James Cameron‘s illustrious career has included billions of dollars of box office revenue. He’s the second-highest-grossing director of all time, falling only behind Steven Spielberg, despite making significantly fewer movies. A lot of that success is attributed to the Avatar franchise, which continued to raise his total gross as Avatar: Fire and Ash‘s box office climbs higher.
Currently sitting at $1.3 billion worldwide, the movie has been another major hit for Cameron, even if the discourse around its performance may suggest otherwise. Fire and Ash has not had quite as strong of legs as the first two Avatar movies after a month in theaters. It will be the lowest-grossing entry in the franchise, but it will still be financially successful thanks to its grand total.
Despite that, Fire and Ash is ending a remarkable streak for the director that will certainly never be done again.
James Cameron’s Last Three Movies Each Topped The Yearly Box Office Charts Before Fire & Ash
It’s no secret that Cameron achieved unparalleled success at the box office with the Avatar films. The 2009 original became the highest-grossing movie of all time (currently holding a $2.9 billion gross), beating the record he previously set 12 years prior with Titanic (now at $2.2 billion). And while Avatar: The Way of Water couldn’t set that record for a third time, it’s $2.3 billion haul was still mightily impressive.
Each of those films are all-time performers that crushed the competition in the years they came out. Titanic, Avatar, and The Way of Water easily finished as the top grossers of their respective years. Those were also the last three feature films that Cameron made before Fire and Ash, giving him an incredible three-movie streak.
He is one of just three directors to have three consecutive releases top the worldwide box office. Spielberg did it from 1981 to 1984 with Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. (Note: Spielberg was only a co-director on 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie, but its box office is not factored in here.) The Russo brothers also achieved this from 2016 to 2019 with Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
What makes Cameron’s streak more impressive than Spielberg’s or the Russos’, though, is that he did this over a much longer time frame. He kept this streak alive from 1997 to 2022. Fire and Ash was his chance to extend the streak to a fourth consecutive film, which has never been done, and over a span of 28 years.
That will not happen based on Fire and Ash‘s box office performance. For as successful as it’s been, Cameron’s movie will finish as the third-highest-grossing release of 2025. It is over $350 million behind Zootopia 2 for the second spot, and China’s Ne Zha 2 looms over both with its $2.2 billion haul.
With Avatar: Fire and Ash holding no chance of catching Ne Zha 2, Cameron’s streak will end. It’s unlikely we ever see another director match this level of success over such a long period of time. Other directors may make three consecutive #1 earners, but doing so with massive gaps between each is unfathomable. It’s a miracle James Cameron was able to do it at all.
- Release Date
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December 19, 2025
- Runtime
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197 Minutes
