In the end, the only man capable of defeating James Cameron was James Cameron. Titanic, the film-maker's epic 1997 romance set on the doomed ocean liner, yesterday lost its crown as the top grossing movie of all time to Avatar, an epic 3D romance set on an Earth-like moon orbiting a distant star.
Avatar Production year: 2009 Country: USA Cert (UK): 12A Runtime: 161 mins Directors: James Cameron Cast: CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana More on this film
The science-fiction saga almost overtook its predecessor's record of $1.843bn at the weekend, after six weeks topping box-office charts around the globe. Twentieth Century Fox confirmed yesterday that the record had finally been broken.
Many pundits had predicted Titanic's record would never be beaten. Yet, early in Avatar's run it was clear it was repeating the pattern of multiple repeat viewings that had been the making of Cameron's previous film. Avatar also benefited from the higher price of tickets for 3D screenings, which have accounted for more than 80% of US earnings and 65% of those elsewhere. The film was so successfully hyped as the first must-see stereoscopic experience that few wanted to compromise with a 2D viewing. In addition, its record-breaking success in China and Russia, markets harder to crack back in 1997, certainly helped to lift its bottom line.
Avatar's box-office victory was, however, won without adjustment for inflation. Figures that do so show how far it's eclipsed by the likes of 1939's Gone With the Wind – that film grossed $400m worldwide, which equates to at least $6bn in today's money, more than three times Avatar's figure.
The 3D science fiction epic romance ''Avatar'' has surpassed ''Titanic''—also by director James Cameron—as the highest-grossing international film of all time.

''Avatar'' has overtaken ''Titanic'' by a margin of more than 15 million US dollars, with both films grossing in excess of $1.843bn. The film has been the most popular film in box offices around North America and Europe for six weeks, with United Kingdom takings for this weekend alone in excess of £5.1m. In the United States, the film has pushed ''The Dark Knight'' into third place.

''Avatar'''s victory has been put down to the higher prices many viewers have had to pay to see the film in 3D, as well as inflation over time (as the figures have not been adjusted for such). If the figures are adjusted for inflation, it is beaten to the top spot by ''Gone with the Wind''. In the adjusted chart, ''Titanic'' makes it only to number six, with other members of the top ten including ''Star Wars'', ''The Sound of Music'', and ''E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial''.