James Cameron’s 3-D sci-fi epic earned $1.02 billion, powered by sales of $202 million during the New Year holiday weekend, distributor 20th Century Fox said.
The only movies ahead of it are Cameron’s “Titanic” ($1.8 billion), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” ($1.12 billion), and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” ($1.07 billion).
North American moviegoers chipped in $68.3 million, setting a record for a film in its third weekend. The old mark of $45 million was set by “Spider-Man” in 2002.
After 17 days in cinemas across the United States and Canada, “Avatar” has earned $352.1 million, placing it at No. 15 among all movies in terms of ticket sales.
Fox, a unit of News Corp., forecast the film would end up in the $500 million range in the North American market.
