James Cameron Birthday: From ‘Aliens’ to ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, Ranking Director’s Movies Based on Their Box Office Collections and Where To Watch Them Online

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).