Avatar’s stunning achievement comes with the usual set of caveats, of course. Higher ticket prices, especially for 3-D and IMAX showings, provided a significant boost to the film’s bottom line, and economic hair-splitters will be quick to note that Avatar’s inflation-adjusted numbers still rank well behind those of Gone With the Wind, whose domestic gross alone approaches $1.5 billion in today’s dollars — the movie industry equivalent of Cy Young’s untouchable record of 511 wins. To surpass that remarkable number, Avatar will have to maintain its current box office pace for roughly six more months.
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