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\u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d\u00a0opened with $345 million in worldwide sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, notching the second-best global debut of the year and potentially putting James Cameron on course to set yet more blockbuster records.<\/p>\n
Sixteen years into the \u201cAvatar\u201d saga, Pandora is still abundant in box-office riches. \u201cFire and Ash,\u201d the third film in\u00a0Cameron\u2019s science-fiction franchise, launched with $88 million domestically and $257 million internationally. The only film to open bigger in 2025 was \u201cZootopia 2\u201d ($497.2 million over three days). In the coming weeks, \u201cFire and Ash\u201d will have the significant benefit of the highly lucrative holiday moviegoing corridor.<\/p>\n
But there was a tad less fanfare to this \u201cAvatar\u201d film, coming three years after\u00a0\u201cAvatar: The Way of Water.\u201d\u00a0That film launched in 2022 with a massive $435 million globally and $134 million in North America. Domestically, \u201cFire and Ash\u201d fell a hefty 35% from the previous installment. Reviews for \u201cFire and Ash\u201d were also more mixed, scoring a series-low 68% \u201cfresh\u201d score on Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n
Yet those quibbles are only a product of the lofty standards of \u201cAvatar.\u201d The first two films rank as two of the three biggest box-office films of all time. To reach those heights, the \u201cAvatar\u201d films have depended on legs more than huge openings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAvatar\u201d (2009), opened with $77 million domestically but held the top spot for seven weeks. It ultimately grossed $2.92 billion worldwide. \u201cThe Way of Water\u201d also held strong to eventually tally $2.3 billion globally.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe openings are not what the \u2018Avatar\u2019 movies are about,\u201d said David A. Gross, a film consultant who\u00a0publishes a newsletter\u00a0on box office numbers. \u201cIt\u2019s what they do after they open that made them the no. 2 and no. 3 biggest films of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n
For \u201cFire and Ash\u201d to follow in those footsteps, it will need robust ticket sales to continue for weeks. Working in its favor so far: strong word-of-mouth. Audiences gave it an \u201cA\u201d CinemaScore.<\/p>\n
In interviews, Cameron has repeatedly said \u201cFire and Ash\u201d needs to perform well for there to be subsequent \u201cAvatar\u201d films. (Four and five are already written but not greenlit.) These are exceptionally expensive movies to make. With a production budget of at least $400 million, \u201cFire and Ash\u201d is one of the costliest movies ever made.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames Cameron is not known for his low budget movies,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. \u201cYou can\u2019t exactly create the world of Pandora on the cheap. If you\u2019re going to have a 3D movie, an epic film that\u2019s three hours and 17 minutes, it\u2019s a huge buy-in of money, time, resources, and then you have to hope the audience wants to once again go along on that ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFire and Ash\u201d was especially boosted by premium format showings, which accounted for 66% of its opening weekend. A narrow majority of moviegoers (56%) chose to watch it in 3D.<\/p>\n
The \u201cAvatar\u201d films have always been especially popular overseas. \u201cFire and Ash\u201d was strongest in China, where its $57.6 million opening weekend surpassed the two previous movies.<\/p>\n
\u201cFire and Ash\u201d didn\u2019t have the weekend entirely to itself. A trio of other new wide releases made it into theaters in hopes of offering some counterprogramming: Lionsgate\u2019s \u201cThe Housemaid,\u201d Angel Studios\u2019 \u201cDavid\u201d and Paramount Pictures\u2019 \u201cThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the race for second place, \u201cDavid\u201d came out on top. The animated tale of David and Goliath collected $22 million from 3,118 theaters, notching the best opening weekend for Angel Studios, the Christian-oriented studio that emerged with 2023\u2019s surprise hit \u201cSound of Freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Housemaid,\u201d\u00a0Paul Feig\u2019s twisty psychological thriller\u00a0starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, opened with $19 million 3,015 theaters. The Lionsgate release, which cost about $35 million to make, is set up well to be one of the top R-rated options in theaters over the holidays. Based on Freida McFadden\u2019s bestselling novel, it stars Sweeney as a woman with a troubled past who becomes a live-in maid for a wealthy family.<\/p>\n
Trailing the pack was\u00a0\u201cThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,\u201dwhich collected $16 million from 3,557 theaters. The G-rated film, based on the Nickelodeon TV series, is the first \u201cSpongeBob\u201d theatrical movie since 2015\u2019s \u201cThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of this weekend\u2019s new films will hope the ticket sales keep rolling in over the upcoming Christmas break. Starting Dec. 25, they\u2019ll need to contend with some new wide releases, including A24\u2019s \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d with Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet; Focus Features\u2019 \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson; and Sony\u2019s \u201cAnaconda,\u201d with Jack Black and Paul Rudd.<\/p>\n
Before expanding on Christmas, \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d opened in six theaters over the weekend, grossing $875,000 or $145,000 per theater. That was good enough for not only the best per-theater average of the year, but the best since 2016 and a new high mark for A24. The film, directed by Josh Safdie and starring Chalamet as an aspiring table tennis player in 1950s New York, is the most expensive ever for A24.<\/p>\n
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:<\/p>\n
1. \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash,\u201d $88 million.<\/p>\n
2. \u201cDavid,\u201d $22 million.<\/p>\n
3. \u201cThe Housemaid,\u201d $19 million.<\/p>\n
4. \u201cThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,\u201d $16 million.<\/p>\n
5. \u201cZootopia 2,\u201d $14.5 million.<\/p>\n
6. \u201cFive Nights at Freddy\u2019s 2,\u201d $7.3 million.<\/p>\n
7. \u201cWicked: For Good,\u201d $4.3 million.<\/p>\n
8. \u201cDhurandhar,\u201d $2.5 million.<\/p>\n
9. \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d $875,000.<\/p>\n
10. \u201cHamnet,\u201d $850,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#James #Camerons #3rd #Avatar #opens #big #coming #weeks #decide #parts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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