'Avatar' sinks 'Titanic' as new king of the world

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoé Saldana) bring two worlds together in "Avatar." 

(20th Century Fox)

Who says lightning (in a bottle) doesn't strike twice at the same place.

It would be difficult to convince filmmaker James Cameron of that this week. "Avatar," Cameron's futuristic sci-fi spectacle epic overcame "Titanic," Cameron's 1997 historical drama, to become "the biggest grossing film of all time," according to an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site and other sources.

The numbers are, in a word, staggering.

Just $2 million shy of "Titanic's" $1.843 billion after the weekend, "Avatar" took over on Monday.  Brandon Gray, posting on the Box Office Mojo Web site, says the worldwide total for Cameron's latest is $1.859 billion.  It breaks down as an amazing $555 million domestic and another $1.304 billion foreign.

That's not bad for an epic tale of love between an ex-Marine (Sam Worthington) and a blue-skinned, 10-foot-tall other-worldly beauty with a tail and a fierce snarl (Zoë Saldana).