It’s a Christmas miracle for James Cameron. After topping the global box office in its opening week, Avatar: Fire and Ash has held onto its lead for its sophomore outing, adding US$181.2 million to a combined worldwide gross of US$760 million.
While the film’s momentum still trails behind its predecessor at the same point in its run, it’s expected to earn US$1 billion by the end of next weekend, when the holidays officially come to a close. If so, Disney would have secured another member of the billion-dollar club for the year, behind Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2, the biggest contributors to its whopping US$6 billion global haul.
The latest box-office haul also means the Avatar franchise is now the industry’s first trilogy to gross US$6 billion worldwide. In China, the threequel falls short of crossing the US$100 million mark at US$99.6 million, with Zootopia 2 being the only Hollywood production released in 2025 to achieve it.
In fact, the latter has grossed US$1.4 billion worldwide, making it the first studio movie to surpass US$1 billion at the international box office this year. Other notable milestones include the top global release of 2025, the third studio animated release ever worldwide, and the highest-grossing Hollywood animated outing of all time.
While Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash are both expected box-office favourites, A24’s high-profile period pic Marty Supreme – directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet as a 1950s table tennis champion – was a surprise entry. It took third place over the four-day holiday, scoring a US$28.3 million domestic opening to become the indie outfit’s second-highest debut to date. Alex Garland’s Civil War remains its best performer, notching US$25 million over the traditional three-day weekend.
Alongside Chalamet, the comedy-drama film also features Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, and Tyler, the Creator in supporting roles. It follows Marty Masuer, “a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness,” per the official description by A24.
As for Avatar: Fire and Ash, the tentpole pic is set one year after Avatar: The Way of Water in the year 2171, and focuses on the continuing conflict between the Na’vi and the RDA, with Jake’s family struggling to prevent more casualties in the conflict, and the RDA receiving aid from the Mangkwan clan, who live in the volcanic regions of Pandora. A fourth and fifth film are slated for release on 21 December 2029 and 19 December 2031, respectively.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
