LOS ANGELES, December 22, 2025 – James Cameron’s latest spectacle, Avatar: fire and Ash, ignited the global box office this weekend, raking in $345 million worldwide and signaling the start of a competitive year-end holiday movie season.
A Fiery Return to Pandora
Table of Contents
Avatar: fire and Ash, released by 20th Century and Disney, secured the second-highest global opening of any Hollywood film in 2025, trailing only fellow Disney release Zootopia 2. While expectations were high, the film’s performance offered a complex picture of audience engagement.
The film’s North American opening of $88 million was lower than anticipated, a common hurdle for third installments, even in the immersive world of Pandora. However, the studio is optimistic about building momentum over the coming weeks, where a five to six times multiple of the opening weekend gross is entirely possible.
Strong Audience Response Despite Length
Despite its considerable runtime-exceeding three and a quarter hours-Fire and Ash is resonating with audiences, earning an A CinemaScore, consistent with its predecessors.Disney insiders point to PostTrak exit scores of 4 out of 5 as a strong indicator of positive word-of-mouth, suggesting the film is well-positioned for a sustained run.
The original Avatar, released in 2009, initially faced skepticism given its cost, but quickly ascended to become the highest-grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office with an astounding $2.97 billion (not adjusted for inflation).It continues to hold that title, followed by Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame and two additional Cameron blockbusters, The Way of Water and Titanic, each earning over $2.3 billion.
International Markets Drive Success
The Avatar franchise has consistently drawn significant strength from international markets, and Fire and Ash is no exception. Imax, a key partner for Cameron, contributed $43.6 million to the opening weekend global gross, marking Imax’s biggest opening weekend of the year and one of its fifth-biggest ever. Premium formats, including Imax, accounted for 56 percent of all tickets sold, reflecting Cameron’s push for an immersive cinematic experience.
China led all international markets with a debut of $57.6 million, surpassing the performance of the previous film, and demonstrating a continued appetite for Hollywood tentpoles following the success of Zootopia 2.
Competition at the Box Office
Avatar: Fire and Ash faced competition from several other new releases, including the faith-based drama David, from Angel Studios, which debuted in second place with $22 million from 3,119 theaters, earning an A CinemaScore. Lionsgate’s R-rated thriller The Housemaid,starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney,followed in third place with $19 million. The film coudl be a key test for sweeney following her previous work, Christy.
Paramount’s family film The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants opened in fourth place with $16 million from 3,557 theaters.
Specialty film Success
At the specialty box office, A24’s Oscar hopeful marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet, broke into the top 10 despite playing in only six theaters. The sports biopic earned an estimated $875,000,achieving a record-breaking per-screen average of $145,933-the highest in A24’s history and among the best ever.
Focus Features’ awards contender Hamnet, produced by Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, rounded out the top 10, increasing its domestic tally to $8.2 million.
