courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Never bet againstJames Cameronat the box office.
For the third time in a quarter century, moviegoers are flocking to theaters worldwide for a trip to Pandora, this time courtesy ofAvatar: Fire and Ash. The latest entry in Cameron's sci-fi saga has not only remained comfortably ahead of the competition during the holiday stretch, but added $64 million to its already sizable domestic tally for a total of $217 million, per Comscore.
This marks a 28 percent drop over its second weekend in theaters, meaningFire and Ashis holding even stronger than its predecessor, 2022'sAvatar: The Way of Water, which saw a steep 52 percent decline in its second weekend.
The threequel enjoyed even more success abroad, where it earned an additional $181 million overseas for an estimated global gross of $760 million. IfAvatar: Fire and Ashis to follow in the footsteps of the prior entries, it will need to hold strong to the top spot well into the new year. After all, the first twoAvatarfilms remained at No. 1 for seven consecutive weekends and eventually earned well over $2 billion each.
The highly anticipated continuation of Cameron'sAvatarseries finds the Sully family still grieving the events ofWay of Wateras the conflict in Pandora escalates. This time around, their journey sees them cross paths with a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe that worships fire.
WhileFire and Ashis certainly enjoying a notable lead, there's room for more than one success story at the weekend box office. Disney's juggernaut sequelZootopia 2managed to outpace the competition — including several buzzy debuts — by snagging an additional $20 million domestically, bringing its tally to $321 million.
Having passed the billion dollar mark last weekend, just three weeks into its run, the animated adventure is already the highest-grossing Hollywood release of the year. Now, its gross sits at a comfortable $1.4 billion globally.
Coming in at third, theTimothée Chalamet-fronted ping-pong dramaMarty Supremeisn't just dreaming big, it's achieving. After Chalametwent to great heights as a marketing machine, the film is off to an impressive start, earning $27 million over the holiday weekend (including $9.7 million on Christmas Day and $17.4 million over the traditional weekend). Add in the film's strong performance in limited early screenings, andMarty Supremenow marks the second-highest opening for A24, after last year'sCivil War, which grossed $25.5 million in April 2024.
Chalamet has not only gone out of his way with viral campaigning tactics, but has made it abundantly clear that he's determined to see the film through to financial success.
"This is in the spirit of Marty, and I feel like this is ultimately an original film at a time when original movies aren't really put out," Chalamettold IndieWireearlier this month. "It's a movie about the pursuit of a dream. I'm leaving it on the field. Whether it's the merch or the Zoom or the media appearances, I'm trying to get this out in the biggest way possible. In the spirit of Marty Mauser."
A24;Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate
For now,Marty Supremehas earned $30 million globally. Elsewhere, Lionsgate's psychological thrillerThe Housemaidsecured the No. 4 spot with $15.4 million over the weekend, bringing its tally to $46 million domestically. To date, the thriller pitting Sydney Sweeney against Amanda Seyfried has grossed an estimated $64.9 million worldwide.
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Rounding out the top 5 isAnaconda, a meta-comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black as two best friends going through a midlife crisis. The film debuted to $23.6 million domestically over the Christmas weekend, for a global tally of $43.6 million. Another notable domestic debut,Song Sung Blue— starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson — arrived to just $7.6 million domestically this weekend, for a gross of just over $12 million.
With the final box office weekend of the year down, the overall domestic box office is sitting at $8.76 billion, just 1.5 percent ahead of last year and roughly 22 percent behind 2019, according to Comscore. Annual revenues through Dec. 31 are projected to hit $8.87 billion, a step up from 2024's $8.7 billion but just below the $9 billion benchmark previously estimated for the year.
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