Avatar (2009 film) in the context of Titanic (1997 film)

3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. 3D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in American cinema and later experienced a worldwide resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s driven by IMAX high-end theaters and Disney-themed venues. 3D films became increasingly successful throughout the 2000s, peaking with the success of 3D presentations of Avatar in December 2009, after which 3D films again decreased in popularity. Certain directors have also taken more experimental approaches to 3D filmmaking, most notably celebrated auteur Jean-Luc Godard in his film Goodbye to Language.

Andy Lomas (born 1967 in Welwyn Garden City, England) is a British artist with a mathematical background, formerly a television and film CG supervisor and more recently a contemporary digital artist, with a special interest in morphogenesis using mathematical morphology.

Lomas previously worked on visual effects using computer graphics (CGI) for television and films such as The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and Avatar (2009). before becoming a digital artist. In 2006 he appeared in The Tech of 'Over the Hedge', a short documentary. With his collaborators, in 1999 Lomas won the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries or a Movie for the 1999 film Alice in Wonderland.

Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box-office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assessing the success of a film, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice. Included on the list are charts of the top box-office earners (ranked by both the nominal and real value of their revenue), a chart of high-grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing film franchises and series. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box-office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights, and merchandise.

Traditionally, war films, musicals, and historical dramas have been the most popular genres, but franchise films have been among the best performers of the 21st century. There is strong interest in the superhero genre, with eleven films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring among the nominal top-earners. The most successful superhero film, Avengers: Endgame, is also the second-highest-grossing film on the nominal earnings chart, and there are four films in total based on the Avengers comic books charting in the top twenty. Other Marvel Comics adaptations have also had success with the Spider-Man and X-Men properties, while films based on Batman and Superman from DC Comics have generally performed well. Star Wars is also represented in the nominal earnings chart with five films, while the Jurassic Park franchise features prominently. Although the nominal earnings chart is dominated by films adapted from pre-existing properties and sequels, it is headed by Avatar, which is an original work. Animated family films have performed consistently well, with Disney films enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home-video era. Disney also enjoyed later success with films such as Frozen and its sequel, and The Lion King (along with its computer-animated remake), as well as its Pixar division, of which Inside Out 2, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 3 and 4 have been the best performers. Beyond Disney and Pixar animation, China's Ne Zha 2 (the highest-grossing animated film), and the Despicable Me and Shrek series have met with the most success.

Avatar is an American epic science fiction media franchise created by James Cameron, which began with the eponymous 2009 film. Produced by Lightstorm Entertainment and distributed by 20th Century Studios, it consists of associated merchandise, video games, and theme park attractions. Avatar is set in the mid-22nd century on Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The films' central conflict is between the indigenous Na'vi led by Jake Sully and Neytiri, and humans led by Colonel Miles Quaritch from the Resources Development Administration (RDA), a megacorp which has arrived on Pandora to colonize and pillage it for its natural resources. The title of the series refers to a genetically engineered Na'vi body remotely operated by humans via brain–computer interface to interact with the Na'vi on Pandora.

The first installment, Avatar, was released on December 18, 2009, and is the highest grossing motion picture of all time when ticket price inflation is not considered. The second installment, The Way of Water, was released on December 16, 2022. The planned sequel series was announced by 20th Century Fox on December 11, 2009, one week before Avatar was released to theaters. 20th Century Fox confirmed the series on January 15, 2010. The Avatar franchise is one of the most expensive franchises undertaken, with the combined budget of the first film and its four sequels estimated at $1 billion. The franchise has grossed more than $5.2 billion worldwide; it is the 14th-highest-grossing film series of all time.