $200 million movies, especially in the shadow of something even bigger.

Titanic did have the luxury of wide open spaces, yes, but Avatar had a big challenge right off the bat.

[Emo]

Finally saw it last night. It is very good.

Has anyone adjusted the math to take the fact that it costs more to see this movie than it does other movies....$12 for me to see it in 3D rather than the $8.50 every other movie costs now-a-days?

I'm not saying it's not worth it, or that it shouldn't cost a little more to see because of the 3D...but simple math will tell you that 100 people at $12 is more than 100 people at $8.50.