Source: Box Office Mojo

We all knew it was only a matter of time before Avatar sank the Titanic for biggest money-making movie in the U.S. Well, as of yesterday, Avatar has taken in 601.2 million in the U.S., which beats Titanic‘s $600.8 million U.S. Box Office gross – making Avatar the biggest money-making film of all time (not adjusted for inflation).

Of course, like what was mentioned in an earlier post about Avatar‘s worldwide gross, the biggest reason this film beat Titanic and conquered it so quickly (in just two months) is because of the high cost of the 3-D and IMAX movie tickets for the film. Reportedly, approximately 80% of Avatar‘s gross is from 3-D screenings. Titanic was never in 3-D, and tickets cost less back in 1997/1998 so it took months and months for it to reach its record-breaking box office gross. Nevertheless, it is cool that a film like this now holds the record. Congrats to James Cameron and everyone involved for this achievement.

I just hope that the next film to beat this record doesn’t rely on a gimmick like 3-D to rake in tons of money quickly. Without the 3-D, I really don’t think Avatar would have made nearly as much money as it has. It wasn’t so much the story and characters as it was the 3-D that put the butts in the seats. Without the 3-D, the movie is just not as great as everyone makes it out to be. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a decent film and I enjoyed it – but not that much.

However, there will most likely be sequels, so perhaps Avatar will go beyond just a fad and turn into a great sci-fi/fantasy series. But for now, I have the feeling that many people won’t be as wowed by the film after a while.