‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ continues box office dominance in second weekend

Moviegoers turned out in force over the final weekend of the year for Disney’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, cementing the sci-fi epic’s status as one of 2025’s biggest box-office successes.

The third chapter in director James Cameron’s Avatar franchise delivered another dominant performance, collecting $64 million in domestic ticket sales from Friday through Sunday. Internationally, the film added an estimated $181.2 million, pushing its global haul to an impressive $760.4 million.

In just 10 days of release, Fire and Ash has surged to become the sixth highest-grossing film worldwide this year, surpassing major titles such as Warner Bros. Discovery’s Superman and Sony Pictures’ Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. The result reinforces the enduring power of the Avatar brand, which began in 2009 and returned in 2022, proving that audiences continue to be drawn to large-scale theatrical experiences driven by groundbreaking visuals.

Premium screens have played a major role in the film’s success. According to Disney, Fire and Ash has already generated $96 million globally from IMAX showings alone and is on track to become IMAX’s top-grossing Hollywood release of the year.

“Premium formats have been a major driver for Avatar: Fire and Ash, even in an environment where moviegoers are increasingly sensitive to ticket prices,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends.

Beyond Avatar, audiences embraced a wide range of films during the holiday frame. Disney’s Zootopia 2, which debuted over Thanksgiving, held firmly in second place with $20 million in weekend revenue—a 35% increase from the previous weekend, according to Comscore. The animated sequel has now amassed $1.4 billion worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2025.

“Zootopia 2 earns the Most Valuable Player title for the holiday season,” Dergarabedian said, noting that PG-rated films have outperformed PG-13 releases this year, contributing $2.87 billion to the annual box office total.

A24’s Marty Supreme landed in third place, earning $17.5 million as social media buzz continued to fuel its momentum. The Timothée Chalamet-led sports comedy-drama drew a largely male audience—dubbed the “Marty Army” by the studio—with roughly one-third of ticket buyers under the age of 25.

After opening in just six theaters in New York and Los Angeles the previous weekend, Marty Supreme expanded rapidly to more than 2,600 locations nationwide, propelled by awards chatter and strong online engagement. Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, credited A24’s marketing strategy for the breakout performance.

“A24 successfully balanced traditional awards-season positioning with modern, viral marketing techniques, fully understanding how a film like this can thrive during the holidays,” Robbins said.

Lionsgate’s thriller The Housemaid slipped to fourth place in its second weekend with $15.4 million, followed closely by Sony’s Anaconda, a reboot of the 1997 film, which grossed $14.5 million. Angel Studios’ David took sixth place with $12.69 million, edging out Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, which brought in $11 million. Focus Features’ musical drama Song Sung Blue debuted at No. 8 with $7.6 million.

According to Robbins, this marked the strongest Christmas week at the box office since 2020.

“To see seven major releases open around Christmas and largely meet or exceed expectations is something we haven’t seen often in the post-Covid era,” he said.

So far in 2025, the domestic box office has generated $8.76 billion in revenue, according to Comscore—up 1.56% from last year but still trailing 2023, the only post-pandemic year to surpass $9 billion. The industry remains well below pre-pandemic levels, when domestic earnings exceeded $11 billion in 2019.

However, momentum from strong December releases could carry into early 2026. Dergarabedian estimates that another $100 million could still be added before year’s end and believes a robust upcoming release slate could position theaters for their strongest year since the pandemic.

Among the most anticipated films on next year’s calendar are Universal Pictures’ The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (April 3) and Disclosure Day (June 12), Disney’s Toy Story 5 (June 19), as well as December tentpoles Avengers: Doomsday and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Dune: Part Three, both set to open on December 18.