The most impressive element of this is the fact that Cameron has asserted himself as a filmmaker who has managed to captivate moviegoers across multiple decades at this point. With “Titanic,” he secured the highest-grossing movie ever up to that point in history — a movie that many in Hollywood doubted. Then, well over a decade later, he once again crafted the biggest movie ever with “Avatar” which was, by an insanely high margin, the highest-grossing movie ever. And, even though it briefly lost the crown to “Endgame,” it actually managed to take back the title months later.
Cut to “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which was released a full 13 years after the original “Avatar” and entered theaters with a sky-high budget, said to be between $350 and $450 million. It’s almost certainly the most expensive movie ever made. People had their doubts – could it cross that $2 billion threshold? Did people even care about an “Avatar” sequel anymore? Again, Cameron silenced his doubters and made a hit the likes of which many of us might have thought was never going to happen again in the aftermath of the pandemic.
So, as we await the release of “Avatar 3” (and “Avatar 4,” and maybe “Avatar 5”) it is worth remembering that one should never, ever doubt James Cameron. He is the king, and he has remained the king every time he has stepped up to bat over the last 25 years.