'Avatar' worldwide gross reaches $1 billion mark

For three weeks now, James Cameron's movie "Avatar" is #1 in the US boxoffice as well as in other countries.

"Avatar" also breaks records and now has a total worldwide gross estimate of $1.021 billion after 17 days, becoming the 5th movie in history to reach the billion-dollar mark.

The other movies who reached more than $1 billion gross receipts include another James Cameron film "Titanic" in 1997 ($1.83 billion), "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" in 2003 ($1.13 billion), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in 2006 ($1.06 billion) and "The Dark Knight" in 2008 ($1.001 billion).

Just like "Titanic", "Avatar" is also a strong contender in the Oscar 2010.