Despite skepticism from some, Avatar: Fire and Ash continues to demonstrate James Cameron’s filmmaking prowess. While those unfamiliar with Pandora might question the Avatar franchise’s lasting appeal, each film consistently earns huge amounts at the box office. Almost three months after its debut, Fire and Ash has achieved another significant feat: it has surpassed the worldwide box office earnings of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Currently, Fire and Ash has earned $392.2 million in the US and $1 billion internationally, totaling $1.4 billion worldwide. This is compared to Return of the King, which made $377 million domestically and $741.9 million internationally, for a global total of $1.1 billion. Return of the King performed the best of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. What’s particularly impressive about Avatar’s earnings is that the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy collectively earned $2.96 billion worldwide, with the first Avatar film alone bringing in $2.92 billion. As a whole, the Avatar franchise has grossed $6.7 billion globally.
Which Franchise Has More Cultural Impact?
Both Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first Avatar film were incredibly influential. Released around the same time, these were groundbreaking movies that pushed the boundaries of what was possible in filmmaking.
I grew up loving Tolkien, and even though The Hobbit got a cool animated movie way back in 1977, Middle-earth never quite reached the same level of popularity as Star Wars or Star Trek. That’s why I thought Peter Jackson was so incredibly brave to even try making a trilogy! New Line Cinema really took a gamble on him, letting him film all three movies at once, before anyone knew if people would even be interested in seeing them. It was a huge risk, but one I’m so glad they took.
James Cameron has been a major figure in science fiction films since his early work on The Terminator. Movies like Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Titanic demonstrated his impressive range as a director. To create his vision for Avatar in the mid-2000s, Cameron pioneered new filmmaking technologies and pushed cinemas to embrace 3D, starting a new wave of immersive cinematic experiences.
While box office numbers are a common way to judge a movie’s success, Avatar clearly leads in that area. However, the Avatar trilogy has also received 15 Academy Award nominations, winning four (with two more still under consideration). In comparison, The Lord of the Rings trilogy earned an impressive 30 nominations and won 17 Oscars. Notably, Return of the King received 11 nominations and won in every category it was up for.
Too Much of a Good Thing
Warner Bros. Pictures
New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson revisited the world of Middle-earth with a film trilogy based on The Hobbit. Though the movies were financially successful, earning nearly $3 billion worldwide, interest in the series had started to decline. Reviews reflected this trend: An Unexpected Journey received a 64% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The Desolation of Smaug improved slightly to 73%, but The Battle of the Five Armies fell to 59%. Despite seven nominations, the trilogy didn’t win any Academy Awards.
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While the 2024 anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim initially generated interest as a new animated take on Middle-earth, it didn’t quite resonate with viewers or critics. Meanwhile, Prime Video has released two seasons of the live-action series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and a third is planned, alongside a new film, Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, currently in development.
James Cameron is currently working on Avatar 4 and Avatar 5, scheduled for release in December 2029 and December 2031, respectively. He’s also shared that he has plans for Avatar 6 and Avatar 7. Like the Lord of the Rings series, each new Avatar movie has received less critical and commercial success than the one before it.
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2026-02-15 20:03