5 Highest-Grossing Movies by James Cameron, Ranked
Not only is James Cameron the owner of several Oscars, but he is also the creator of The Terminator, Avatar, and Titanic.
What other movies by the iconic director have broken multiple box office records and made cinematic history?
James Cameron, one of the world's most successful and famous filmmakers, started out as a special effects artist for B-movie king Roger Corman, who was known for his ability to make cheap films quickly.
Perhaps it was Corman's projects that made Cameron decide never to make low-budget movies again and eventually become the first director in the world to have $100–$200 million movies approved for production.
Anyway, here are the five highest-grossing movies, directed by James Cameron.
5. True Lies ($378.9 million)
Cameron's sixth movie was a remake of the French comedy La Totale. No monsters and no robots from the future – just action, embarrassing situations, and jokes.
The director spent over $100 million on the production, and the movie was even nominated for an Oscar for its special effects.
4. Terminator 2: Judgement Day ($520.9 million)
With Aliens, Cameron proved that he could make sequels that were as good as the original. Terminator 2: Judgment Day only confirmed this further – Cameron took the essence of the first movie and, after ensuring that he had a suitable budget, made an epic sequel.
Terminator 2 is a combination of an entertaining yet simple plot and the quintessence of Cameron's directing style, which allowed it to become one of the best blockbusters in history.
3. Titanic ($ 2.2 billion)
The idea for this movie came to James Cameron when he first saw a documentary about the sinking of the legendary ship on National Geographic. Later, after writing the script, he dived 12,300 feet deep in a bathyscaphe to get to the Titanic – and he did it 12 times!
During each dive, he, along with his crew, filmed 15 minutes of the exterior and interior of the ship and later used this footage in the movie. It was worth it – the $200 million film grossed $2.2 billion worldwide and won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
2. Avatar: The Way of Water ($ 2.3 billion)
James Cameron's Avatar 2 became the fourth highest-grossing movie in history.
Avatar: The Way of the Water is a sequel to the 2009 movie, with Sam Worthington reprising his role as Jake Sully. More than a decade after the release of the first film, audiences saw Jake and his family face the return of an ancient threat.
1. Avatar ($2.92 billion)
The highest-grossing movie of all time is based on a screenplay written by James Cameron in 1994. In 1996, the author announced that after completing work on Titanic, he would begin making a movie, for which he would create actors using CGI.
However, Cameron had to wait for the technology to catch up with his imagination. From 2005 to 2006, he worked on the language, design, flora, and fauna of the fictional world of Pandora. Filming did not begin until April 2007.
According to the director, his epic movie is 60% CGI and 40% live-action.