James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash has once again proved that Pandora still owns the holiday box office. The sci-fi epic dominated the long Christmas weekend, pulling in a massive $88 million over four days, including $64 million across the traditional three-day weekend, comfortably leading all releases.
While the film may be running slightly behind The Way of Water at the same point, its overall performance still places it firmly in blockbuster territory.
Global Numbers Paint a Huge Picture
By Sunday, Fire and Ash had amassed a staggering $760.4 million worldwide, driven largely by its overseas appeal:
- Domestic total: $217.7 million
- International total: $542.7 million
With the lucrative post-Christmas window still ahead, trade analysts expect the film to cross the $1 billion global mark by next weekend, adding another mega hit to Disney’s 2025 slate.
If that happens, Disney will officially control three of the only billion-dollar films of 2025, alongside Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2.
A Strong Holiday, But a Cautious Industry Outlook
While Disney is celebrating, the broader industry remains cautious. The lack of billion-dollar earners overall highlights how 2025’s domestic box office is struggling to match 2024’s $8.8 billion, largely due to lingering pandemic delays and strike-related production gaps.
That said, the Christmas period itself delivered encouraging news. Thanks to a wide variety of releases, it marked the strongest holiday box office since the pandemic, reinforcing how essential diverse content is to theatrical recovery.
Marty Supreme Emerges as the Holiday Surprise
The biggest shock of the weekend came from A24’s period drama Marty Supreme. Directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet as a 1950s table tennis prodigy, the film scored a record-breaking $27.1 million four-day opening, the biggest debut in A24’s history.
Its Friday-to-Sunday haul stood at $17.5 million, landing it third place overall but cementing its status as a breakout specialty hit.
The film had already made headlines earlier with a stunning per-location average of $145,913 across select New York and Los Angeles theatres — the highest for any A24 release and the best since La La Land in 2016.
Timothée Chalamet’s Marketing Blitz Pays Off
Chalamet went all out promoting Marty Supreme. From standing atop The Sphere in Las Vegas to greenlighting bold ideas like an orange blimp emblazoned with the film’s title, the actor’s unconventional campaign generated serious buzz.
The cast and crew even lit up the Empire State Building in orange ahead of the New York premiere — a move that clearly helped push awareness beyond the arthouse crowd.
The big question now: can the film expand beyond awards-season audiences and play to mainstream viewers?
How the Rest of the Holiday Box Office Shaped Up
- Anaconda opened with $23.6 million over four days, finishing fourth despite heavy criticism.
- The Housemaid, a modestly budgeted thriller, nearly overtook it with $23.1 million, and actually beat Anaconda over the three-day weekend.
- Angel Studios’ David landed sixth with $16.7 million, showing strong legs for a faith-based title.
- The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants continued to struggle, adding $14.1 million for a lukewarm domestic total of $37.8 million.
- Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, earned $11.5 million and boasts one of the highest audience scores of the season.
Meanwhile, Universal’s Wicked: For Good quietly crossed $500 million globally, though its China performance disappointed and it’s now unlikely to match the original film’s worldwide haul.
Why Christmas Timing Matters
With Christmas falling on a Thursday this year, theatres benefitted from a perfect storm: packed afternoons, busy evenings, and a full weekend boost. Add to that the week between Christmas and New Year — traditionally one of the most profitable stretches of the year — and studios had plenty of room to run.
Final Words
Avatar: Fire and Ash may not be breaking every record in sight, but its dominance proves one thing clearly: James Cameron still owns the global theatrical event space. With $1 billion well within reach and the holiday corridor still active, Pandora’s fire is far from cooling.
At the same time, the Christmas box office offered a reminder that while tentpoles lead the charge, surprise hits and genre variety remain crucial to keeping theatres alive.
