Avatar: The Way of Water(2022).Photo: 20th Century Studios

Avatar: The Way of Water’s box office results are still rising.

Over the weekend, theJames Cameron-directed science fiction/fantasy sequel tookTitanic’s place as the third highest-grossing film of all time globally. The film has generated $2,243.2 billion globally since its release on Dec. 16, per a 20th Century Studios press release.

AfterThe Way of Waterbroke into the top three films of all-time, director Cameron has now made three of the top four movies on that list. His 2009 originalAvatarstands tall as the highest-grossing film ever, while the sequel takes third place andTitanicslides into fourth after latest box office developments.

Marvel Studios' 2019 releaseAvengers: Endgameremains at No. 2 on the all-time list, making for the only non-Cameron directed film in the top four, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty; 20th Century Studios

Considering how “very f—-ing” expensive the sequel was to make, as Cameron toldGQin November, the impressive box office showing has proved the movie maker’s ability to churn out hit films. He even joked thatThe Way of Waterwould “have to be the third- or fourth-highest-grossing film in history” to just “break even,” when making the case for the film to the studio.

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The Way of Waterreached the billion-mark in just 14 daysand passed $2 billion at the global box officejust over one month after its release, according toVariety.

In December 2021, Cameron toldEntertainment Weeklythat, given the state of moviegoing amid the pandemic, he worried whether the sequel would be able to matchAvatar’s success.

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“The big issue is: Are we going to make any damn money? Big, expensive films have got to make a lot of money,” said Cameron at the time. “We’re in a new world post-COVID, post-streaming. Maybe those [box office] numbers will never be seen again. Who knows? It’s alla big roll of the dice.”

Avatar: The Way of WaterstarsSam Worthington,Zoe Saldaña,Sigourney Weaver,Kate Winslet, Stephen Lang and more. It earnedGolden GlobeandCritics Choice Award nominationsfor best picture, as well asfour nominations at the upcoming Academy Awards, including for Best Picture.

source: people.com