James Cameron breaks a billion for a fourth time
By Emma Carrington
James Cameron is one of those talents that you see once in a lifetime, the man is bursting with creativity and intricate storytelling abilities that bring his films to life. Eighteen days after its initial release Avatar; Fire and Ash grossed one billion dollars at the box office, making it the fourth of James Cameron’s movies to do so, consecutively. Avatar: Fire and Ash is also the second highest grossing sequel, just behind Avengers; Endgame, which grossed more than two billion dollars by the time it left cinemas.
There is no doubt about Cameron’s talent and passion for bringing his imagination to life, but his ability to tell a story so widely loved while bringing in billions of dollars internationally is something he has certainly mastered. Even the likes of Steven Speilberg, Christopher Nolan, or Wes Anderson, some of Hollywood’s biggest names who have directed beloved films in the industry cannot achieve the same standards that Cameron has set. So why is it that these films are grossing so highly?
Titanic in 1997 broke all previous box office records and was the first movie to ever gross more than two billion dollars at the box office. This record was only broken 12 years later by another James Cameron film: Avatar. This movie held the world record of the highest grossing film of all time for years, only being overtaken by Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Since its release in 2009 the Avatar sequel has been one of the most anticipated films of the 21st century, which is partially why it grossed so highly, taking just 14 days to hit one billion at the box office, 27 days less than its predecessor.
Cameron’s work is touching; his plots are easy to understand but his complex characters are the true star of the show. Notably, female characters are written with care and personality traits that go beyond being a sidekick or love interest to the protagonist, which is rare in Science-Fiction. Neytri, portrayed by Zoe Saldana, is the most obvious character to fit this trope, she is written beautifully, her character being shaped by grief and tragedy as the films evolve. This realistic characterisation of women beyond being sex symbols helps pull in a younger female audience with characters that are relatable, powerful, and have interesting storylines beyond men.
The beautiful character arcs don’t stop at his female protagonists, however. Miles Quaritch, the primary antagonist of the series who is fuelled by greed and hungry for power over humanity, changes his tone slightly in the most recent Avatar film, seeing the beauty in Pandora and its people. These people include a new villainous character of Varang, a Pandora native who is disconnected from the nature of the world and hungry for dominance over others, one of which Quaritch has a budding romance with. Cameron makes his villains witty, smart, and charismatic which leaves viewers not only with a genuine fondness for them but also care for them just as much as we do the protagonists. As much as these characters are very obviously flawed, they are so in such a way that is shaped by their past losses, adding a layer of relatability.
These themes of religion, humanity, nature, and loyalty are so enticing for an audience. After seeing the third film in December all I can think about is how excited I am for the next two to be out to see how the stories end. This is why James Cameron keeps breaking the billions at the box office, he has built up such an intense plot that still has so much to wrap up.
As much as Titanic was inarguably a brilliant movie that launched Cameron’s career, it’s the Avatar franchise that is keeping him rich. The almost 14 year anticipation between the first two movies stirred up so much excitement that it broke a billion in just two weeks. No doubt the fourth and fifth instalments of the franchise will do so, too. This could make Cameron the first director in history to have not four, but six consecutive films gross that highly: A daunting record that directors of the future will only hope for an ounce of that success, cementing James Cameron as one of the greatest directors of all time.