James Cameron broke his own record Tuesday. With a $1.86 billion haul, "
Avatar" beat "
Titanic" to become the highest grossing movie of all time at the worldwide box office.
It's a remarkable achievement. But before every Hollywood studio exec decides that all future movies must be in 3-D and feature blue aliens, it's worth getting a little perspective on the film.
"Avatar" has the advantage of showing in 3-D (which usually commands an average $3 extra per ticket) and coming out at a time when even 2-D movie tickets are more expensive than ever. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average ticket price in 2008 was $7.18, up 56% from prices in 1997 when "Titanic" was in theaters.
A look at domestic grosses adjusted for inflation shows a more realistic view of "Avatar"'s performance.
In the U.S., "Avatar" has grossed $555 million making it the second highest grossing domestic (as opposed to worldwide) film of all time. Titanic is temporarily still in the lead here with $600.8 million.
With no film on the near horizon poised to challenge "Avatar"'s dominance, the film is sure to continue to mint money. But it still has someway to go before really catching up to a classic like "Titanic".
