Over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in 2026, indie films like Hamnet and No Other Choice saw significant expansions and solid grosses, contributing to a diverse box office performance. Major releases such as Avatar: Fire and Ash continued to dominate globally, while the re-release of The Lord of the Rings trilogy marked its 25th anniversary with impressive returns. Sony's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opened softly domestically but found success in international markets like the UK and Mexico.
The four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in the United States highlighted a robust showing from independent films amid competition from blockbuster holdovers. Focus Features' Hamnet, directed by Chloe Zhao and starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, expanded to 718 theaters, an increase of 486 screens, grossing $1.3 million over three days and $1.6 million over four days, bringing its domestic cumulative to $15 million. The Golden Globe winner has garnered strong word of mouth, with a 93% audience score and recognition as the highest-rated romance of 2025 on Letterboxd.
Neon's No Other Choice, a dark comedy from Park Chan-wook featuring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin, also expanded significantly to 695 theaters, up 548 screens, earning an estimated $2.2 million for three days and $2.7 million for four days, with a domestic cume of $7 million.
Other indies included Row K's Dead Man's Wire, directed by Gus Van Sant, which went wide to 1,101 screens and grossed $1 million over three days and $1.23 million over four, for a cume of $1.43 million. Mubi's Oscar-shortlisted Sound of Falling debuted on one New York City screen to $11.9 thousand over three days and $14.6 thousand over four. GKids' anime All You Need Is Kill opened on 756 screens to $431.8 thousand three-day and $520.9 thousand four-day, marking the highest gross for Studio 4ºC. IFC's Night Patrol earned $255 thousand three-day and $300 thousand four-day on 800 screens.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy re-release for its 25th anniversary, presented by Fathom Entertainment with new intros from director Peter Jackson, performed strongly: The Fellowship of the Ring grossed $3.59 million at 1,686 theaters, The Two Towers $2.4 million over Saturday and Sunday, and The Return of the King an estimated $2 million on Sunday, totaling $8 million three-day and a projected $9.5 million four-day.
On the mainstream front, A24's Marty Supreme surpassed $80 million domestic, becoming the studio's highest-grossing film ever. Globally, Disney's Avatar: Fire and Ash reached a $1.32 billion worldwide cumulative, with $17.2 million domestic weekend and $44.5 million international. Sony's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opened to $15 million domestic four-day but led internationally in the UK with $4.6 million and Mexico with $1.5 million, for a $31.2 million worldwide debut. Zootopia 2 hit $1.7 billion worldwide, the highest-grossing MPA animated film.
Expansions continued for films like Watermelon Pictures' All That's Left of You, which added to 30 locations for $86.3 thousand three-day and a $177 thousand cume, and Janus Films' Magellan, grossing $23.3 thousand three-day on four screens for a $67.6 thousand cume.
