Director James Cameron was back in movie theaters this past weekend for the 35th anniversary of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This marks the third time this year a Cameron-directed flick could be seen on screens nationwide following the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash in late-December 2025 and the documentary Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft in May (which Cameron co-directed with Eilish).
The spirit of Cameron was also present in theaters this summer with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Nolan feels to me like the closest heir to Cameron—with his penchant for betting on himself with big, high-concept movies that continue to expand both in ambition and scale (and have proven to pay off time and time again).
“Big” and “ambitious” are certainly two words I’d use to describe Cameron’s movies. Since he made his directing debut with 1982’s Piranha II: The Spawning (which he has since disowned), Cameron has continually conceived more expansive and challenging projects—often involving technology and aquatics. While not everyone may love his dialogue, you can’t deny he’s a singular filmmaker who always aims to bring something new to the screen.
Ranking the 5 Best James Cameron Movies
Cameron isn’t a volume director—his filmography includes 13 full-length feature films (10 fiction + 3 documentaries) over the past 44 years—but the movies he’s made have had a nuclear impact, grossing nearly $10 billion worldwide. So which of Cameron’s movie are the best?
I imagine even if the top movies are similar for most people, the order might look very different. Here’s my official James Cameron top five (in reverse order for dramatic purposes):
Just Outside: The Abyss (1989)
When I planned on making this list, I thought for sure The Abyss would be on it (maybe even near the top). But after re-watching it, I didn’t quite love it as much as I loved remembering it. This is unfortunate because 1) it has some of Cameron‘s best ideas and 2) it’s the skeleton key movie to all the movies he would make going forward—from T2 to Titanic to Avatar. But, alas, even if it doesn’t completely gel together, there are many great Cameron moments (including the best resuscitation ever captured on film) and a real wildcard Michael Biehn performance.
5. Avatar (2009)
By all means this spot should go to The Abyss, which is a more interesting movie (and a movie I would rather watch on almost any given day over Avatar). But here’s the thing: Avatar is one of the greatest—if not THE greatest—theatrical filmgoing experiences of my life. When I saw this movie in 3-D, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. I actually thought movie watching had changed forever, that’s how unique and innovative it was. I went into the sequels desperately looking for that hit again (only to be let down both times). But the first Avatar, which still has one foot grounded in humanity, is a pretty thrilling ride—especially on the big screen.
4. The Terminator (1984)
Made for only $6 million, The Terminator feasts on its ideas—catching fire with a sci-fi premise that still lives on decades later. The concept of a “Terminator”—an unstoppable cyborg sent from the future—remains an iconic pop-culture reference that almost everyone recognizes whether they’ve seen a Terminator movie or not. Cameron not only conceived it and loaded the movie with fantastic action sequences (on a budget), he also nailed the casting by unlocking Arnold Schwarzenegger—whose superhuman physique made him the perfect killing machine. Forty-plus years later, this movie still rocks, barreling forward through bullets and mayhem in an exhilarating way.
3. Titanic (1997)
It’s fun to mock Titanic now but that’s just because it’s become so ingrained in movie culture. Anyone who was alive at the time this came out remembers what the tidal wave it was. It dominated the box office for months (it was the number-one movie in the U.S. for 15 straight weeks—almost four months!). The Celine Dion song was on the radio every minute. It made superstars out of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. And it swept the Academy Awards, winning 12 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. This was a movie that, before it came out, everybody said was a disaster that cost way too much and could never be successful. While some of the dialogue is a little stilted and some of the Billy Zane is a little insane, once that boat starts going down I challenge any pair of eyes not to be glued to the screen.
2. Aliens (1986)
Following up the surprise success of The Terminator, Cameron decided to take on a nearly impossible task: Making a sequel to the beloved 1979 space horror movie, Alien. But rather than retracing Ridley Scott’s footsteps, Cameron blazed his own trail, doing something entirely different with the series. It was a master stroke, adding more of the creatures and making it an action movie (a war movie really) versus a contained horror movie like the first one. Cameron, who might actually be sneaky great with actors, got a career-best performance from Sigourney Weaver—nominated for a Best Actress Oscar (which is actually a pretty insane occurrence for the mid-80s when sci-fi/action movies NEVER got any Academy love in top-line categories). This is a director out to show the world he’s got the juice.
1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
In its time, T2 was a phenomenon—smashing box-office records and bringing special effects into a new era. But it also holds up remarkably well. I’ve rewatched this movie periodically over the years, showing it to my kids multiple times at different ages, and it hits every single time. It’s one of those movies like Jaws or Back to the Future that everybody loves. It just rips. To me, this is Cameron at the absolute peak of his powers—blending amazing action stunt work, groundbreaking CGI (that still looks better than most CGI today), note-perfect performances from Schwarzenegger and Hamilton, and a dark tone. The move to switch Arnold from bad to good (as he was now one Hollywood’s biggest stars) could’ve really backfired. But instead of playing it for novelty, Cameron baked it into the script in an intelligent and rewarding way. He also brought in a fantastic new villain (and all-time great movie runner) in the T-1000.
He did a lot of huge movies, and in my opinion, the best two sequels ever are Terminator 2 and Aliens 2.
Nice list. I mostly agree with you but would swap Titanic and abyss. For whatever reason I don't find Titanic fun to revisit. Abyss while flawed is still awe inspiring