Avatar: The Way of Water overtakes Titanic as the third-highest-grossing movie of all time

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Avatar: The Way of Water has hit another box office milestone – it's now the third-highest-grossing movie of all time, overtaking Titanic, another James Cameron movie.

The movie has now made $2.2433 billion at the global box office since it was released in December 2022, while Titanic floats at $2.2428 billion. The only two movies above the sequel in the all-time rankings are the first Avatar movie at $2.9 billion and Avengers: Endgame at $2.7 billion. Cameron is the only director to have helmed three movies that have made more than $2 billion at the global box office.

Another achievement Avatar 2 can claim is the fact that it's the highest-grossing movie in more than 20 countries, including France, Germany, and New Zealand. It also happens to be one of the most expensive movies ever made with a reported budget of around $460 million, almost double the budget of the first Avatar movie.

Set over a decade after the events of 2009's Avatar, the sequel picks up with human-turned-Na'vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) living in domestic bliss with their four children, the war with humanity a distant memory. That is, until the RDA returns – with some familiar faces in tow. The Sullys flee to the coastal region of Pandora in an attempt to evade the RDA, and try to make a home by the ocean.

Avatar: The Way of Water is still in cinemas, while Titanic was re-released in 3D on February 10 to celebrate its 25th anniversary. For more from Cameron, check out our interview with the director about Titanic's legacy, a quarter of a century on.

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.