Nine films, three Oscar wins, over $8 billion at the worldwide box office and a pop culture footprint the size of Toruk Makto. That’s right, people — we’re talking about the one and only James Cameron, visionary maestro behind some of the most iconic (and highest-grossing) movies ever made: The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar. If the term “auteur” ever felt applicable, now would be the time to use it. A little snobby, sure, but Cameron’s impact on the entertainment industry cannot be understated.
The dude is a living legend and the mythology around him just keeps on growing. His love of grand storytelling, mixed with a fascination of technological progress (both speculative and within the context of modern moviemaking tools) and the myopia of the military-industrial complex as they relate to things humanity doesn’t fully understand has allowed the filmmaker to deliver winning hit after winning hit.
Who is James Cameron? Life And Career Synopsis
Born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, the celebrated writer/director discovered a love for storytelling amidst the significant cultural shifts of the 1960s.
“Reaching his teenage years … a heady period that encompassed the excitement of the space race, the tensions of the Cold War, and the progressive spirit of the civil rights movement, Cameron was drawn to the science fiction of the time and its exploration of these prescient themes,” reads Tech Noir: The Art of James Cameron.
While he never formally attended film school, Cameron (whose family moved to California in 1971) had long since proven himself a talent visual from decades of personal illustration. After working odd jobs as a mechanic, truck driver and school janitor, the aspiring director landed a production designer gig at Roger Corman’s low-budget powerhouse, New World Pictures, gradually honing his Hollywood skills until it was time to make his feature-length debut.
In What Order Were James Cameron’s Films Released?
James Cameron movies represent the pinnacle of the visual storytelling art-form, and his legendary eye for design, action and world-building remains unmatched. Cameron won’t do something unless he is 100% certain he can deliver a cinematic experience like no other, as evidenced by his impressive lineup of films going back to 1982.
- Piranha II: The Spawning (1982)
- The Terminator (1984)
- Aliens (1986)
- The Abyss (1989)
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- True Lies (1994)
- Titanic (1997)
- Avatar (2009)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
James Cameron Movies Ranked
It almost feels sacrilegious to try and rank James Cameron’s celebrated filmography, because the director has never made an objectively bad movie. Just think about it for a second: every one of his blockbuster projects is thrilling, innovative, fun, iconic or some alchemical combination of all four. That said, here are my rankings.
9. Piranha II: The Spawning (1982)
I don’t think Cameron would begrudge anyone ranking his sequel to Joe Dante’s cult favorite and exploitative Jaws ripoff in last place. After all, Cameron only worked on the film for two-and-a-half weeks before he was fired. “In actual fact, I did some directing on the film, but I don’t feel it was my first movie,” he admitted in 1991. “So I don’t think I should have to take the lumps. I used it as a credit when it did me some good, which was to get Terminator. Subsequently, I dropped it.”
Piranha II: The Spawning is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.
8. True Lies (1994)
Again, none of Cameron’s movies are bad, per se. It’s just that some are better than others. True Lies is an absolute blast from start to finish, with the director blending his impeccable action chops with a solid comedic premise. Arnold Schwarzenegger headlines the blockbuster as Harry Tasker, a secret agent who accidentally drags his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) into a nuclear terrorist plot while trying to spice up her humdrum life with espionage excitement. Like most Cameron efforts, the movie yielded an oft-emulated rubric for later efforts like J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Simon Cellan Jones’ The Family Plan (2023).
True Lies is currently streaming on Hulu.
7. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
While it certainly delivers a breathtaking visual feast and makes a great case for reviving the RealD 3D craze sparked by its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water is just too new to rank any higher on this list — even if it is the third highest-grossing movie of all time. Its influence and context within the greater Avatar saga has yet to crystallize, especially with three other sequels on the way. Taking place 16 years after the first installment, The Way of Water finds Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), and their family fleeing to the Pandora coast as the Resources Development Administration returns to the planet with a vengeance.
Avatar: The Way of Water is currently streaming on Disney+.
6. The Abyss (1989)
One of those movies that will make you swear to never take breathing for granted ever again, The Abyss never lets up on the anaerobic claustrophobia one finds at the bottom of the ocean. Not exactly a movie for those of you who don’t enjoy tight spaces. The story starts off as a Jules Verne-style adventure 20,000+ leagues under the sea with a group of deep-sea oil riggers brought into a Navy-sponsored rescue operation regarding a damaged nuclear submarine. As the narrative progresses, however, The Abyss slowly shifts into a touching love story peppered with a dash of extra-terrestrial wonder worthy of Steven Spielberg. And, of course, one can’t deny this was the beginning of Cameron’s fascination with the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean — something that would eventually lead him to Titanic and a record-breaking dive to the Mariana Trench in the Deapsea Challenger submersible.
The Abyss is currently streaming on Hulu.
5. Titanic (1997)
The highest grossing movie of all time (until Avatar came along), Titanic remains Cameron’s sole stab at historical drama. Of course, there is plenty of fiction in there, too — mainly the romance between Jack Dawson (Leonard DiCaprio) and Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet). Still, a three-and-a-half hour movie about a boat wouldn’t have been all that interesting. Cameron needed the relatable human tragedy of star-crossed lovers serving as the emotional counterweight to a larger-than-life disaster that continues to haunt our collective consciousness.
Titanic is currently streaming on Paramount+.
4. Avatar (2009)
There’s a very good reason it took almost a decade for James Cameron to release another movie after Titanic: he was patiently waiting for technology to advance to the point where he could finally get this passion project off the ground. That lengthy hiatus paid off big-time once Avatar became (and stayed) the highest-grossing film of all time. More than that, our first adventure on Pandora marked a staggering watershed moment for visual effects and resulted in a brief, yet intense, resurgence of the whole 3D fad. Despite its familiar story and themes, Avatar was an event unto itself, a bold pronouncement shouted from the rooftops: “THE KING IS BACK!!!”
Avatar is currently streaming on Disney+.
3. The Terminator (1984)
Much like David Fincher, James Cameron would prefer you count his second directorial credit as the true start of his filmmaking career. Fine by us. Cameron’s heart-pounding action flick about an unstoppable killing machine (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent back in time to kill the mother of humanity’s only hope at rising up against a tyrannical technological regime was an instant classic. Lines like “Come with me if you want to live!” and “I’ll be back” were immediately branded into the hide of pop culture. The Terminator deserves every shred of its perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Terminator is currently streaming on Prime Video & AMC+.
2. Aliens (1986)
More than half a century after her ordeal aboard the Nostromo, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns to LV-426 with a platoon of cocky Colonial Marines, who have no idea what they’re up against. If there was anyone who could figure out a way to make a sequel to Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi/horror classic, it was James Cameron. To date, he remains the only filmmaker to craft a worthwhile follow-up to the original. Rather than try and recapture the magic of Alien, which turns 45 this year, Cameron opted for a much grander story, injecting the budding Xenomorph saga with a healthy dose of testosterone-laden action thrills.
Aliens is currently streaming on Max.
1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
It’s damn-near impossible to improve on perfection, but that’s exactly what Cameron did with T2, which brilliantly flips audience expectations by reframing Schwarzenegger’s terrifying T-800 as a benign protector for young John Connor (Edward Furlong). The big bad this time around is the new and improved T-1000 (Robert Patrick), a robotic assassin comprised of liquid metal. A deepening of the themes, characters and mythology introduced in the 1984 original, Terminator 2: Judgement Day remains the gold standard for blockbuster sequels everywhere.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day is currently streaming on AMC+.
Upcoming James Cameron Movies
At least three more Avatar films are currently on the way, with the trio of titles expected to hit theaters on December 19, 2025; December 21, 2029; and December 19, 2031 respectively.
Avatar 3-5 (and possibly beyond)
Plot details are kept under tight lock and key, but we do know Oona Chaplin (Game of Thrones), Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and David Thewlis (Harry Potter) are all set to play brand-new characters in the third chapter, which will introduce audiences to the antagonistic Na’vi tribe known as the Ash People.
Moreover, producer Jon Landau has confirmed “a big time jump” for Avatar 4 as well as a trip to Earth in Avatar 5. “In movie five there is a section of the story where we go to Earth. And we go to it to open people’s eyes, open Neytiri’s eyes, to what exists on Earth,” he teased during a 2022 interview with Gizmodo. “Earth is not just represented by the RDA [the evil organization in the film; the abbreviation stands for Resources Development Administration]. Just like you’re defined by the choices you make in life, not all humans are bad. Not all Na’vi are good. And that’s the case here on Earth. And we want to expose Neytiri to that.”
Should audiences want more Avatar action, Cameron does have ideas for sixth and seventh installments, though he most likely wouldn’t direct them. “Obviously, I’m not going to be able to make Avatar movies indefinitely, the amount of energy required,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I would have to train somebody how to do this because, I don’t care how smart you are as a director, you don’t know how to do this.”
Bottom Line
Whether he’s sinking the Titanic, traveling back in time to save humanity, or soaring through the air on the back of a Great Leonopteryx, James Cameron never disappoints. Not something you can say about every living director.
“Hasta la vista, baby!”
