James Cameron's 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' dominated the Christmas box office, adding $88 million domestically over the holiday weekend to reach $760 million worldwide after two weeks. The sci-fi sequel showed strong holds, outperforming its predecessor in its second frame. New releases like A24's 'Marty Supreme' surprised with a robust $27 million debut, while Disney's 'Zootopia 2' continued its run as 2025's top earner.
James Cameron's 'Avatar: Fire and Ash,' the third installment in the Pandora saga, remained at the top of the domestic box office over the Christmas period, earning $64 million over the traditional three-day weekend and $88 million since Thursday. This represents a 28% decline from its $89 million opening, a better hold than 'Avatar: The Way of Water's' 52% drop in 2022 after a $134 million debut. Globally, the film has grossed $217.7 million in North America and $542.7 million internationally, totaling $760.4 million after two weekends. Key international markets include China at $99.6 million, France at $54.4 million, Germany at $43.1 million, and Korea at $32.1 million. The Avatar franchise now exceeds $6 billion worldwide, with this entry ranking as the fifth-highest grossing MPA release of 2025 and poised to become the third film to surpass $1 billion this year, following Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' remake ($1.03 billion) and 'Zootopia 2' ($1.42 billion).
Disney's 'Zootopia 2' held strong in its fifth weekend, adding $20 million domestically and $67.9 million internationally for a global total of $1.42 billion, making it the highest-grossing Hollywood release of 2025 and the top animated film overseas ever. Among newcomers, A24's 'Marty Supreme,' directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet as a fictional table tennis champion, debuted with $17.4 million over the weekend and $27.1 million over four days, marking A24's second-biggest opening after 'Civil War' ($25 million). Produced for $70 million, it earned a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, 65% of whom were under 35. Box office analyst David A. Gross noted, "Sports dramas are not big movies to begin with, but the right cast can elevate them... Timothée Chalamet is making that kind of difference."
Sony's 'Anaconda,' a $45 million meta-reboot starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, opened with $14.6 million domestically and $20 million internationally, totaling $43.7 million globally, with mixed reviews at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B CinemaScore. Focus Features' 'Song Sung Blue,' featuring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson in a Neil Diamond tribute story, earned $7.6 million over the weekend and $12 million over four days on a $30 million budget, receiving an A CinemaScore from 65% female audiences, over half aged 55+. Gross added, "This is a crowd-pleaser, and word-of-mouth should build now among older moviegoers."
Holdovers like Lionsgate's 'The Housemaid' ($15.4 million weekend) and Universal's 'Wicked: For Good' (crossing $504 million globally) contributed to a domestic box office of $8.76 billion through late December, projected at $8.87 billion for 2025, up 1.5% from 2024 but 22% below 2019. Comscore's Paul Dergarabedian said, "‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ and the impressive nationwide expansion of ‘Marty Supreme’ helped to power a very strong end of year push."
