Avatar 2 beats Titanic for third highest-grossing film of all time

James Cameron is arguably the most successful film director of all time which means there’s only one person to compete against, himself. Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has officially surpassed Titanic to become the third highest-grossing film of all-time and Titanic was, of course, also directed by the auteur.

The Way of Water undoubtedly proved a point. Avatar may be the most successful film of all time, but can you recall the names of its characters? Explain its lore? Many questioned whether the film had enough cultural impact to warrant a sequel - particularly one that took well over a decade to release. Well, we were wrong to doubt it. Despite its lengthy runtime and Cameron’s ‘don’t-moan-to-me-about-peeing’ attitude, The Way of Water has dominated the box office since release.

Take a look at the trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water below.

As reported by IGN, Avatar: The Way of Water has now surpassed Titanic at the box office. Released in 1997, Titanic has raked in a whopping $2.242 billion. Avatar: The Way of Water now sits slightly above that at $2.243 billion. I’d expect to continue to see these rankings interchange over the coming days and weeks. The Way of Water is still attracting audiences, while Titanic has just been re-released in cinemas. Why? We’re not entirely sure.

Cameron also holds the top spot thanks to the original Avatar which grossed $2.922 billion. Avengers: Endgame then sits in second place with $2.797 billion. This means that James Cameron directed three of the top five highest-grossing films of all time. That’s not a bad accolade to hold.

Cameron’s upcoming plans include, well, more Avatar. Avatar 3, 4, and 5 are reportedly all on the way although you won’t have to wait quite as long this time. The remaining installments are expected to release in 2024, 2026, and 2028.