James Cameron's Avatar Is a Billion Dollar Baby

Avatar, James Cameron's 3D epic, had another stellar weekend at the global box office. In fat, it was so stellar that it did something only four other movies have done: cross the billion dollar mark.

In three weeks.

The movie, about the fantastic planet Pandora, pulled in $1.025 billion in the seventeen days that it has been in theaters. That makes Avatar the quickest film to reach the astronomical benchmark. Domestically, the film has brought in $350 million and is the second-fastest to reach that mark (the fastest was 2008's The Dark Knight, which ended up grossing over $500 million in its full run).

If Avatar continues in this pace, it could match, if not surpass, The Dark Knight's standing as the second most successful film in U.S. history. The most successful film is another Cameron epic, Titanic. Avatar is expected to surpass Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King to become the second most successful in world history by the end of next weekend.

I saw Avatar over the weekend (in 2D) and I can honestly tell you that this a movie event not to miss.