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_Avatar: The Way of Water_ has officially claimed _Top Gun: Maverick_'s top spot at the worldwide box office. Director James Cameron's sci-fi action film — a sequel to his 2009

original that became the highest-grossing movie of all time — has now passed $1.51 billion worldwide, making it the No. 1 movie released in 2022, according to _The Hollywood Reporter_. Tom

Cruise's _Top Gun: Maverick_, a long-delayed sequel to his 1986 movie, previously held that spot with $1.489 billion. _Avatar: The Way of Water_ is currently the 10th biggest movie of

all time (not adjusted for inflation), _THR_ reported, and it's expected to continue to rise. Of all the movies that hit theaters in 2022, the only other to make over $1 billion

globally was _Jurassic World Dominion_. _Avatar: The Way of Water_ reached the billion-dollar mark in just 14 days. Cameron, 68, recently told _GQ_ that the sequel was "very

f---ing" expensive to make. He joked that he told the studio the film was "the worst business case in movie history," and that it would "have to be the third- or

fourth-highest-grossing film in history" to just "break even." _NEVER MISS A STORY — SIGN UP FOR __PEOPLE'S FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER__ TO GET THE BIGGEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EVERY FRIDAY._ _Avatar: The Way of Water_ stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Stephen Lang and more. It earned Golden Globe and

Critics Choice Award nominations for best picture. (Oscar nominations will be announced later in January.) In December 2021, Cameron told _Entertainment Weekly_ that, given the state of

moviegoing amid the pandemic, he worried whether the sequel would be able to match _Avatar_'s success. (A third film has already completed filming with plans for further sequels in the

works.) RELATED VIDEO: SAM WORTHINGTON AND ZOE SALDAÑA ON 16-YEAR FRIENDSHIP AND MEMORABLE FIRST MEETING: 'SHE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND MY ACCENT' "The big issue is: Are we

going to make any damn money? Big, expensive films have got to make a lot of money," said Cameron at the time. "We're in a new world post-COVID, post-streaming. Maybe those

[box office] numbers will never be seen again. Who knows? It's all a big roll of the dice." _Top Gun: Maverick_, directed by Joseph Kosinski, is the highest-grossing film of

Cruise's career. In June, he thanked fans on Twitter for supporting the movie and returning to theaters for the blockbuster. "To all the films in release, to all the studios, and

to all the exhibitors: congratulations. To the audience: thank you for venturing out and allowing us to entertain you," wrote Cruise, 60. _Avatar: The Way of Water_ is now in theaters.

_Top Gun: Maverick_ is available to stream on Paramount+.