Between a $300 million production budget and an estimated $200 million promotional budget, Avatar is one of the most expensive movies made since, well… the last time James Cameron made a film. Remember a humble little movie called Titanic? Yeah, that was small potatoes.

But enough with the hip sarcasm. Because even though James Cameron may have lots of people trying to guarantee his health and safety while making a massive movie like Avatar, including fall protection, the flick is now out there, and the first returns are pretty much in.

Avatar did very, very well. In its first weekend of release, the film grossed $77 million domestically. Sure, that’s not quite The Dark Knight numbers, but still quite good. But the foreign markets have gone crazy for Avatar as well, adding $165 million to the take for a first weekend global box office total of $242 million. That’s nearly half of the total estimated budget in three days.

As of end of business Tuesday, those figures had climbed to $109 million domestic, $219 foreign and $329 million total worldwide box office.

Now the questions shifts to how well Avatar will hold up as the weeks play out; the film as a markedly pro-green, liberal political agenda that’s not even thinly disguised… will that translate into success in a Barack Obama nation? Will the film fizzle if red-state America stays home because of it? Or will the power of the storytelling and dazzling special effects overcome any political overtone concerns?

Furthermore, can the movie survive any initial drop-off and develop legs, like Titanic and The Dark Knight, or will it fizzle after its initial big splash, as was the case with The Twilight Saga: New Moon? Only time will tell for certain, but in early online ticket preorders, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, debuting this weekend, is outselling Avatar; and Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes is testing better more broadly with audiences.

Can Alvin 2 and Sherlock Holmes topple Avatar? Can Avatar survive the competition at the box office to become a perennial draw and make money the way Titanic did? These are the questions that will intrigue this coming weekend, and in the weeks to come.