Director James Cameron rivals himself at the top of the list of the highest grossing films of all time.
Titanic (1997), which held steady at number three, was overtaken this weekend by Avatar: The Way Of The Water (2022) after making a dramatic climb up the box office, according to TMZ.
But after Titanic’s recent re-release in theaters, the iconic romance and disaster flick reclaimed third place, relegating the Avatar sequel back to fourth.
Despite all the moves and switches between these two Cameron films, his original film Avatar (2009) still reigns supreme at the box office at $2.923 billion, followed by Avengers: Endgame (2019) in second place at $2.798 billion .
After Titanic was re-released in theaters this weekend to celebrate its 25th anniversary, new ticket sales pushed it back into third place with a gross of $2.217 billion, giving it a slight edge over Avatar: The Way Of Water Raised $2.214 billion.
Top moneymaker: James Cameron, 68, rivals himself in the race for third-highest grossing of all time with Titanic (1997) and Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022)
But despite all the new moves and shakes, experts are predicting that the Avatar sequel will take third place in the coming days.
Rounding out the list of the top five biggest moneymakers of all time is Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) with $2.071 million.
Just last month, following Avatar 2’s rise up the box office, Cameron received the distinction of being the only director to helm three films that grossed more than $2 billion at the global box office, according to TMZ.
Along with the top five moneymakers of all time, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) is the only other film to surpass the cash milestone, grossing $2.052 billion.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) is close to becoming the seventh film to surpass $2 billion, which currently stands at $1.922 billion
If history repeats itself anywhere near Cameron’s success, the famed filmmaker could contribute to his record-breaking performances for years to come.
With the success of The Way Of Water, plans were solidified for three more Avatar sequels to follow.
Cameron, 68, had previously announced there would be further installments in 2024, 2026 and 2028 but noted the latter two would depend on commercial reception of The Way Of Water.
Race for No. 3: Titanic, which was firmly in third place, was overtaken this weekend by Avatar: The Way Of The Water after its dramatic rise up the box office, according to TMZ
Back to #3, but after the re-release of Titanic to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the epic romance and disaster reclaimed third place on the all-time box office list; Titanic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are pictured in the classic scan
In fact, the writer, director, and producer even went so far as to reveal that he’d end the entire franchise early if audiences didn’t appear to “give him mercy.”
But then, last month, the Canadian native revealed on HBO Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? that it looked like he was going to do the last two films after all.
“So it looks like I can’t break away from that and have to do these other sequels,” he said, adding, “I know what I’m going to be doing for the next six or seven years.”
Cameron’s distinguished Hollywood directorial resume also includes Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
All in: Following the success of The Way Of Water, Cameron has committed to producing three more sequels, scheduled for release in 2024, 2026 and 2028
Tops: The Original Avatar (2009) is still the absolute number one at the global box office, earning $2.923 billion; Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, and Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana, are featured in a scene from Avatar