December 20, 2009 | 12:54 pm

20th Century Fox’s $430-million bet on James Cameron is off to a rip-roaring start and set up for a huge holiday haul. “Avatar” sold a studio-estimated $232.2 million worth of tickets around the world this weekend, the ninth-biggest global debut of all time not accounting for ticket-price inflation. It was the biggest ever for a non-sequel, a sign that Fox’s marketing machine succeeded in generating huge interest in a picture whose name alone didn’t have much built-in excitement, as evidenced by modestly attended midnight screenings Thursday night.