Wait, what? Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland should be passing the $1bn mark worldwide sometime right about now, an astonishing result for a film that isn't even close to one of Burton's best. Still, with a whopping $332 million in the US and $667m in the rest of the world (including a massive $108m in Japan), Alice becomes only the sixth film ever to cross the line.
The tripped-out fantasy joins Avatar, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King, The Dark Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at the top of the worldwide box-office list, confirming the global popularity of fantasies, bad hair and Johnny Depp.
More unusually, this is the first film not released either during the summer high season or the Christmas season to cross that finish line, which Hollywood insiders are seeing as a sign that cinema is a year-round business. Cynics might see it more as a sign that 3D ticket price inflation, and inflation generally, is getting out of hand. After all, it took six years for a second film to follow Titanic's example and cross the threshold, but only three years after that for the third, and there's been a billion dollar film for the last three years.
For your guide to joining the Billion Dollar Club, check out our handy filmmakers guide here (and note that, with the arguable exception of rule 7, Burton's followed our advice to the letter). Otherwise, congratulations can be sent to Tim Burton at Moneybags Mansion, Upper Echelons, Gothsrule, Surrey.