If there’s someone who’s solved the box office equation, James Cameron is probably it. The Oscar-winning filmmaker has had the privilege of the first two films to gross over $2 billion in movie history, doing so with 1997’s Titanic and 2009’s Avatar. However, the visionary director is aware that his films aren’t guaranteed to be a success.
As per Slash Film, Cameron revealed in a recent Empire interview that the Avatar sequels can always fail.
Here’s what Cameron said about “the dumbest business case in history.”
If we did 20 per cent or 30 per cent less because the market simply doesn’t exist anymore, that would be bad.
The trolls will have it that nobody gives a s*** and they can’t remember the characters’ names or one damn thing that happened in the movie … Then they see the movie again and go, ‘Oh okay, excuse me, let me just shut the f*** up right now.’ So I’m not worried about that.”
For what it’s worth, it’s valid to criticize Avatar. Unlike its contemporaries in the $2 billion box office space, people very rarely talk about Avatar. The film practically disappeared from the public consciousness despite retaining its hold on the top spot for over a decade. But, at the same time, Cameron has proven time and time again that he knows what he’s doing. You could argue that the only flop in Cameron’s legendary resume is 1982’s Piranha II: The Spawning, which only doubled its nearly $150,000 budget, give or take.
TLDR; Cameron more than deserves the benefit of the doubt.
In the same interview, Cameron also revealed that he might not come back to do Avatar 4 and 5. But, you don’t need to worry. Cameron also explained that he’ll find someone he can trust to direct the final two sequels if they happen.
Ultimately, it’s nice to know that even Cameron knows that Avatar 2 isn’t guaranteed to be a huge hit. The odds might favor Avatar: The Way of Water when you consider that another long-gestating sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, is doing rather well at the global box office. It’s just that there is a huge difference between pulling in a billion and doubling that amount.
If we understood Cameron right, the Avatar sequels need to make at least $2 billion when they finally come out. This is much easier said than done. Still, a betting person would trust Cameron, who, as we might have already mentioned, has built a career out of making big blockbuster films.
