In a world dominated by superhero movies, James Cameron has continued to have two of the highest-grossing movies of all time. The Canadian filmmaker has constantly pushed the limits of imagination with his sci-fi and epic films. Although they have explored many different themes, Cameron has described all of his movies as “love stories” (via The Talks). Whether they centered on star-crossed lovers, or just a general love for humanity, that has never been hard to see.
Before he made his way into Hollywood, Cameron was a truck driver studying film students’ papers to learn how to direct (via CheatSheet). That relentless passion paid off, as Cameron’s movies have now been seen by millions of people across the world. While Cameron has arguably been best known for Avatar, he was also behind several other timeless classics. Here is every James Cameron movie, ranked by box office gross.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Piranha II: The Spawning (1982) — $389,106
Saturn International Pictures, Columbia
Piranha II: The Spawning marked Cameron’s directorial debut, but was also the worst-reviewed movie of his entire career. It was a movie about genetically-modified flying piranhas wreaking havoc at a Caribbean resort. The movie starred Tricia O’Neil and Lance Henriksen, who went on to appear in two much better received films from Cameron: The Terminator and Aliens. Cameron has distanced himself from Piranha II despite being credited as the sole director. According to Cameron, he was fired two and a half weeks into production as well as locked out of the editing room (via Slash Film).
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 The Abyss (1989) — $90 million
20th Century Studios
Towards the end of the 80s, Cameron released The Abyss, a movie that traveled to the deepest depths of the ocean. The protagonists, Bud Brigman (Ed Harris) and Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), were recruited to assist a Navy SEAL in finding a sunken US submarine. The Abyss was a groundbreaking sci-fi thriller that featured some great visual effects. Cameron also made use of impressive underwater camerawork, preceding the work done on 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water. Audiences responded positively to The Abyss, with the film grossing $90 million at the box office.
6 The Terminator (1984) — $78.3 million
Orion Pictures
Blending time travel with 80s action, The Terminator was the ultimate cat-and-mouse movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator was a powerful cyborg assassin that quickly became a pop culture icon. Sent 45 years back from a post-apocalyptic future, the Terminator was programmed to kill Sarah Connor and bring about the end of the human race. However, the Terminator wasn’t the only one who traveled back in time. Kyle Reese also arrived in 80s America, having accepted the challenging task of protecting Sarah Connor. The Terminator grossed more than $78 million, its success leading to the creation of an entire franchise.
5 Aliens (1986) — $183.3 million
Seven years after the success of the original Alien, 20th Century Fox finally released its highly-anticipated sequel, Aliens. Cameron took over the director’s chair from Ridley Scott, honoring the original film while also expanding the universe in new and interesting ways. The amazing Sigourney Weaver was just as good, if not better, in Aliens than the original. Additionally, the alien queen and the Colonial Marines were welcome additions to the franchise. Aliens was a success at the box office and has been regarded as one of the best sci-fi, action, and sequels ever made, grossing $183.3 million.
4 True Lies (1994) — $378.9 million
20th Century Fox (North America, France and Italy) / Universal Pictures (through United International Pictures, international)
A decade after the original Terminator, Cameron worked with Schwarzenegger again on True Lies. Schwarzenegger left his cyborg persona behind to play Harry Tasker, a man juggling a double life between father and government spy. This was a secret Tasker kept even from his own wife, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. True Lies was new ground for Cameron, leaning more into the genre of comedy. In the year that True Lies released, only two movies out-grossed it: The Lion King and Forrest Gump.
3 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) — $520 million
Carolco Pictures
Like 1986’s Aliens, Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day has been considered one of the best sequels ever made. Some people have gone so far as to call Terminator 2 one of the best movies ever made. Linda Hamilton reprised her role as Sarah Connor, who had transformed from a damsel-in-distress to a remarkable action heroine. She worked with the reprogrammed T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to keep her son safe from a new Terminator. The sequel out-grossed the original Terminator, surpassing $500 million at the box office. For comparison, The Terminator did not even reach the $100 million mark.
2 Titanic (1997) — $2.2 billion
Paramount Pictures
When Cameron said all his movies were love stories, he really meant it. Titanic was the movie that best exemplified that theme, intertwining romance with human loss amidst a major historical backdrop. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were catapulted to international stardom when the movie proved to be super successful. Titanic became the first movie to gross over $1 billion, and with a $2.2 billion box office run, was the highest-grossing movie for more than a decade. It only lost that spot to Cameron’s own Avatar, before sinking to third place after the release of Avengers: Endgame.
1 Avatar (2009) — $2.92 billion
Avatar has become not only Cameron’s highest-grossing movie, but the highest-grossing movie of all time. It was overtaken by Avengers: Endgame in 2019, but a Chinese re-release allowed Avatar to reclaim the crown in March 2021. Development on Avatar began as far back as 1994, and to many people’s surprise, the movie was originally planned for a late-90s release, not long after Titanic. However, the filmmaking technology was not quite there at the time to realize Cameron’s vision. Avatar has grossed nearly $3 billion, and has launched Cameron’s second sci-fi movie franchise. There have been four Avatar sequels announced, with several of the movies’ existence depending on the box office performance of Avatar: The Way of Water.
