Hollywood Closes Tumultuous Year with Box Office Boost from ‘Avatar’ and ‘Marty Supreme’
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Despite a challenging year marked by industry disruptions, Hollywood ended 2025 on a high note, fueled by strong holiday ticket sales for James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and the unexpected success of A24’s “Marty Supreme.” The box office performance offers a glimmer of optimism as the industry navigates a changing landscape.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Dominates, But Faces Predecessor Comparisons
As anticipated, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” led the charge at the box office, grossing an estimated $88 million over the four-day Christmas-to-Sunday period, and $64 million on the weekend alone, according to studio estimates released Sunday. While the latest installment in the Avatar franchise initially opened with softer domestic numbers than 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” it demonstrated stronger staying power in its second weekend, experiencing a dip of just 28% compared to the 53% decline seen by its predecessor.
In just two weeks, “Fire and Ash” has amassed $217.7 million domestically for The Walt Disney Company. However, the film’s international performance has been particularly impressive, generating $542.7 million overseas. To reach the box-office heights of previous Avatar films – both of which rank among the highest-grossing movies of all time – “Fire and Ash” will need to maintain momentum through the New Year and into early January. Success could position “Avatar” as the first franchise to boast three films exceeding $2 billion in worldwide revenue.
Timothée Chalamet’s ‘Marty Supreme’ Delivers Indie Success
Much of the excitement over the Christmas weekend centered on “Marty Supreme,” A24’s highest-budget release to date. Josh Safdie’s 1950s-set table tennis drama collected $27.1 million over the four-day holiday, a significant achievement for the independent studio.
Timothée Chalamet’s extensive promotional efforts, including a high-profile appearance atop the Sphere in Las Vegas, clearly resonated with audiences. The film’s strong opening demonstrated the actor’s considerable drawing power and marked a rare box-office win for an original, non-sequel film. With a production budget of approximately $70 million, “Marty Supreme” even outperformed expectations, surpassing Sony Pictures’ “Anaconda,” which earned $23.7 million over the holiday weekend.
A Resurgent Comedy Genre and Overall Box Office Improvement
Despite receiving mixed reviews (50% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), “Anaconda,” starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, still delivered a solid performance for a comedy – a genre that many studios have largely abandoned in recent years. The overall Christmas Day box office represented the strongest performance since before the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a celebratory conclusion to a year that presented significant challenges for the film industry.
“It was a really solid end to a tumultuous year,” said a senior media analyst for Comscore. “It’s been a roller-coaster ride. I think the best news for the industry—I know we kind of say this every year—but if you look at the lineup for 2026, it’s pretty incredible.”
However, domestic ticket sales for 2025 are projected to end roughly on par with the disappointing $8.75 billion recorded in 2024, currently totaling $8.76 billion with three days remaining in the year. This figure pales in comparison to the $11.4 billion generated in 2019. This concerning trend has theaters closely monitoring Netflix’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros.
Shifting Global Landscape and the Rise of PG-Rated Films
The highest-grossing film of the year globally was a Chinese production, “Ne Zha 2,” which generated $2 billion in revenue. The most-watched movie of 2025, “KPop Demon Hunters,” was a Sony Pictures release sold to Netflix, and even the Oscars are moving to YouTube.
A notable trend emerged in 2025: PG-rated movies outperformed PG-13 films for the second consecutive year. Domestically, PG films generated $2.87 billion, while PG-13 movies collected $2.78 billion. The three biggest Hollywood blockbusters – “Zootopia 2” ($1.42 billion globally), “Lilo & Stitch” ($1.04 billion), and “A Minecraft Movie” ($958.2 million) – all received PG ratings. Disney, propelled by these successes and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” became the first studio since 2019 to surpass $6 billion in worldwide revenue.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Despite the challenges of 2025, expectations are high for a rebound year at the box office in 2026. Upcoming titles include “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the live-action “Moana,” “Toy Story 5,” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The coming week, with schools out and many people off work, is expected to be one of the busiest of the year for theaters.
Other releases hoping to capitalize on the holiday momentum include Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid” ($46.7 million in two weeks), Angel Studios’ “David” ($49.8 million in two weeks), Paramount Pictures’ “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” ($38.2 million in two weeks), and Focus Features’ “Song Sung Blue.” “Song Sung Blue,” starring Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman as members of a Neil Diamond cover band, debuted with a four-day haul of $12 million and has received an “A” CinemaScore from audiences, suggesting strong staying power.
Here’s a look at the top 10 films at the U.S. and Canadian box office for the Friday-Sunday period, according to Comscore:
- “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $64 million.
- “Zootopia 2,” $20 million.
- “Marty Supreme,” $17.5 million.
- “The Housemaid,” $15.4 million.
- “Anaconda,” $14.6 million.
- “David,” $12.7 million.
- “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” $11.2 million.
- “Song Sung Blue,” $7.6 million.
- “Wicked: For Good,” $5.3 million.
- “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” $4.4 million.