James Cameron Cameron's "Titanic" and "Avatar" are the two highest-grossing films of all time at $2.19 billion and $2.78 billion respectively. Cameron also holds the distinction of having directed the first two of the four films in history to gross over $2 billion worldwide (the later two being "" and ""). In March 2011, he was named Hollywood's top earner by "Vanity Fair", with estimated 2010 earnings of $257 million. In October 2013, a new species of frog "Pristimantis jamescameroni" from Venezuela was named after him in recognition of his efforts in environmental awareness, in addition to his public promotion of veganism.
RMS Titanic in popular culture aims to gain a decisive American advantage in the Cold War by retrieving a stockpile of a fictitious ultra-rare mineral of military value, "byzanium", that the ship was supposedly carrying on her maiden voyage. The film, directed by Jerry Jameson, cost at least $40 million. It was the most expensive movie made up to that time but made only $10 million at the box office. Lew Grade, the producer, later remarked that it would have been "cheaper to lower the Atlantic". James Cameron's "Titanic" is the most commercially successful film about the ship's sinking. "Titanic" became the highest-grossing film in