James Cameron, born on August 16, 1954, is one of the most influential filmmakers in global cinema. His career began with a cheesy creature horror film called Piranha II: The Spawning in 1982, a movie that he doesn't talk much about. Cameron's breakout success came two years later in the science-fiction thriller The Terminator (1984), which became a massive hit and brought a certain Arnold Schwarzenegger into the global spotlight. He followed this success with Aliens (1986), a sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien, which was both a critical and commercial triumph, establishing Camera as a tour de force when it comes to science fiction films. In 1989, Cameron directed The Abyss, a technically ambitious film that explored the mysteries of the ocean, which unfortunately under-performed at the box office. James Cameron Birthday Special: From Avatar to Aliens, Taking a Look at Five of the Director’s Best Films!

In 1991, Cameron made Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a groundbreaking film that set new standards for visual effects and became one of the highest-grossing films of its time. His 1997 epic Titanic cemented his status as one of Hollywood's leading directors, winning 11 Academy Awards and becoming the highest-grossing film in history at the time.

Cameron then spent over a decade developing Avatar (2009), a film that revolutionised 3D technology and once again broke box office records, becoming the highest-grossing film ever at the time. It took him 13 years to director another feature film, but the sequel to Avatar - Avatar: The Way of Water - went on to break even more box office records and is presently the highest-grossing movie of all time. Avatar The Way of Water Movie Review: James Cameron's Sci-Fi Sequel Is a Spectacular Visual Treat That Revels in Deep World-Building!

On the occasion of the director's 70th birthday, we rank all of James Cameron's feature-length movies based on their box office earnings (from lowest to highest) and where you can watch them online.

Piranha II: The Spawning (1982)

Box Office Collection: Data Not Available

Where to Watch Online: MX Player and Zee5

The Terminator (1984)

Box Office Collection: USD 78.3 million

Where to Watch Online: Prime Video

The Abyss (1989)

Box Office Collection: USD 90 million

Where to Watch Online: Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube

Aliens (1986)

Box Office Collection: USD 183.3 million

Where to Watch Online: Disney+ Hotstar

True Lies (1994)

Box Office Collection: USD 378.9 million

Where to Watch Online: Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Box Office Collection: USD 520.9 million

Where to Watch Online: JioCinema

Titanic (1997)

Box Office Collection: USD 2.26 billion

Where to Watch Online: Disney+ Hotstar

Avatar (2009)

Box Office Collection: USD 2.92 billion

Where to Watch Online: Disney+ Hotstar

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Box Office Collection: USD 2.32 billion

Where to Watch Online: Disney+ Hotstar

James Cameron is presently in the works on his third Avatar film, whose title was recently unveiled at the D23 Expo as Avatar: Fire and Ash, and is scheduled to be released in 2025. Cameron also confirmed that he will be directing Avatar 4 and Avatar 5. While we are sure that these movies will go on to break more box office records (which are already his own), we are also a little disappointed that Cameron is not making a movie beyond the world of Pandora. True Lies 2, maybe?

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 16, 2024 08:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).