Box Office: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Holds Strong as ‘Zootopia 2’ Surges and ‘Marty Supreme’ Breaks Out

Disney takes the top two as Avatar 3 holds and Zootopia 2 roars back in a $177.2M weekend.

A crowded holiday frame delivered big business at the box office. Box office figures and analysis in this report are based on data from Screendollars.com, which tracked a wide-open marketplace where every top-grossing title played in at least 2,000 theaters, but none exceeded 4,000 locations.

Seven of the top 10 films debuted in the last 10 days, pushing weekend totals to $177.2 million and setting up a Disney-led finish. Disney not only won the weekend; it dominated, with Avatar: Fire and Ash leading at $64 million and Zootopia 2 earning $20 million, up 35%. With these titles, Disney secured the top two spots decisively.

Disney closes 2025 with a flex

Disney ended 2025 as the top-grossing worldwide studio, passing $6 billion for the first time since 2019. Warner Bros. was second with over $4 billion. This year-end momentum was clear in the weekend’s crowded top five, led by Disney.

After the Disney duo, three studios held their ground. A24’s Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet, earned $17.5 million after its Christmas Day wide expansion. Lionsgate’s The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney, pulled $15.4 million in its second weekend. Sony’s Anaconda, starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black, debuted with $14.6 million.

First place: Avatar: Fire and Ash begins the marathon

Disney and 20th Century’s Avatar: Fire and Ash earned $64.0 million in its second weekend, dropping only 28% from last weekend’s debut. That brings its 10-day total to $217.7 million domestically and $760.4 million worldwide.

That domestic pace is almost exactly in line with the original Avatar in 2009, which had earned $212.7 million at this same point, just $5 million less than Fire and Ash’s current total. However, Fire and Ash is running 17% below Avatar: The Way of Water, which earned $261.0 million domestically in its first 10 days—$43.3 million more than Fire and Ash’s 10-day total.

Read our Avatar: Fire and Ash review.

The “Avatar hold” phase is the real story

Now comes the part that makes Cameron’s box office runs different. The “Avatar hold” is the term for the franchise’s trademark legs — smaller drops, longer runways, and a slow squeeze that keep the movie at the top of the market for weeks.

Even after strong opening stretches, both earlier Avatar films had most of their totals still ahead. The first Avatar still had 73% of its final gross remaining after day 10. The Way of Water still had 62% remaining. If Fire and Ash follows that same pattern, the next several weekends could be less about survival and more about endurance.

The movie is already positioned to be profitable. However, how high it climbs will be closely watched by Disney and Cameron as they evaluate whether it makes sense to spend on producing Avatar 4.

Second place: Zootopia 2 roars back in weekend five

Zootopia 2 reclaimed second place with $20.0 million in its fifth weekend, a 35% increase, pushing its totals to $321.4 million domestically and $1.4 billion globally.

Screendollars notes that the sequel’s ratio of production costs to worldwide gross is already massive, and the film currently ranks as the fourth-highest-grossing animated movie of all time globally. With weeks left to play, Zootopia 2 has a clear target: Frozen II (2019), which finished at $1.45 billion worldwide.

Read our Zootopia 2 review.

With Zootopia 2 in second, Disney finished the year with the top two weekend movies and strong momentum.

Third place: Marty Supreme proves it can travel

A24 has a hit with Marty Supreme, which expanded to 2,668 theaters across the U.S. and Canada and finished third with $17.6 million. Last weekend, the comedy drama made a splash by scoring the year’s biggest per-theater average in a limited rollout, earning $146,000 per location across six top theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The big question was whether a movie about table tennis hustlers in the 1950s could play outside niche markets after expanding on Christmas Day. This weekend’s numbers suggest it can.

The wide expansion delivered a $6,588 per-theater average, which ranked second among wide releases behind Avatar.

Why the breakout makes sense

Several factors are working in the film’s favor. Josh Safdie brings a track record with intense crowd-pleasers like Uncut Gems and Good Time. Timothée Chalamet remains one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, capable of leading both major studio hits and prestige titles. A24’s rollout strategy also did its job, turning a limited, buzz-heavy opening into an event-style Christmas expansion.

Fourth place: The Housemaid holds steady

Lionsgate’s The Housemaid took fourth place with $15.4 million, dropping 19% from its opening weekend. That brings its 10-day domestic total to $46.5 million. International distribution has been limited so far, with a wider rollout expected in the coming weeks. If it holds screens through mid-January, it could keep building as the holiday corridor continues.

Read our The Housemaid review.

Fifth place: Anaconda goes for laughs and holiday runway

Sony’s action comedy Anaconda finished fifth with $14.6 million in its opening weekend. The new version shifts away from the 1997 film’s survival-horror DNA and leans into comedy with Paul Rudd and Jack Black. The release date also helps. Opening on Christmas Day gives the movie a full stretch of high-traffic holiday moviegoing through the first week of January, which will be critical for its staying power.

Read our Anaconda review.

This holiday weekend showed a crowded field, with Disney claiming the top two titles and A24’s Marty Supreme proving nationwide appeal.

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