James Cameron hopes to see another film break the first Avatar film’s record as the highest-grossing film of all time before the release of his long-anticipated sequel within the next year.
In an interview with The Irish Times, Cameron said such a record-breaking film before the release of Avatar 2 would demonstrate to him that the film industry is still alive and healthy.
“Now, a year from now, Avatar 2 is going to come out,” Cameron said. “Is it still possible to make that kind of money? I don’t know. I would love it if another film came out and made more money than Avatar sometime between now and then. Then I’d know the business I invested 40 years of my life in is still there and still healthy.”
12 years after Cameron’s first Avatar, the film is perhaps best known for its status as the biggest box office debut ever, a record which was briefly broken when Avengers: Endgame hit theaters until the second run of Avatar in China in 2021 allowed the film to retake the mantle. Cameron has been working on multiple sequels to the first film for over a decade, and the first one is finally nearing the finish line and is scheduled to release in December 2022.
Given the success of the Avengers films, it’s conceivable that an upcoming Marvel film like Spider-Man: No Way Home could break a record like that, but with Avatar’s record standing strong after all these years, it could just as easily remain top dog for one more.