It’s easy to crack jokes about James Cameron’s only real competition being himself, but re-releasing Titanic at the same time Avatar: The Way of Water is still playing in theaters has ensured that it’s a battle rooted in 100 percent factual accuracy.
To mark both the 25th anniversary of its assault on the Academy Awards – as well as the latest remaster that brings the aquatic disaster to more vivid life than ever before – Titanic has avoided hitting an iceberg by hauling in $6.4 million at the domestic box office this weekend.
On a global scale, that pushed it up to $2.217 billion, only a hair above The Way of Water. In the most ironically James Cameron moment ever, his Avatar sequel would have been guaranteed to become the third highest-grossing film in the history of cinema if it wasn’t for one of his other features enjoying its latest moment in the sun.
However, the Na’vi are lurking a mere $4 million behind, so we’re less than 24 hours away from The Way of Water moving beyond Jack and Rose’s doomed romance and into the number three spot, sandwiching the sci-fi franchise on the all-time ranks right on either side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Avengers: Endgame.
Three of the four most lucrative releases the theatrical industry has ever seen being directed by the same person is absolutely nuts, and there’s no reason why Cameron won’t make it four out of five when Avatar 3 lands. He’s been written off before, but he just keeps on laughing right in their faces.