14 DAY TRIAL // James Cameron has officially become the only director to have two films that top $1 billion at the international box office, as “Avatar” had yet another stellar weekend in theaters around the world. This, of course, translated into ticket sales of over $68 million domestically, which helped take the international gross to well over $1 billion, as the Examiner can confirm.
Despite early reports that had it that “Avatar” would be a major flop not necessarily because it wasn’t that good, but rather because it had too large a budget to actually be able to turn a profit, the film turned out to be a hit. After its second weekend atop the international box office, analysts estimated that it would earn more than $1 billion in its run, though no one actually dared to say it would happen as quickly as its third week.
“‘Avatar’’s box office gross has passed $1 billion. This is phenomenal, and shows that James Cameron’s gamble on the Sci-Fi series has really paid off. Although the exact budget for ‘Avatar’ isn’t known, it’s said that the movie cost around $430 million to make. This essentially means that Cameron’s masterpiece has doubled the money that investors used to back the movie,” Examiner writes of the latest box office results. In all fairness, reports on the budget for the film have it anywhere between $300 and $500 million.
“‘Avatar’ has already surpassed the bankroll for ‘Dark Knight,’ which grossed over $1.02 billion. ‘Avatar’ has already brought in over $1.03 billion. Other records that James Cameron’s masterpiece will likely shatter are ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ ($1.066 billion) and ‘The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King’ ($1.119 billion),” the same publication goes on to say.
Cameron’s other movie that made it past the $1 billion threshold is, of course, “Titanic.” However, given the fact that “Avatar” swooshed right with the big players in its third week – an amazing feat on its own – hopes are high that it will be able to set a new record in just a little while. Keep an eye on this space to see whether that comes to be.