Shared

Titanic’s nearly 12-year reign as the all-time domestic box office champion fell today as Avatar, the other James Cameron pic, surpassed it with $603.8 million (Titanic’s take was $600 million). Industry experts had seriously doubted any film would ever best that record because of the shortened window between theatrical and DVD, but Avatar’s steeper ticket prices due to its 3D IMAX sales did the trick.

But it’s still no Gone With the Wind.That's right; if you actually adjust for inflation, Avatar is only #21 on the all-time box office list, while Gone With the Wind, 70 years later, has still sold more movie tickets than any other film in history. Here's the real box-office champ list after adjusting for inflation: (data from boxofficemojo.com)

1. Gone With the Wind: $1,537,559,600

2. Star Wars: $1,355,490,100

3. The Sound of Music: $1,083,781,000

4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: $1,079,511,500

5. The Ten Commandments: $996,910,000

6. Titanic: $976,712,20

7. Jaws: $974,679,800

8. Doctor Zhivago: $944,670,800

9. The Exorcist: $841,427,600

10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: $829,490,000

11. 101 Dalmatians: $760,370,300

12. The Empire Strikes Back: $747,154,600

13. Ben-Hur: $745,780,000

14. Return of the Jedi: $715,792,100

15. The Sting: $678,377,100

16. Raiders of the Lost Ark: $670,759,500

17. Jurassic Park: $656,026,500

18. The Graduate: $651,198,300

19. Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace: $645,524,400

20. Fantasia: $631,960,900

21. Avatar: $603,789,300

22. The Godfather: $600,600,700

23. Forrest Gump: $597,732,100

24. Mary Poppins: $594,963,600

25. The Lion King: $587,733,900

–Ellen

As the surge of 30,000 U.S. troops continues to pour into Afghanistan, the Obama administration is now considering the possibility of reconciling with some of the Taliban, reintegrating the soldiers into society, as a way to find an end to this long conflict. The plan is supported by Afghan president Hamid Karzai, although discussions are still in the very early stages. A recent United Nations report found that violence in Afghanistan claimed the lives of more than 2,400 Afghan civilians in the year 2009. While this is the largest annual death toll for noncombatants since the U.S. led invasion eight years ago, the report found that the majority of deaths had been caused by Taliban attacks. Collected here are images of the country and conflict over the past month, part of an ongoing monthly series on Afghanistan. (42 photos total)