There was once a time when James Cameron ruled the box office, with The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic and, of course , Avatar.
Cameron broke records: 1997’s Titanic was the highest grossing film world-wide, until he broke his own record with 2009’s Avatar .
But, sadly, nothing lasts forever. And that record was broken yet again — by Avengers: Endgame (not a James Cameron movie), which surely stung.
Not to worry, however. The director has been working away at Avatar 2, which is set to hit theatres next year. And will then be followed by Avatar 3, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5 because this is what happens when you don’t let James Cameron keep his record.
Now, while it may seem unlikely that Avatar has maintained its massive audience a whole decade later and isn’t remembered more for being a pop-culture joke than a cinematic achievement and that his hope for vengeance might be a little late, Cameron is none too concerned.
In fact, when asked what the likelihood is that this sequel will surpass Endgame’s numbers by USA Today , Cameron said, “I think it’s a certainty. But let’s give Endgame their moment and let’s celebrate that people are going to the movie theatre.”
How generous! Cameron added that he “really enjoyed” Endgame . But…
“I don’t want to sound snarky after I took the high road (by offering congratulations),” he said. “But they beat us by one quarter of a per cent. I did the math in my head while driving in this morning. I think accountants call that a rounding error.”
Sounds like he did the math months ago and that one quarter of a percent (which is actually $8 million) has been haunting him ever since. Perhaps let us take the high road and hope Avatar 2 does topple Endgame’s record, for Cameron’s sanity alone.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
