We know this isn't horror but it's extremely HUGE movie news that we simply couldn't pass up. Titanic has held the number #1 spot in the domestic box office since 1997. For over 12 years Titanic seemed so out of reach with Star Wars being closest until 2008's Dark Knight made a run at the title. Still Titanic hung onto a lead that many thought to be unreachable. Who could topple it? Ironic that James Cameron would be the man to beat his own record...

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Titanic sat atop the domestic box office charts at a ridiculous $600,788,188 million. Obviously when you take inflation into account Gone With The Wind still reigns supreme but at the straight dollar amount, 600 million was a feat that seemed impossible to reach.

Why and how did Titanic reach the mountain's peak? Crazy, insane girl power. CGI was still fresh and a film about a worldwide historic disaster mixed with love, love, love was a recipe for loads of cash. You think fan boys are nuts? Groups of girls and women (and some men I guess) would watch this thing weekly for months on end. Even the geek power of Star Wars was no match for the love boat. The unsinkable Molly Brown was on the unsinkable Titanic . . . until today.

Mark the calendar February 3, 2010. Avatar takes the number one spot with $601,141,551 million. What's crazier is that Avatar is still currently the #1 movie in America. It has yet to be knocked off a weekend yet. Us horror fans are hoping the Blue streak will end with a howl from the Wolfman but for now James Cameron's Avatar is still king of the hill.

How did Avatar finally sink Titanic? I'm guessing (and pretty sure I'm at least partially right) that the increased ticket prices for Avatar's 3D showings is the main cause. Not trying to deflate the film's following but when theaters charge $3 - $5 more for a 3D viewing that helps a lot!!! Could Avatar have beaten Titanic's score if it only played in 2D? We'll never know for sure but we do know that the resurrection of 3D has now changed the movie industry.

Seems like every major film announcement from Clash of the Titans to Harry Potter are now all going 3D. Will Avatar hold the top domestic box office as long as Titanic or will 3D and spiked ticket prices change the game forever? One thing is for certain, right as cinema and theaters began to suffer against steep home entertainment competition like Blu-Ray, Netflix and DVR boxes . . . they put all their eggs in the 3D basket. We'll see if it pays off in the long haul.

I find it interesting how the horror genre has always embraced 3D technology and if recall correctly (even though Avatar's production began years ago) that My Bloody Valentine 3D was the first out the 3D gates. Either way, this 3D craze is going to affect the Horror genre but how is the interesting question. We look forward to seeing what's in store.

Source: Box Office Mojo