James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash delivered a $345 million worldwide debut with $88 million domestic and $257 million international, aligning closely with Friday projections of $85-90 million domestic and $340-350 million global. This marks the second-largest global debut of 2025, trailing only Avatar: The Way of Water, amid high expectations from its $350 million production budget and $150 million marketing spend.
James Cameron's latest Pandora adventure, Avatar: Fire and Ash, released by Disney and 20th Century, launched over the December 21, 2025, weekend with final figures confirming the strong early pace: $88 million at the domestic box office—within the projected $85-90 million range after Friday's $36.5 million—and $257 million from international markets. This global total of $345 million is the second-biggest opening for Cameron behind Avatar: The Way of Water's $435 million in 2022, and the second-largest MPA global opening of 2025 after Zootopia 2's $560.3 million.
The film dominated key overseas territories, opening at number one in most markets except Japan. China delivered the best Avatar opening ever at $57.6 million (up from early estimates near $41 million), topping The Way of Water's $56 million start. Strong performances included France ($21.4 million), Germany ($18 million), Korea ($13.6 million), and the United Kingdom ($11.9 million). Premium formats were pivotal, with Imax earning $43.6 million—the biggest opening for the format in 2025 and fifth-largest ever—representing nearly 14% of the global total on under 1% of screens. Overall, premium screens like Imax and 3D accounted for 66% of grosses.
"As James Cameron continues to break new ground with Avatar, the indelible connection between Imax and this one-of-a-kind franchise endures," said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax. The film earned an 'A' CinemaScore, with 38% of domestic audiences aged 25 or younger, signaling broad appeal. At three hours and 17 minutes, it is the longest Avatar entry, but the franchise's history favors longevity: the original (2009) and sequel each topped charts for seven weeks, grossing $2.92 billion and $2.32 billion. The three films now exceed $5.6 billion collectively.
With international markets driving over 70% of prior entries' earnings, experts emphasize post-opening performance. "Openings are not what the Avatar movies are about. It’s what they do after they open that made them the No. 2 and three biggest films of all time," said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. Holiday competition from films like David and The Housemaid will test its legs ahead.
