Every James Cameron Movie, Ranked By Box Office

James Cameron is the unrivaled king of the box office, and here are all of his movies ranked by how much they made. Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time, but with films like Avatar: The Way of Water and Titanic in the top five, Cameron has easily positioned himself as the most financially successful filmmaker. However, this isn’t the case for all of his movies, as some didn’t make nearly as much as others.

Cameron’s first and second movies are 1978’s Xenogenesis and 1982’s Piranha II: The Spawning, both of which don’t have box office numbers reported. Starting with 1984’s The Terminator, however, Cameron began a streak of box office successes. So, here they are ranked from lowest box office to highest.

9) The Terminator – $78 Million

Despite The Terminator being one of Cameron’s most beloved franchises, the first film is actually one of his lowest-grossing movies. The 1984 sci-fi thriller film made only $78 million. However, this is pretty good considering that the film had a budget of only $6.4 million.

8) The Abyss – $90 Million

James Cameron’s sixth film isn’t as popular as some of his others, although The Abyss is still beloved by many sci-fi fans. The 1989 film made $90 million on a budget of $47 million, meaning that while it was successful, it wasn’t as successful as some of the director’s other projects. However, The Abyss has since gained a cult following, with it being more popular than ever in the 2020s.

7) Aliens – $183.3 Million

After the success of Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien, it only made sense for a sequel to be made. 1986’s Aliens made $183.3 million against a budget of $18.5 million, proving that the sci-fi series could be a continued profitable success. Surprisingly, however, it made less than its predecessor, with the original Alien making $188 million on a budget of $14 million.

6) True Lies – $378.9 Million

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis were two of the biggest stars of the 1990s, so it makes sense that 1994’s True Lies was a major success. The James Cameron movie had a large budget of $120 million, but it was a box office hit, making $378.9 million. True Lies was the first movie to ever cost more than $100 million, which is why the film being such a big success was a big deal.

5) Terminator 2: Judgement Day – $520.9 Million

1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day proved that The Terminator franchise had become incredibly popular since the first film’s release, and this can be seen in the box office success of the sequel. With a budget of $94 million, the sequel made $520.9 million, leading to the massive expansion of the franchise that came in the coming years.

4) Avatar: Fire and Ash – $949 million

2025’s Avatar: Fire and Ash is still in theaters as of the writing of this article, meaning that the film’s final box office total could change its position on this list. However, as of now, the film has made $949 million at the box office. While this is still an impressive number considering the film’s $400 million budget, it would make the third Avatar film the franchise’s least successful. However, the long-term financial success of Fire and Ash could mirror that of its predecessors, with it steadily growing its box office over an extended period of time.

3) Titanic – $2.264 billion

1997’s Titanic was at one point the highest-grossing film of all time, so it isn’t surprising that the film’s box office total is so overwhelming. Although it had an unheard-of budget at the time of $200 million, it was more than worth it, as it made $2.264 billion. This kind of success had never before been seen in Hollywood, with it being the first sign that James Cameron was truly the box office king.

2) Avatar: The Way of Water – $2.343 billion

Cameron’s most recent movie to reach the $2 billion mark is the second Avatar movie, 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water. After 13 years of waiting for a sequel, fans showed up in droves for the highly-anticipated follow-up, with the film earning $2.343 billion. This is against a budget of around $460 million. It was a massive gamble for the film to have a budget this high, but based on the final totals, the movie was undoubtedly profitable.

1) Avatar – $2.923 billion

James Cameron’s highest-grossing movie of all time is also flat-out the highest-grossing movie of all time: 2009’s Avatar. The sci-fi film earned $2.923 billion across its multiple releases, cementing the franchise as one of the biggest of all time after only one entry. It set the standard that all other Avatar movies have attempted to meet, and it sits unchallenged at the top of the box office rankings for over a decade and a half.

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