Box Office Report: 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Dominates Again With $21M as New Releases Debut
James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash is showing no signs of slowing down at the box office, continuing its impressive run into early January. The blockbuster is projected to remain in the top position for a fourth consecutive weekend, earning an estimated $21.3 million from 3,700 theaters.
Avatar: Fire and Ash secures its fourth straight weekend at No. 1 with over $21 million, while new releases Primate and Greenland 2: Migration make their box office debut.
20th Century Studios
With this latest haul, Avatar: Fire and Ash has reached $342.6 million in domestic ticket sales. Although its North American performance trails behind the first two films in the franchise, the third installment has already surged past the $1 billion mark worldwide after just three weekends. Following this frame, its global earnings are expected to rise to approximately $1.23 billion.
The film is outperforming the weekend’s two major newcomers by a wide margin. Paramount’s horror release Primate and Lionsgate’s sequel Greenland 2: Migration trail behind the sci-fi epic in the overall rankings.
Opening in 2,964 locations, Primate is competing for second place with $11.3 million in its debut weekend. Directed by Johannes Roberts—known for titles such as 47 Meters Down—the horror thriller centers on a formerly domesticated chimpanzee that becomes rabid and violently turns on the family that raised him, along with unsuspecting guests. The film stars Academy Award winner Troy Kotsur, alongside Johnny Sequoyah and Jessica Alexander, and carries a production budget exceeding $20 million. Internationally, the movie added $2.1 million, bringing its worldwide total to $13.4 million.
Close on its heels is The Housemaid, featuring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney. The Paul Feig-directed thriller is estimated to generate $11.2 million over the weekend. Already confirmed for a sequel, the film has amassed $93 million domestically and $150 million globally.
Taking fourth place is Zooptopia 2, which continues to deliver strong numbers in its seventh weekend. The animated hit collected $10.1 million and has now reached a massive $1.65 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film ever released by Walt Disney Animation.
Rounding out the top five is Greenland 2: Migration, which debuted with $8.5 million from 2,710 theaters. Lionsgate holds domestic distribution rights for the Gerard Butler-led sequel, directed by Ric Roman Waugh. Set after the events of the 2020 original, the story follows a family leaving their Greenland bunker to search for a new home across post-apocalyptic Europe after a comet devastates Earth.
Beyond Avatar, several holdovers continue to perform steadily. Timothée Chalamet’s awards contender Marty Supreme earned $7.3 million over the weekend despite a 38 percent drop. The Josh Safdie-directed ping pong drama, produced on a $70 million budget, has now surpassed that figure in domestic earnings.
Also drawing attention during awards season is Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice. Playing on 147 screens, the film brought in $1.3 million during the weekend. Now in its third week of limited release, it has reached a cumulative total of $3.6 million.
Elsewhere at the box office, Sony’s adventure comedy Anaconda crossed a significant milestone. The Jack Black and Paul Rudd-starring film earned $5.1 million in North America, pushing its worldwide gross to $110.1 million and officially surpassing $100 million globally.
