The Force Awakens at the box office

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is now the fourth highest-grossing film of all time, having overtaken “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at the global box office.

James Cameron's sci-fi sequel has now grossed $2.117 billion worldwide, meaning the Titanic director is behind three of the four highest-grossing films of all time.

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Avatar: The Way of Water trails only Cameron's Titanic, Avatar and Marvel's Avengers: Endgame at the all-time box office.

“Avatar” remains the highest-grossing film of all time with $2.92 billion at the box office, while “Titanic” will get a 3D Valentine’s Day re-release next month that will see the film match its current grossing total of 2.194 billion US dollars.

Avatar 2 has been the number one film at the box office since its premiere on December 16th, just over a month ago.

There continued to be a steady stream of new releases, including the Tom Hanks comedy A Man Called Otto, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and the viral horror hit M3gan.

“The Way of Water” was also nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, so its theatrical release is expected to continue well into March.

A rarity: The nominations for best film also include another film that grossed over $1 billion – Top Gun: Maverick.

The Tom Cruise-directed film topped the box office worldwide for much of 2022 until The Way of Water hit theaters at the end of the year.

“Elvis,” which grossed nearly $300 million worldwide, and the indie hit “Everything Everywhere All At Once” were among the other best-picture releases in a tumultuous year for moviegoers amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the emergence of streaming services were a financial success.

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“Women Talking,” the film with the worst opening of all 2022 films, has seen its box office increase since its Best Picture nomination last week.

Watch below: 2023 Oscar nominations: Best Picture