Science-fiction epic "Avatar" soared to a new global box office record, taking 1.85 billion dollars and sinking "Titanic" to become the biggest earning film of all time, figures showed Tuesday.
"On Monday, January 25, 'Avatar' officially passed 'Titanic' to become the highest grossing film in history at the worldwide box office," 20th Century Fox studios said in a statement.
The groundbreaking 3-D blockbuster directed by James Cameron had by Monday taken 16 million dollars more than his 1997 film "Titanic." "Avatar" had taken 1.859 billion dollars, compared with the box-office total for the Oscar-winning "Titanic," which took 1.843 billion dollars, the statement said.
The 500-million-dollar epic has been hailed as a cinematic milestone for its use of state-of-the-art 3-D cameras and motion capture technology which Cameron was instrumental in helping to develop.
This month it was awarded best picture and best director at the Golden Globes, cementing its status as a front-runner for the Oscars, with the nominations due to be unveiled next week.
