Well, that didn't take very long. Only yesterday was it in third place having hopped the total gross of Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Now, after making those crucial few more millions, Avatar has taken second place in the box office from Return of the King. Sorry, Peter. Cameron means business now.

With $1.14 billion taken across the globe, James Cameron's 3-D blue-fest has topped the $1.1 billion Peter Jackson clocked up with the final part of his fantasy trilogy. But even Lord of the Rings couldn't prevent this from happening. And with competition from the likes of, erm, It's Complicated, and The Road, Avatar isn't going anyway but up.

It looks like a long way to $1.842 billion, but honestly? I think it's pretty much inevitable now. Even if James himself has to pay for his entire extended family to see it another 5 times each - let's face it, he could afford the 3-D ticket price.