LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- James Cameron's science fiction film "Avatar: The Way of Water" maintained its box office hold in North America for the fifth consecutive weekend with an estimated three-day cume of 31.1 million U.S. dollars, showed figures from the measurement firm Comscore on Sunday.

The blockbuster has grossed an estimated 563 million dollars in North America through Sunday for a global total of 1.89 billion dollars, including 212 million dollars from the Chinese mainland. It currently stands as the 7th highest global release of all time.

Distributed by Disney's 20th Century Studios, "Avatar: The Way of Water" is the second installment in the Avatar film series directed by Cameron. It's the sequel to the 2009 blockbuster "Avatar," the highest-grossing film of all time at the global box office with 2.9 billion dollars.

Produced more than a decade after the first film, "Avatar: The Way of Water" tells the story of the Sully family, the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure.

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions' science fiction horror film "M3GAN" came in second with 17.9 million dollars on its second weekend, pushing its North American cume to 56.5 million dollars through Sunday.

Rounding out the top three, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation's animated comedy adventure film "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish" generated 13.4 million dollars on its fourth weekend for a North American total of 106 million dollars.