Doubt James Cameron at Your Own Risk

You don’t have to be a studio executive to know that greenlighting a sequel to one of the highest-grossing films of all time is a smart business decision, but as James Cameron points out GQIts long awaited avatar follow up, Waterway, “too fucking” expensive. In fact, Cameroon claims it is so expensive Waterway It just needs to become the highest grossing film ever made to break even. Cameron may be exaggerating somewhat about how well the sequel should do at the box office, The Hollywood Reporter puts Waterway’s production budget is in the $350 million to $400 million range, which is pretty rarefied air. (Only a handful of films—two The Avengers Sequels and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides-crosses the $350 million production threshold.)

All told, Waterway Ahead of its theatrical release on Friday, expectations are high. How the audience responds Waterway Will determine the future of the franchise or whether post-production on the sequel is beyond what has already been completed. Put that understanding avatar It had little cultural impact—a blockbuster that was downplayed as a punchline by everyone from critics to producers BuzzFeed Quiz – and suddenly Waterway Feels like being on very shaky ground. But while the odds seem stacked against WaterwayThere is an undeniable force working on the film’s side: the man who produced it and who dresses like half the members of my uncle’s motorcycle club.

When it comes to making bank in Hollywood, there are few filmmakers you’d visit before Cameron. Ever since he sold it Terminator By offering the script for a dollar to make sure he can direct the project, Cameron is betting on himself—and repeatedly proving his doubters wrong. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger thought so Terminator “Some shit movie” was about to happen when he signed on; Instead, he created a multibillion-dollar franchise and turned a former bodybuilder into one of the greatest action stars of his time.

Such is the Cameron effect: no matter how convincing his films are on paper, he always finds a way to deliver the goods. If anything, that’s the hallmark of his career. Consider what he did in his next film, Aliens. It’s one thing to have the confidence to direct a sequel to Ridley Scott’s All-Timer, it’s quite another for the film to go in a completely different direction than its predecessor. Abandoning the claustrophobic horror of Scott’s masterpiece to create an action-packed blockbuster, Cameron rewrote the rules of what a sequel could be — all while making a film as beloved as the original.

Cameron repeated that trick Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which saw Schwarzenegger as the T-800 fighting on behalf of humanity against a terrifying new enemy. More importantly, Judgment Day It showed that the filmmaker was comfortable working on the largest possible scale: at the time of its release, it was the most expensive film ever made. Critical adoration aside, Cameron advocated a bold investment for the sequel, and then some, with Judgment Day Third-highest-grossing film of all time.

What’s so impressive and incredible about Cameron’s career trajectory is that, even after history is made, he keeps going. For that, Judgment Daystands as Hollywood’s most expensive production … Cameron’s next project, true lie, the first film with a nine-figure budget. It speaks to Cameron’s reputation in the industry that a studio would spend so much money on an action-comedy about a detective (played by Schwarzenegger) struggling to deal with his failing marriage, which you can probably relate to. With a record-breaking blockbuster. naturally, true lie Cameron did not deviate from his pattern of box office bangers and was the third-highest-grossing film of 1994.

As he moved on, Cameron’s professional integrity was already taking on a legendary quality Titanic, an epic love story set on an ill-fated ocean liner. Once again, Cameron broke his own record for the most expensive film in Hollywood history, although it was completely unplanned. The film was delayed and seriously over budget – Cameron even agreed to forfeit his share of the profits so he could earn Titanic Just the way he envisioned it—when the product itself was as doomed as the eponymous ship. Cameron’s notorious temper was a frequent source of tension on set, and at one point, the crew’s catering was spiked with PCP. (My pet theory is that someone in production wanted to poison Cameron.) Amidst all the costly confusion, the break-even point Titanic The estimate was north of $400 million, a tall order even by Cameron’s standards.

Of course, Titanic Can’t remember being produced from hell. (That difference is from Cameroon’s other watery tentacles, the abyss.) If becoming the highest-grossing film of all time wasn’t enough flex, Titanic It also tied the record for most Oscar wins with 11 films including Best Picture. When Cameron said “I’m king of the world!” It will not be believed when it is shouted like this. On stage while accepting the Best Director Oscar, but no one can deny that he anchored his big talk when it mattered most.

By any metric, Cameron’s films aren’t just loved by audiences and critics: they’re reliable moneymakers. Of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time, the only two that are not based on pre-existing IP are Cameron (Titanic, avatar). For those who prefer to analyze box office earnings after adjusting for inflation, Titanic And avatar Still in the top three, just overtaken by Gone with the Wind. Cameron is confident when it comes to the industry. Which brings us back Waterway: If Cameron has shown time and time again that his films are box office gold, why doubt that his latest project will live up to the hype?

For starters, Cameron has only released two non-documentary films in the past 25 years, and none in more than a decade. (He was too busy exploring the Mariana Trench.) The dramatic landscape has also changed a lot in that time: when avatar When the Marvel Cinematic Universe arrived on the scene in 2009, it was still in its infancy. Thirteen years later, the MCU is at 30 movies and counting, benefiting from a seismic shift in the industry that has elevated superheroes and other big-name IP above all else — including visionary filmmakers. Blockbuster auteurs with original ideas like Cameron have become few and far between as major studios prefer the safety of the established cinematic universe. Even Steven Spielberg, the godfather of the modern tentpole, has seen his latest and most personal film struggle at the box office despite overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Ironically, Cameron’s return to filmmaking is technically part of an ecosystem that threatens directors like him: the proliferation of profitable IP. But if the prevailing sentiment is avatar Then the cultural footprint is not much Waterway Cameron’s track record as a generational crowd pleaser will have to be relied upon to attract moviegoers. Including early box office estimates Waterway In the $150 million to $175 million range for its opening weekend, the film is off to an encouraging start.

In any case, you don’t have to like Cameron as a person to agree that he’s a uniquely successful filmmaker. (His crazy behavior is so notorious that Amy Poehler compared Kathryn Bigelow’s marriage to Cameron in one of the funniest moments at the 2013 Golden Globes. Zero Dark Thirty’s torture sequences.) There are precious few directors who can work on the biggest budgets on earth without compromising their artistic integrity or being crushed by the weight of expectations, and Cameron may be the best of them. The question is whether this is still enough to prevent developments in the industry.

Many factors can be attributed to Hollywood’s narrow-minded obsession with superheroes, the rise of streaming services, and a moviegoing landscape that has barely recovered from the pandemic. Waterway To underwhelm relative to its huge price tag. But by the time one of his films bombed the box office, Cameron had earned our trust. After all, if those who forget history can repeat it, we shouldn’t doubt the enduring, titanic power of a James Cameron blockbuster. The king of the world is not yet ready to come to earth.