James Cameronhas directed the biggest blockbuster films in the world on two separate occasions, but not every movie by the director has performed quite as extraordinarily well. Cameron has been making feature-length films since the 1980s, and while that decade did see him deliver incredible, enduring works of art likeTerminator 2: Judgment Day, andAliens, they were not his first contributions to the world of cinema. However, for Cameron, creativity and imagination have always played an essential role in his films.
While Cameron has been a producer for nearly 50 different films, and written or contributed to the writing for more than 50,he has only directed eleven feature films, with two of these titles being documentaries. He also puts a lot of time and energy into his films, with someprojects likeAvatarand the sequelstaking literal decades to create. And with three of the top four highest box office movies of all time being a product of his direction, it’s worth studying his work and the process that led to this remarkable streak.
Piranha II: The Spawning
Cast
Piranha II: The Spawning follows a scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband as they investigate mysterious deaths linked to mutant piranha fish near a sunken freighter ship off a Caribbean island resort. Released in 1982, it serves as a sequel to the 1978 film Piranha.
Going back to the very beginning of Cameron’s journey as a director, his first movie was a small-scale sequel which he worked on and released in 1982. Interestingly, two of the first three films that Cameron was assigned to direct were sequels.However,Piranha II: The Spawningstands out as both the least successful financially, and the least notable of these works. It is in the family of bizarre and wacky horror movies which includesSharknado,Velocipastor, andLlamageddon.
5 Reasons Why James Cameron’s First Movie Was So Bad
James Cameron is a legendary director who appears to only produce hits, that is, apart from his first film, Piranhas II, which was a total disaster.
For Cameron, the opportunity to direct Piranha II came thanks to the disorganization and discord behind the scenes, as the film actually hired and fired two other directors along the way.Initially, Cameron was set to lead the special effects for the film and was thrust into the role after the writing was finished, and some time before principal photography. Perhaps fortunately, it appears that almost no one watched the film, which probably helped Cameron avoid a negative reputation as a director.
After hismonumental success withTitanic,Cameron shifted his focus away from producing major motion pictures. Instead, Cameron worked on some projects for TV, which included documentary-style TV movies.He also developed a fascination with the sea that likely stemmed from his numerous trips to the ocean floor to visit the decaying Titanic. In collaboration with NASA scientists, Cameron created a documentary calledAliens of the Deep, which focused on the Mid-Ocean Ridge, and the incredible deep sea creatures that live in this mysterious and vast region.
However, as a documentary, it failed to generate any significant revenue at the box office. Regardless, it stands out as one of Cameron’s great passion projects.
Water, exploration of the ocean, and exposing unique and extraordinary new life would become a theme in Cameron’s career, andAliens of the Deepwas certainly another step forward in this direction.However, as a documentary, it failed to generate any significant revenue at the box office. Regardless, it stands out as one of Cameron’s great passion projects.
Before Cameron moved on to exploring the Mid-Ocean Ridge, he spent a long time after the release of Titanic repeatedly returning to the site.This led to Cameron creating the 2003 documentary,Ghosts of the Abyss. As the person who has visited that site more than anyone else in the world, having wracked up a total of 33 visits to the site and likely spending more time on board than the actual captain of the ship (viaBusiness Insider), Cameron was uniquely qualified to deliver a documentary on the haunting reality that now sits at the bottom of the ocean.
The Russo Brothers Are The Only Directors To Match A James Cameron Box Office Accomplishment
Only the Russo Brothers have been able to rival James Cameron in this specific box office accomplishment, but Cameron may soon come out on top again.
Using the extensive footage he acquired on his trips, and working alongside actor Bill Paxton, who appeared in the 1997 film,Ghosts of the Abysstells the story of this haunting incident in incredible detail.It’s haunting, and incredibly insightful, and it managed to earn more than double the total box office of his subsequent documentary, butGhosts of the Abyssremains one of Cameron’s lowest earning films of all time.
The Abyss
The Abyss is James Cameron’s fourth feature film and his second water-themed movie. Starring Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, the 1989 drama that revolves around a team of oil workers and Navy SEALs who face a mysterious alien race at the bottom of the ocean.
Moving on to feature films, in 1989, with three previous titles under his belt as director, and managing to gain incrediblesuccess withThe TerminatorandAliens, Cameron worked on another passion project which he wrote and directed. Considering the film was released nearly a decade before Titanic, Cameron has clearly always had some sort of draw to the water, which led him to createThe Abyss.
With his expertise in special effects, Cameron debuted the first fully computer generated character in this movie, which was a groundbreaking development in the world of cinema that led to the movie winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
However, despite the breakthrough innovations, and the compelling narrative of a deep sea diving team traveling to the depths of the ocean and encountering mysterious life forms, the film was a financial flop. With a sizable $70 million budget,The Abyssended up losing money at the box office. However, in the years since it’s release, it’s developed a cult following, particularly among fans of Cameron’s other works.
The Terminator
The Terminator, directed by James Cameron and released in 1984, features a cyborg assassin sent back in time to eliminate Sarah Connor, the mother of a future resistance leader. As the relentless machine pursues its mission, a human warrior is sent to protect her and secure humanity’s survival.
Early in Cameron’s career, the director found himself falling into the sci-fi niche.His second feature directorial effort was the incredibly popularThe Terminatorstarring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which launched Cameron towards more mainstream success. On a shoestring budget of just over $6 million, Cameron managed to create something that was truly spectacular, and inspired a series of films that would continue to try and reignite the spark and magic of the original.
Cameron also came up with the idea forThe Terminator, which he initially wrote as a slasher horror film. However, with revision, and help from other writers, the script developed into a sci-fi film which was much more similar to the end product.This is the first film where Cameron’s unique tone of voice and style is seen clearly with the director having touched each part of the process,and making it uniquely his. And the result managed to rack up more than 10 times the total amount of the budget, making it a huge success for the small production and distribution companies that released the film.
Then, withThe Terminator’ssuccess positioning Cameron as a competent sci-fi director for dark and edgy projects,he was entrusted to direct the sequel to the popular Ridley Scott sci-fi horror,Alien.Cameron had been working on the script while makingThe Terminator, but he also wanted to direct, and it wasn’t until the success ofThe Terminatorthat Cameron secured the role. With that, the much larger Fox studio took a gamble on the up-and-coming director, and it paid off in a big way.
Despite a tight budget of just $17 million, which was the most the director ever had to work with at that point in his career,the film managed to eclipse this figure and exceed the original movie’s box office by a considerable margin.This confirmed that Cameron’s success was not a fluke, and helped him to land further big budget projects in the years to come. However, it would be several years until his next big hit movie.
True Lies
In James Cameron’s 1994 action comedy True Lies, the spy Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) lives a double life as a mellow computer salesman and keeps his real job secret from his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis). However, she joins him when he discovers a terrorist plot to destroy America.
True Liesmarked another major turning point in Cameron’s career, as he reunited with Arnold Schwarzenegger to direct this high-octane action flick, andCameron landed the first $100 million dollar budget to produce a film.This time, Cameron broke the mold and opted to create a highbrow comedy action film which was a tonal shift from his other work in sci-fi. However, with big name talent like Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, a fun romp in an era where these types of movie were thriving, and the biggest film budget to date, Cameron created another smashing success.
This would be closer to $780 million with inflation today
While the movie did not return a multiple of 10 times plus like some of his previous works, it did manage to secure more than $365 million dollars, which was an extraordinary amount of money at the time.To put that into perspective, this would be closer to $780 million with inflation today. On top of that, it managed to land the third-highest box office of the year with stiff competition likeThe Lion KingandForrest Gumpbeing the only movies to earn more in 1994.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a sci-fi action film directed by James Cameron, set ten years after the original. It chronicles a new effort to eliminate future rebellion leader John Connor, despite a reprogrammed terminator dispatched to safeguard him.
However, this level of success was becoming the norm for Cameron. In 1991, he directed the sequel to his hit film,The Terminator, which was granted a significantly larger budget.And with technology having advanced sufficiently, Cameron was able to implement ideas that he was unable to achieve in the original movie, namely with the introduction of a liquid terminator, known as T-1000. With the incredible visuals, and the original movies' fanbase increasing since the original,Terminator 2: Judgment Daybecame the highest grossing film of 1991 at the Domestic Box Office, earning more than $200 million in North America alone (viaThe Numbers).
However, it also marked the moment that Cameron became a much larger global sensation, with the majority of the films' earnings coming from internation markets.This would again become a trend in later films, as Cameron’s work became more ambitious, and he again pioneered new technologies in the world of cinema.But in 1991, this was a huge step-up for Cameron, and allowed the director to be a lot more careful, methodical, and selective with the projects he chose to work on.
Titanic
Titanic is the 1997 blockbuster romantic/disaster epic based on the events surrounding the sinking of the legendary “unsinkable” vessel. Flashing back to the past and forward to the present, the film primarily follows the stories of the well-to-do and somewhat timid Rose and the poor but lively Jack, star-crossed lovers who meet aboard the doomed ship. In addition, the film tells true and fictionalized accounts of the passengers of the RMS Titanic, with an older Rose recounting her tale to the crew of a research ship.
In 1997, just three years after the release ofTrue Lies, Cameron managed to break another budget record in Hollywood, securing a budget of $200 million forTitanic.This figure went towards the director coordinating numerous expeditions to the wreckage site, building a large scale replica of a portion of the ship, and securing some top talent to bring the movie to life. And while this was evidently a gamble from the studios, Cameron once again proved he was worth the risk when the movie became the highest grossing movie of all time.
Not only didTitanicmanage to land this phenomenal record,but it also held the title for over a decade, until Cameron released his next theatrical feature film, which was not a documentary,Avatar.Today,Titanichas managed to balloon the total gross to over $2 billionthanks to highly successful re-releases, but even the $600 million dollar figure the film made upon its initial release in 1997 is closer to $1.2 billion with inflation in 2024. However, the re-releases are responsible for keeping the movie in the top four grossing films of all time.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar: The Way of Water, set more than a decade after the original film, follows the Sully family as they face threats to their survival. With Jake and Neytiri at the helm, they strive to protect their children while combating external perils and confronting personal losses.
Avatar: The Way of Wateris Cameron’s second entry into hisAvatarfranchise, and despite plans to create a sequel being in place since before the release ofAvatar,the film was not officially released until 2022, 13 years after the original. Today, blockbuster movies are commonly given budgets in the hundreds of millions, but even still, the $460 million dollar budget, nearly half a billion in total, is an astonishing figure.
Regardless, Cameron once again worked his magic to deliver a film that appealed to the masses, and attracted huge audiences around the world, with a particularly large fanbase for the films coming out of China.Avatar: The Way of Wateris just the next step in Cameron’s epic saga, which has plans for five movies total fromCameron himself, and the potential for anAvatar 6and7depending on the ongoing success of the franchise. However, it does appear that the movies are on a downward trend, and may not be able to sustain such monumental budgets in the future.
