James Cameron's box office behemoth Avatar has become the first film ever to earn US$100 million on the Chinese mainland, according to Sina.com.cn.

The sci-fi spectacular, which opened in Chinese cinemas on January 4, earned 698 million yuan (US$102 million) in mainland cinemas as of Sunday, the report said quoting anonymous insiders.

Avatar's achievement is ground-breaking because no other film has ever come close to the US$100 million threshold at mainland box offices. Disaster movie 2012, the previous box office record holder on the mainland, grossed 465 million yuan (US$68 million).

Last week, some cinema chains in China decided to pull Avatar off 2-D screens to make room for domestic films. But the move will unlikely be a drag on the film's box office performance. According to Sina.com.cn, the 2-D version of the film only accounted for 40 percent of its total earnings on the mainland. Avatar will continue to be screened in 3-D, digital and IMAX format.

In North America, Avatar has been the box office champion for six weeks. The film has become the second top-grossing film of all time on the continent behind Cameron's another smash hit, Titanic.