The Avatar: Fire and Ash director has warned that the rise in streaming services has led to a "tragic year" for the movie-going experience and thinks filmmakers need to breakaway from convention in order for it to be worthwhile for people to leave their homes to see their work.
He told The Times newspaper: "There's no way to talk about what audiences want without talking about the decline of cinema.
"The cinematic experience is being supplanted in our cultural discussion by streaming.
"COVID gave cinema a big kick and people moved to a different way of taking in their storytelling.
"And so when people go to a cinema they want something so far outside the norm that it's worth hiring a babysitter for. Avatar sits in that demographic and so I don't see it being diminished much, but I mourn box-office revenues.
"We are coming out of a tragic year at the cinema."
The 71-year-old director admitted even the future of his Avatar franchise is no longer certain, despite having two more instalments set for release in 2029 and 2031 following the third film coming out next week.
He said: "I cannot sit here and say I am going to get to make movies four and five for Avatar.
"Costs are creeping up, revenues are declining, so we may hit a dead man's zone where Avatar just isn't good business any more. We'll know in the next few months. I don't have data to make that decision now."
Noting how his previous Avatar films have made money in the third, fourth and fifth weeks of release, he added: "If that doesn't hold true this time, our business case collapses".
Cameron believes his second Avatar film was largely ignored for awards because of concerns about artificial intelligence, even though he doesn't use generative AI.
He said: "There's this stigma that I'm some technocrat, but we don't use generative AI in Avatar films at all. Generative AI can literally replace actors but we're the polar opposite.
"Avatar movies are insanely expensive but the acting part is like theatre rehearsal."
However, he is interested in how AI could be used to cut special effects costs, though he isn't convinced the technology will take over the world in the way some people fear.
He said: "Well, artificial super-intelligence is a really bad idea.
"Because societally we can't agree on one goddamn thing and until we can agree on what is good, virtuous, ethical and moral, we cannot teach a machine to do that and run things for us. So guys, stop."
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