Avatar 2 overtakes Star Wars: The Force Awakens at global box-office

Avatar: The Way of Water is now the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time, having passed Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the global box-office.

James Cameron's sci-fi sequel has now grossed $2.117 billion worldwide meaning the Titanic director is behind three of the four highest grossing films of all time.

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Avatar: The Way of Water is now behind only Cameron's Titanic, Avatar and Marvel's Avengers: Endgame at the all-time box office.

Avatar is still the highest grossing film ever having taken $2.92 billion at the box office while Titanic is set for a 3D Valentine's Day re-release next month that will see it build on its current total of $2.194 billion.

Avatar 2 has been the number one film at the box-office since it opened on 16 December, well over a montha ago.

It has continued to see off a steady stream of new releases including the Tom Hanks comedy-drama A Man Called Otto, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and viral horror smash M3gan.

The Way of Water has also been nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture so its cinema run is expected to continue long into March.

In a rarity, the Best Picture nominations also feature one other film to have grossed over $1billion – Top Gun: Maverick.

The Tom Cruise-led picture was top of the global box office for much of 2022 until The Way of Water was released late in the year.

Elvis, which grossed nearly $300 million worldwide and indie hit Everything Everywhere All At Once were among the other Best Picture releases to be a financial success in a turbulent year for cinema attendance amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of streaming services.

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Women Talking, which had the worst opening of any film in 2022, has seen an uptick in its box-office receipts since landing a Best Picture nomination last week.

Watch below: Oscar Nominations 2023: Best Picture