If you look at the five highest-grossing movies of all time, three of them have been directed by James Cameron. He knows how to strike the perfect balance between action, emotion, strong characters, and visual spectacle, creating an entire filmography of must-watch films. But what are Cameron’s best movies? Check out our guide below to find out where to watch every James Cameron movie (and discover which are his best).
There aren’t really any “bad” James Cameron movies. The director has somehow managed to create hit after hit, giving audiences four decades of masterpieces. But if someone had to choose, Cameron’s first film Piranha II: The Spawning could be considered his “worst”. The movie was a sequel to the schlocky 1978 horror hit Piranha, which was all about… killer piranhas. This time around, the piranhas are even more deadly and they can fly! Somehow, the movie is so bombastic and ridiculous that it’s actually hard to consider it a bad movie. It’s so insane that it becomes laugh-out-loud funny and is great to watch with friends.
On the other end of the Cameron spectrum, we have his best movies. Taking the #1 spot as the best James Cameron movie ever is Aliens. This sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror classic follows Ellen Ripley as she discovers that terraformers have attempted to colonize LV-426 – the same moon the xenomorph came from. Obviously, things don’t go well for the terraformers and it’s up to Ripley and her team to save them. Aliens swaps out some of the suspense from the original for more action and adventure, creating a unique action-horror movie that works flawlessly. Aliens isn’t just a great sequel, it also complements the original perfectly by shifting genres, making both films equally amazing for completely different reasons.
And of course, we can’t talk about James Cameron without talking about Titanic. The film takes the #2 spot on our list. For over a decade it was the highest-grossing movie ever and it was the first film to make over $1 billion at the box office. Staying true to Cameron’s genre-blending style, Titanic was loaded with romance, drama, and action. The movie tells a romantic love story between two passengers, Jack and Rose. But as the ship begins to sink, Titanic’s vibe completely changes, becoming a hardcore disaster film. Viewers who aren’t into romantic dramas will still be captivated by the unbelievably true disaster the doomed ocean liner experienced in the middle of the Atlantic.
Also ranking high on the list is Cameron’s often-overlooked hit The Abyss. Released in 1989 (just a few months before the Cold War ended), the movie imagines a near-future where Americans and Soviets are racing to retrieve a sunken submarine. Making everything worse is a looming hurricane that’s barreling toward both nations’ fleets. When America finally gets a dive team into the ocean, they begin experiencing strange phenomena and seeing unknown lifeforms. With claustrophobic conditions, a massive storm, and the excitement of unknown aliens, The Abyss is a fantastically captivating movie. It even won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 1990 ceremony.
Here’s the full ranking of James Cameron’s films:
Where can I watch James Cameron movies online?
Cameron fans have a lot to look forward to since the filmmaker currently has two more Avatar sequels in development, with the next one expected to hit theaters in late 2025. Until then, check out our guide below to find out where you can stream all of James Cameron’s movies on popular platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more.
