In a world dominated by superhero movies,James Cameronhas continued to have three 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, in the past, Cameron has described all of his movies as “love stories.” Whether they centered on star-crossed lovers or just a general love for humanity, that has never been hard to see. He makes films for everyone, as long as they are always as visual effects-driven as he makes them.
Update June 08, 2025: This article has been updated following the release ofAvatar: The Way of Waterand theTitanicre-release.
Before he made his way into Hollywood, Cameron was a truck driver studying film student papers to learn how to direct. That relentless passion paid off, as Cameron’s movies have now been seen by millions of people across the world. While Cameron was behind several timeless classics. Here’s every James Cameron movie to date, ranked by box office gross.
9Piranha II: The Spawning (1982) — $389,106
Piranha II: The Spawningmarked 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 TerminatorandAliens. Cameron has distanced himself fromPiranha IIdespite 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.
8The Abyss (1989) — $90 million
Towards the end of the 80s, Cameron releasedThe 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 the government in finding a sunken US submarine. What they find below is out of this world.The Abysswas a groundbreaking sci-fi thriller that featured great visual effects. Cameron also made use of impressive underwater camerawork, preceding the work done on 2022’sAvatar: The Way of Water. Audiences responded positively toThe Abyss, with the film grossing $90 million at the box office.
7The Terminator (1984) — $78.3 million
Blending time travel with ’80s action,The Terminatorwas 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, prevent the birth of her son, and bring about the end of the rebellion that would fight Skynet in the future.
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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 Terminatorgrossed more than $78 million, its success leading to thecreation of an entire franchise.
6Aliens (1986) — $183.3 million
Seven years after the success of the originalAlien, 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 inAliens.Additionally, the alien queen and the Colonial Marines were welcome additions to the franchise.Alienswas a success at the box office and has been regarded as one of the best sci-fi/action/horror sequels ever made, grossing $183.3 million.
5True Lies (1994) — $378.9 million
After two films working together in the Terminator franchise, Cameron worked with Schwarzenegger again onTrue 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 Lieswas new ground for Cameron, leaning more into the genre of comedy. In the year thatTrue Lies wasreleased, only two movies out-grossed it:The Lion KingandForrest Gump. It’s Cameron’s only venture in remaking a previous film, but it’s just as exciting as the rest of his films.
4Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) — $520.9 million
Like 1986’sAliens, Cameron’sTerminator 2: Judgment Dayhas been considered one of the best sequels ever made. Some people have gone so far as to callTerminator 2one of the best movies ever made. We won’t argue against it. Linda Hamilton reprises her role as Sarah Connor, who transformed from a damsel-in-distress to a remarkable action hero. She worked with a reprogrammed T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to keep her son safe from a new liquid metal robot. The sequel out-grossed the originalTerminator, which did not even reach the $100 million mark, surpassing $500 million at the box office.
3Titanic (1997) — $2.26 billion
When Cameron said all his movies were love stories, he really meant it.Titanicwas the movie that best exemplified that, 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.Titanicbecame the first movie to gross over $1 billion, and with a $2.2 billion box office run, it was the highest-grossing movie of all time for more than a decade.
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It only lost that spot to Cameron’s ownAvatar, before sinking to third place after the release ofAvengers: Endgame. The movie remains popular to this day as itsre-release in 2023 brought in $70 million worldwide, an impressive accomplishment for a 25-year-old movie that most audiences own on home video.
2Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) — $2.32 billion
The return to Pandora was only a matter of time.Avatar: The Way of Wateris an impressive continuation of the conflict and world portrayed in 2009 withAvatar. Only this time, Cameron made sure to make the film harder to accomplish. How? Well, adding water as an element to be rendered with state-of-the-art special effects that you have never seen before. It tells the story of the Na’vi being forced to migrate to find a safe haven while the military hunts them down. It’s an action feature, of course, but this one adds substance to the mystical aspect of the franchise in imaginative ways that will make their way to your heart.
With a gross of $2.32 billion at the box office, we don’t see how someone would stop Cameron’s will to complete his vision. After all the pre-release talk thatAvatar: The Way of Watermight bomb at the box office, the numbers show not to doubt James Cameron.
1Avatar (2009) — $2.92 billion
Avataris not only Cameron’s highest-grossing movie but the highest-grossing movie of all time. It was overtaken byAvengers: Endgamein 2019, but a Chinese re-release allowedAvatarto reclaim the crown in March 2021. The 2022 re-release only helped the movie’s overall box office.
Development onAvatarbegan as far back as 1994, and to many people’s surprise, the movie was originally planned for a late-90s release, not long afterTitanic. However, the filmmaking technology was not quite there at the time to realize Cameron’s vision.Avatarhas grossed nearly $3 billion and has launched Cameron’s second sci-fi movie franchise. SeveralAvatarsequels have been announced, and with the success ofAvatar: The Way of Water, we don’t see Cameron stopping anytime soon.
