LOS ANGELES – “Avatar: Fire and Ash” remained the top film at the North American box office for a second straight weekend, earning an estimated $64 million from Friday through Sunday, according to Comscore and participating studios.
The third installment in James Cameron’s science fiction franchise, released by 20th Century Studios under Disney, saw a 28% drop from its $88 million opening over the four-day Christmas weekend.
Coming in second, “Zootopia 2” grossed $20 million in its fifth weekend in theaters, while Timothée Chalamet’s “Marty Supreme,” expanding to a wide release, took third with $17.5 million.
Other top domestic performers included:
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“The Housemaid” – $15.4 million in its second weekend (fourth place)
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“Anaconda” – $14.5 million in its opening weekend (fifth)
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“David,” an animated faith-based feature – $12.6 million in its second weekend (sixth)
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“SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants” – $11.2 million (seventh)
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“Song Sung Blue” – $7.6 million (eighth)
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“Wicked: For Good” – $5.2 million (ninth)
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“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” – $4.4 million (tenth)
Total domestic box office revenue for the three-day weekend reached an estimated $177.2 million. Year-to-date ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada totaled roughly $8.763 billion, up about 1.5% from the same period last year.
In its first two weeks, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” has earned approximately $217.7 million domestically and $542.7 million internationally, bringing its global total to around $760.4 million against a production budget of $400 million.
Though its domestic opening was lower than 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the new film showed stronger retention in its second weekend. The previous release dropped about 53% in its second weekend, compared with the estimated 28% decline for “Fire and Ash.”
Analysts note that upcoming box office performance through New Year’s Day and early January will be key to determining whether the film can approach the global grosses of earlier “Avatar” movies. If sales remain strong, the franchise could become the first to have three entries each grossing around $2 billion worldwide.
Comscore also reported that Hollywood experienced its strongest Christmas Day box office since before the COVID-19 pandemic, boosted by multiple major releases.
