Remembering Jon Landau: Producer Behind Hollywood's Multi-Billion Grossers Titanic, Avatar, Avatar 2

Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on three of the biggest blockbusters of all time, Titanic, Avatar and Avatar: The Way Of Water, died aged 63. Landau’s partnership with Cameron led to three Oscar nominations and a best picture win for Titanic (1997). Together the pair account for some of the biggest blockbusters in movie history, including Avatar and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, both of which have grossed over $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

Jon Landau's early beginnings

Born in New York on July 23, 1960, Landau was the son of film producers Ely and Edie Landau. The family moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s, and Landau went on to graduate from the University of Southern California’s film school. Landau’s career began in the 1980s as a production manager, and he gradually rose through the ranks, serving as a co-producer on Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and Dick Tracy (1990).

Landau was named an executive vice president of feature movies at 20th Century Fox when he was 29, which led him to oversee major hits including Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), as well as Mrs Doubtfire (1993) and True Lies (1994). It was while working on True Lies, starring  Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, where he first started working closely with Cameron. Later, the duo would shape the way movies were made in Hollywood.

Titanic: A bet that paid off

Landau and James Cameron first partnered on Titanic. He took on the role of a producer in the expensive epic about the 1912 maritime disaster. The bet paid off: Titanic became the first movie to cross $1 billion in global box-office earnings and went on to win 11 Oscars, including Best Picture. “I can’t act and I can’t compose and I can’t do visual effects, so I guess that’s why I’m producing,” Landau said while accepting the award with Cameron. It's current box office gross stands at $1.84 billion.

Landau and Cameron pioneer 3D technology with Avatar

Landau was a key player in the Avatar franchise. He became a top executive at Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. In 2009 the pair watched as Avatar, a sci-fi epic filmed and shown in theaters with groundbreaking 3D technology, surpassed the box-office success of Titanic. It remains the top-grossing film of all time with $2.92 billion gross collections. He also worked on Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022), which grossed $2.32 billion.

Landau was also influential in bringing the manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel to the big screen in 2019. He worked with director Robert Rodriguez to get the film completed.

(With inputs from AP news)