‘Box Office King’ Behind Three of the Four Highest-Grossing Films in Cinema History Turns 72

James Cameron turns 72 today, and if his career is any indication, the “Box Office King” isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Cameron got his start directing The Terminator in 1984, a film he famously sold the concept for to producer Gale Anne Hurd for just $1, on one condition: he got to direct it. The gamble paid off. The film turned Arnold Schwarzenegger into a star and Cameron into one of Hollywood’s hottest new directors.

From there, he kept building. Aliens, The Abyss and Terminator 2: Judgment Day followed, each one bigger and bolder than the last. Then came Titanic in 1997, an epic so ambitious that many in Hollywood doubted it would even turn a profit. Instead, it became the first film to cross $1 billion at the box office and swept 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Cameron himself.

He wasn’t done breaking records. In 2009, Avatar redefined what a movie could look like, pioneering new 3D technology and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, a title it still holds today. He followed it up with Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, giving him an almost unbelievable stat: three of the four highest-grossing films in cinema history all carry his name.

Those numbers keep climbing, too. As of earlier this year, Cameron’s films have crossed a combined $10 billion at the global box office, making him only the second director ever to hit that mark, trailing just Steven Spielberg.

Director Oliver Stone once summed up why Cameron keeps topping himself: “Cameron has broken new ground; he’s a visionary. I think he’s a genius.”

Beyond the director’s chair, Cameron has spent decades chasing adventure in real life, too, becoming the first person to complete a solo dive to the deepest point in the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench.

At 72, with Avatar 4 already in the works, it doesn’t look like James Cameron is anywhere close to finished making history.