Avatar: The Way of Water Passes Star Wars: The Force Awakens to Become Fourth Highest Grossing Movie of All Time

The Oscar-nominated Avatar: The Way of Water is now officially the fourth highest-grossing film in box office history. As of this weekend, it's seventh on top of the box office, Avatar: The Way of Water has surpassed Star Wars: The Force Awakens on the all-time global box office charts. As of now, director James Cameron has helmed three of the top four highest-grossing films of all time, including the original Avatar, which tops the chart, and Titanic, which is just above Avatar: The Way of Water (Avengers: Endgame remains in the second place spot). Avatar: The Way of Water is also the second fastest film to ever reach $2 billion (Avengers: Endgame is the fastest). 

Domestically, Avatar: The Way of Water's seven-weekend streak makes it the first film to accomplish that feat since the original Avatar. The sequel is the 11th highest-grossing release of all time, but it will soon overtake The Avengers to crack the top 10. It is also the highest-grossing film of all time in France, Austria, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lebanon, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Cambodia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Colombia, and Puerto Rico.

Disney has now released three of the top five highest-grossing films of all time: Avengers: Endgame in second place, Avatar: The Way of Water in fourth, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens in fifth. It also now owns the rights to the top film. Avatar, and the international distribution rights to Titanic in third. Expanding into the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time, Disney released more than half the list with Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War in sixth place, The Lion King (live-action remake) in ninth place, and The Avengers in 10th place.

According to Disney, "Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive,  and the tragedies they endure."

James Cameron directed Avatar: The Way of Water from a screenplay he wrote with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. He also produced with Jon Landau. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet. David Valdes and Richard Baneham are the film's executive producers.

Avatar: The Way of Water is now streaming in theaters.