Avatar: Fire And Ash Secures An Incredible Box Office Record For James Cameron

James Cameron has long been a singular director, capable of delivering unique blockbusters on the largest scale that receive widespread critical acclaim while also towering high at the box office. Nobody does it bigger than Cameron, and he now has a hugely impressive record that cements that as an immovable truth, thanks to the success of "Avatar: Fire and Ash."

The third entry in the "Avatar" franchise topped the charts again in its third weekend of release, adding an estimated $40 million in North America to go with a massive $129.6 million overseas. With that, "Fire and Ash" has earned $305.9 million domestically to go with $777.1 million internationally for a running total of $1.08 billion globally. That makes it the third-biggest movie released in 2025, ahead of Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" ($1.03 billion worldwide).

More importantly, "Fire and Ash" is now the fourth movie in Cameron's filmography to make at least $1 billion at the box office, joining "Titanic" ($2.26 billion), "Avatar: The Way of Water" ($2.34 billion), and the original "Avatar" ($2.92 billion). He's the only person who can claim that. Cameron was already the only director with three $2 billion movies to his name. Whether or not "Fire and Ash" makes it that far remains to be seen, but it doesn't seem overly likely at this point.

Even if it falls short of that mark, Disney isn't going to be upset if it finishes somewhere between $1.5 and $1.8 billion, give or take, which it's on track to do. Even against a hulking budget north of $400 million, that's a win. Very few filmmakers — if any — can justify a budget of that size, but Cameron isn't quite like anyone else working today. Or like anyone else ever for that matter, as evidenced by this record.

The next-closest directors on this particular list are the Russo Brothers, Joe and Anthony Russo. They have "Captain America: Civil War" ($1.15 billion), "Avengers: Infinity War" ($2.05 billion), and "Avengers: Endgame" ($2.79 billion), which briefly dethroned "Avatar" as the biggest movie ever before its re-release. When "Avengers: Doomsday" arrives next year, they'll likely match Cameron's record. Rather crucially, though, the Russos have the benefit of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cameron has largely done this with IP that he's generated himself.

With another re-release, the original "Avatar" could also become the only $3 billion movie ever, giving Cameron another feather in his already impressive cap. Nobody else is even remotely close to that mark — and that's not even taking inflation into account. The "Avatar" trilogy is also by far the biggest trilogy ever, with over $6 billion to its name thus far.

Cameron remains the second-highest-grossing director ever at the box office, trailing only Steven Spielberg. The big difference is that Cameron has done it with far fewer movies, though Spielberg has amassed his total with fewer $1 billion hits and impressive consistency. Either way, that's good company to be in, and most of the other directors on this list, such as Michael Bay ("Transformers") and David Yates ("Harry Potter"), have leaned into pre-existing franchises. Cameron has not.

The big question now is whether or not "Avatar 4" will happen in light of "Fire and Ash" doing big business at the box office. Cameron intends to make other movies and Disney hasn't given it the green light yet. We'll see, but at this point, it seems like a safe bet that we haven't seen the last of Pandora.

"Avatar: Fire and Ash" is in theaters now.