Ever since he first redefined the possibility of theatrical commercial success for the modern era with 1997’s Titanic, James Cameron has been “king of the world” when it comes to box office numbers…which are his words, not mine.
Cameron was already an influential and highly revered filmmaker by the late ‘90s, specifically in science fiction, having already delivered genre staples such as The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Aliens, and The Abyss. Thus, a romantic drama was uncharted territory for Cameron, but the filmmaker envisioned it as a spectacle of epic proportions and his instincts proved correct, as it not only won a record 11 Oscars (a feat matched only by 1959’s Ben-Hur and 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), but it went on to become the first ever movie to earn over a billion dollars at the global box office, and today it has grossed an estimated $2.26 billion when considering its theatrical re-releases over the years.
What’s most impressive about Cameron’s box office success, though, is that he has not slowed down since, going on what has been the greatest run in commercial cinema, and he is not likely to be beaten either. This is because Titanic remained the highest grossing film of all time for 12 years until his next film, the science fiction epic Avatar, which overtook Titanic’s success and is currently the highest grossing film of all time with an estimated $2.924 billion at the worldwide box office, although it was, for a time, dethroned by 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Following its success, Cameron became singularly focused on the Avatar franchise as a director, and while there was another large gap between the original movie and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which released 13 years later in 2022, audiences were still enamored by the Ontario filmmaker’s ongoing franchise and cinematic style, as The Way of Water continued his overwhelming success at the box office by grossing $2.343 billion globally. This put Cameron in rare company at the time, as he and the filmmaking duo Joe and Anthony Russo were the only directors to ever helm three movies that earned over a billion dollars each.
However, that has just changed, as Cameron has just become the only director with four billion-dollar movies under his belt due to the latest Avatar sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash. It was released on December 19th, 2025, and has just crossed the threshold this past weekend, not to mention Avatar has become the first trilogy to make $6 billion. Yet, Fire and Ash is still dominating the box office and is expected to make anywhere from $1.5 billion to over $2 billion when all is said and done.
While it is certainly difficult to imagine – especially in this era of waning theatrical attendance from audiences – that anyone in the near future, if ever, will be able to topple Cameron’s $6 billion gross for a trilogy, his other record is much more tenuous than one might think, and he will likely be matched, or even beaten, sooner rather than later. Just look at the most significant directors with multiple billion-dollar movies on their resume:
- Anthony and Joe Russo – 3 (Captain America: Civil War, Avengers Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame)
- Peter Jackson – 2 (The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
- Christopher Nolan – 2 (The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises)
- Michael Bay – 2 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Transformers: Age of Extinction)
- J. J. Abrams – 2 (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
- James Wan – 2 (Furious 7, Aquaman)
- Jon Watts – 2 (Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
- Pierre Coffin – 2 (Minions, Despicable Me 3)
- Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee – 2 (Frozen, Frozen 2)
- Joss Whedon – 2 (The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron)
- Colin Trevorrow – 2 (Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Dominion)
What’s interesting here is that the highest grossing director of all time, Steven Spielberg, to whom Cameron is second, doesn’t even make the list, as he only has one billion-dollar movie to his name, Jurassic Park. Nonetheless, what matters here is that there are a number of candidates who could eventually match or even overcome Cameron’s record of four billion-dollar movies.
By far the most likely candidates are the Russos brothers, who are only one billion-dollar gross movie behind Cameron, and they are currently making Avengers: Doomsday, whose budget alone, including marketing, could reach as much as a billion dollars, making it the most expensive movie ever made. Whether it can truly be profitable is one thing, but if there is any 2026 movie that is practically guaranteed to make over a billion dollars, it’s Avengers: Doomsday, which releases in December. This will see the Russos matching Cameron’s record, but this is also without having mentioned that the brothers are also signed to direct Doomsday’s sequel, 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, which could potentially be the single-most consequential movie ever in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s very likely another billion-dollar box office behemoth in their pockets, which would see them surpass Cameron’s record, and who knows when the Canadian filmmaker will release his next feature.
Another potential candidate to at least match Cameron’s record is Christopher Nolan, as his highly anticipated adaptation The Odyssey is slated for release this year and could pass the billion-dollar mark, edging him ever closer to the record. Interestingly, some of the lesser-known names on the list, such as Pierre Coffin, and Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, have the upcoming animated projects Minions 3 and Frozen 3, respectively, and there is certainly the chance that one, if not both, can cross a billion dollars yet again. And of course, you can never write-off heavy hitters like Peter Jackson, Michael Bay, JJ Abrams, and James Wan, but for now at least, Cameron’s stunning records are safe.