James Cameron becomes first director with four $1 billion films after Avatar Fire and Ash success

It may not have exploded out of the gate like Avatar: The Way of Water, but Avatar: Fire and Ash has done what James Cameron films do best: play the long game, silence the doubters, and walk into the $1 billion club. Just three weeks into its theatrical run, the sci-fi epic has crossed the milestone globally—powered less by North America and more by its unstoppable overseas momentum.

The third chapter of Cameron’s Avatar saga pulled in $40 million during its third weekend in North America, holding its ground despite a packed release calendar. Between buzzy newcomers like Paul Feig’s The Housemaid, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, Tom Gormican’s Anaconda, and the continued dominance of Zootopia 2, Fire and Ash still managed to push its domestic total to a solid $306 million across the US and Canada.

Where Avatar: Fire and Ash has shown its power internationally. The film has raked in a massive $777.1 million from markets outside North America, with China leading the charge at $138 million. That makes it the country’s second biggest animated release of 2025—second only to Zootopia 2.

Europe and Asia followed enthusiastically, with France ($81 million), Germany ($64.1 million), South Korea ($44.1 million), the UK ($42.5 million), and Mexico ($31.8 million) delivering big numbers. Australia, Spain, Italy, India, Indonesia, and Brazil also contributed significantly, proving once again that Pandora speaks a truly global language.

Add it all up, and Avatar: Fire and Ash now stands at $1.087 billion worldwide—officially making it the 39th highest-grossing film of all time and nudging past Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

With this milestone, Cameron becomes even more of a cinematic outlier. Fire and Ash marks his fourth film to cross $1 billion globally. Two of those—Avatar (2009) and The Way of Water—soared past the $2 billion mark, pushing the Avatar franchise’s cumulative global haul to an eye-watering $6.35 billion and counting.

And let’s not forget Titanic. Cameron’s 1997 epic still floats near the top of the all-time charts with $2.25 billion, sharing elite company with Avatar, The Way of Water, and Avengers: Endgame.