Lightstorm Entertainment

Lightstorm Entertainment is an American independent production company founded in 1990 by filmmaker James Cameron^[1][2] and producer Lawrence Kasanoff. The majority of its films have been distributed and owned by 20th Century Studios (through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures).^[3][4] It has produced several films including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic, Alita: Battle Angel and the Avatar film series; Cameron has employed other filmmakers to produce and direct films under the Lightstorm banner.

Lightstorm Entertainment

Type	Private
Industry	Film
Founded	1990; 33 years ago (1990)
Founder	James Cameron Lawrence Kasanoff
Headquarters	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Key people	James Cameron Gale Anne Hurd Rae Sanchini Jon Landau

In 1995, the company had a first look deal with 20th Century Fox (now known as 20th Century Studios).^[5]

The company's logo depicts a bowman using a lightning bolt as an arrow.

Films

Title	Release Date	Director	Writer	Distributor	Co-production companies	Budget	Gross (Worldwide)	References
Terminator 2: Judgment Day	July 3, 1991	James Cameron	James Cameron William Wisher	TriStar Pictures	Carolco Pictures Pacific Western Productions	$94–102 million	$520.8 million	^[6]
The Abyss: Special Edition	February 26, 1993		James Cameron	20th Century Fox	Pacific Western Productions	$43–47 million	$89.8 million	^[7]
True Lies	July 15, 1994		screenplay by: James Cameron story by: Randall Frakes James Cameron	20th Century Fox (United States) Universal Pictures (International)	N/A	$100–120 million	$378.9 million	^[8]
Strange Days	October 6, 1995	Kathryn Bigelow	screenplay by: James Cameron Jay Cocks story by: James Cameron			$42 million	$8 million	^[9]
Titanic	December 19, 1997	James Cameron		Paramount Pictures (United States) 20th Century Fox (International)		$200 million	$2.195 billion	^[10]
Solaris	November 29, 2002	Steven Soderbergh	screenplay by: Steven Soderbergh based on Solaris by: Stainslaw Lem	20th Century Fox		$47 million	$30 million	^[11]
Avatar	December 18, 2009	James Cameron			Dune Entertainment Ingenious Film Partners	$237 million	$2.923 billion	^[12]
Alita: Battle Angel	February 14, 2019	Robert Rodriguez	screenplay by: James Cameron Laeta Kalogridis based on the manga Gunnm by: Yukito Kishiro		Troublemaker Studios TSG Entertainment	$170 million	$404.9 million	^[13]
Terminator: Dark Fate	November 1, 2019	Tim Miller	screenplay by: David S. Goyer Justin Rhodes Billy Ray story by: James Cameron Charles H. Eglee Josh Friedman David S. Goyer Justin Rhodes based on characters created by: James Cameron Gale Anne Hurd	Paramount Pictures (United States) 20th Century Fox (International)	Buena Vista International 20th Century Fox Skydance Media Tencent Pictures TSG Entertainment	$185–196 million	$261.1 million	^[14]
Avatar: The Way of Water	December 16, 2022	James Cameron	screenplay by: James Cameron Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver story by: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno based on characters created by: James Cameron	20th Century Studios	TSG Entertainment II	$350–460 million^[15]	$2.177 billion^[16]^[17]	^[18]

Upcoming

Title	Release Date	Director	Writer	Distributor	Co-production companies	References
Avatar 3	December 19, 2024	James Cameron	screenplay by: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver story by: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno based on characters created by: James Cameron	20th Century Studios	TSG Entertainment II	^[18]
Avatar 4	December 18, 2026		screenplay by: James Cameron Josh Friedman story by: James Cameron Josh Friedman Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Shane Salerno based on characters created by: James Cameron		TBA	^[18]
Avatar 5	December 22, 2028		screenplay by: James Cameron Shane Salerno story by: James Cameron Josh Friedman Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver Shane Salerno based on characters created by: James Cameron		TBA	^[18]

Television

Title	Release Date	Director	Writer	Distributor	Co-production companies	References
True Lies	March 1, 2023	Anthony Hemingway	Matt Nix	CBS	20th Television Anthony Hemingway Productions Flying Glass of Milk Productions Wonderland Sound and Vision	^[19]^[20]^[21]

References

1. "James Cameron". Variety.
2. Gardner, Eriq (2014-01-20). "James Cameron Wins Yet Another 'Avatar' Theft Lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
3. James Cameron Biography - Yahoo Movies
4. Van Gelder, Lawrence (31 August 1990). "At the Movies". NY Times. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
5. "Cameron's Lightstorm Docks At Fox". Variety. 1995-12-18. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
6. Ian Failes (August 24, 2017). "Converting a Classic: How Stereo D Gave Terminator 2: Judgment Day a 3D Makeover". VFX Voice. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
7. Fox Locks In Cameron With a 5-Year Deal Worth $500 Million from The New York Times
8. Thompson, Anne (29 July 1994). "5 True Lies about James Cameron". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
9. Deborah Jermyn; Sean Redmond (January 2003). "Strange Days: A Case History of Production and Distribution in Hollywood". The Cinema of Kathryn Bigelow: Hollywood Transgressor. Wallflower Press. pp. 144–158. ISBN 978-1903364420. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
10. "Titanic (1997)". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
11. "Solaris: Sci-fi with a Soderbergh Difference". Urban Cinefile. February 27, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
12. "Avatar". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
13. "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
14. Fleming, Mike Jr. (2017-01-21). "He's Back! James Cameron To Godfather 'Terminator' With 'Deadpool' Helmer Tim Miller". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
15. "Box Office: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' Lands Coveted China Release". The Hollywood Reporter. November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
16. "Avatar: The Way of Water". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved January 1, 2023. 
17. "Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
18. McNary, Dave (2017-09-30). "'Avatar' Sequel Release Dates Set, Starting in December 2020". Variety.com. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
19. Otterson, Joe (13 May 2022). "'True Lies' Series Adaptation Ordered at CBS". Variety. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
20. White, Peter (November 14, 2022). "True Lies & RuPaul's Lingo Land Premieres As CBS Unveils Midseason Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
21. "New CBS Drama "True Lies" Will Now Premiere on Wednesday, March 1". The Futon Critic. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.

External links

•   Media related to Lightstorm Entertainment films at Wikimedia Commons