If 3D is here to stay — and it sure looks as though it is — you can lay the blame squarely on a hermetic little art film called Avatar.

Canadian auteur James Cameron wrestled back “King of the World” status with this astonishing 3D work, which handily raced past Cameron’s previous record-holder, Titanic, to take the crown as top-grossing film of all time.

Avatar has made a mind-boggling $2.7 billion around the world but more significant than the sales stats is the fact that the film introduced the new, improved 3D to tens of millions of folks all over the planet.

There have been plenty of recent 3D hits — from the inspired Up to the not-so-inspired Clash of the Titans — but it was Avatar that made the greatest, most creative use of the new technology, and showed that you can indeed make beautiful art with this eye-popping format.

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