Avatar director James Cameron wants another movie to overtake his film at the box office. The legendary science-fiction blockbuster is set in a distant future, the year 2154 wherein humans have completely depleted the Earth's natural resources. It follows a small team of researchers, members of the Avatar Progam, who locate the alien world of Pandora, inhabited by the Na'vi race, and plan to overtake it by sending in genetically engineered Na'vi-human hybrids to infiltrate their ranks.

The film possesses an all-star cast consisting of Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, and Dileep Rao. Avatar was released in 2009 to immensely positive critical acclaim and eventually went on to become the highest-grossing film worldwide, retaining that title for almost a decade. The coveted spot was briefly taken up by 2019's Avengers: Endgame until a re-release of Avatar in Chinese theatres saw the film take the title back in March 2021.

During an interview with The Irish Times (via The Digital Fix), Cameron expressed hopes of another film possibly raising up to overtake Avatar before the release of next year's Avatar 2. He also shared his opinion on whether or not that is actually possible considering the current state of the movie business. Read Cameron's full quote below:

Now, a year from now, Avatar 2 is going to come out. 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.

Avatar's coveted spot as the highest-grossing film worldwide has previously been a topic of controversy amongst movie fans, with some considering the film to be overrated and rather outdated. Despite the movie's extraordinary visual effects for the time and major critical acclaim, it could be argued it's lacking a strong plot and memorable characters. Even with Avatar's impressive gross, the story has largely failed to take up a substantial place in the pop culture conversation. For this reason, there are those who believe Avengers: Endgame should have retained the box office title this year.

Of course, both Cameron and Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo have been entirely supportive of each other's work as the two films have gone head-to-head over the record. Cameron's new comments show his belief in the industry he loves is stronger than ever. It's nice to hear he's far more concerned with the success of the movie business at large than his own films. It will be interesting to see if any upcoming projects are capable of besting Avatar's box office record before the release of the sequel in 2022.

Avatar 2 (2022)
Release Date: Dec 16, 2022

Avatar 3 (2024)
Release Date: Dec 20, 2024

Avatar 4 (2026)
Release Date: Dec 18, 2026

Avatar 5 (2028)
Release Date: Dec 22, 2028