James Cameron has never been known for his pint-sized ego. Not that we can much blame him, at least in round terms: he’s made two movies that broke the $2 billion barrier at the box office, and that puts him in very exclusive company … with himself. But what does he think of this summer’s The Avengers, which very nearly hit that same $2 billion mark?
In an interview with MTV (via Comic Book Movie), Cameron commented:
“They got close. They didn’t break the $2 billion-dollar barrier, there’s only two in the club. But you know, come on, let’s go guys. Look, I want Hollywood to be as successful and vibrant as it always has. Hopefully a movie will come along next year and show everyone what’s possible because that just benefits us all. On the other hand, if that shouldn’t happen for another ten years that would be good too. … It’s kind of a no-lose situation. We managed to push Titanic right over the $2 billion mark with the re-release, so I’m happy about that.”
The success of Avatar and Titanic have obviously not been equalled even by The Avengers, which fell short with $1.5 billion. All of which is just fine with Cameron.
Of course it is, Jim. Of course it is.
Cameron did say that he liked The Avengers, though still managed to work in a mention of Titanic even while praising another film:
I thought it was a real crowd-pleaser, lots of fun [and] funny, funnier than [I expected]. I thought leavening it was important because ‘Titanic’ is not exactly a laugh riot.
Far be it for me to call James Cameron out on this one, but can the man ever talk about someone else’s work without comparing it to his own? Yes, we all know that he’s made two monumentally successful movies – I admit I’m not a fan of either – but $1.5 billion worldwide ain’t too shabby.
Given that The Avengers did not have to depend exclusively on premium 3D pricing, as Avatar and the re-release of Titanic did, I would honestly give the edge to Whedon and Company. For me personally, The Avengers is quite simply the better film.
