In an era where it’s nearly impossible to get people to pause their daily lives, put down their devices, and visit a movie theater, James Cameron has defied the odds and given the movie business hope that not all is lost.
Over the weekend, Cameron’s latest epic, “Avatar: Fire & Ash,” crossed the $1 billion milestone at the worldwide box office. For any filmmaker, it’s an incredible feat: In Hollywood history, only 58 movies have crossed $1 billion at the box office. James Cameron has done it four times.
So, why is it that, despite having more hits than Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan, we don’t consider him one of today’s greatest directors?
Cameron’s box-office numbers speak for themselves
Cameron’s first taste of the six-zero club was in 1997 when his iconic love story “Titanic” hit the milestone and went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time for over a decade. That lasted until Cameron himself dethroned it with “Avatar” in 2009. That not only earned $1 billion, but is the current highest-grossing movie of all time. Since then, sequels “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022) and “Avatar: Fire & Ash” (2025) have crossed $1 billion.
Disney/20th Century Studios
Cameron’s four-peat breaks a tie he had with Anthony and Joe Russo, who have three billion-dollar-plus earners with “Captain America: Civil War (2016), “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).
Meanwhile, filmmakers who have two titles that have hit a billion include the likes of Nolan (2008’s “The Dark Knight,” 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises”), Peter Jackson (2003’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” 2012’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), and Michael Bay (2011’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” 2014’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction”).
What all these filmmakers outside of Cameron have in common is that their movies earned their billions working with established IP that has been ingrained in pop culture for generations. Cameron, meanwhile, crafted original stories (spoiler: yes, the Titanic did sink, but the Jack and Rose love story is pure fiction).
That’s not to take anything away from the above filmmakers, who told entertaining stories that clearly grabbed the attention of audiences all over the world (and the filmmaking team of Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, who have made two movies to earn a billion each that weren’t from IP: 2013’s “Frozen” and 2019’s “Frozen II”). But Cameron has done the equivalent of winning the movie Super Bowl four times. Doesn’t he belong in the ranks of the greatest living directors?
Orion Pictures
Cameron’s movies aren’t just money-makers — they’re actually good
James Cameron gave us “The Terminator” franchise, one of the greatest sequels of all time with 1986’s “Aliens” (a feat he repeated with 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”), and one of the greatest underwater sci-fi thrillers with 1989’s “The Abyss.” His entire filmography is made up of classics (yes, even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s spy movie “True Lies”).
So why don’t we put more respect on his name?
You can’t say it’s because he doesn’t have an Oscar; he won best director for “Titanic.” And it’s certainly not because he doesn’t put butts in seats. But for some reason, Cameron’s name doesn’t come after you say Spielberg, Coppola, and Scorsese. Heck, you might even think of Nolan or Ryan Coogler before you think of Cameron as one of the greats.
Paramount
Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t have the cinematic eye of a Brian DePalma or can feed off the social consciousness like a Spike Lee. It could be because he’s lived in the science fiction world most of his career, a genre that leads to box office bucks (hi, George Lucas) but not auteur status.
Regardless, we go to see his movies. Whether it’s because he pushes the envelope in the visual technology or, dare I say, because he’s a great storyteller, the box office receipts show he’s inspired millions to go see his work.
At the end of the day, that’s all any filmmaker can ask for: that people to want to go see what they came up with. But in a time in Hollywood when fewer creatives are taking risks to tell personal stories and must instead take on the next “sure thing” IP to keep their careers afloat, we should show much more gratitude that James Cameron is still working.
