Hollywood wrapped up a turbulent year with big ticket sales for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and a box-office hit for Timothee Chalamet with “Marty Supreme” over a busy holiday weekend in movie theaters.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ dominates box office
As expected, James Cameron’s latest trip to Pandora dominated ticket sales, collecting USD 88 million over the four-day Christmas-to-Sunday period and USD 64 million on the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Though “Fire and Ash” initially opened notably softer domestically than its 2022 predecessor, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” it held better in its second weekend. It dipped just 28%, whereas “Way of Water” fell 53%.In two weeks, “Fire and Ash” has quickly amassed USD 217.7 million in North America for The Walt Disney Company. But the USD 400 million-budgeted film has been a massive draw internationally, grossing Rs 542.7 million thus far overseas. The film’s total collections now stand at an estimated USD 760 millionTo reach the box-office heights of the previous films, both of which rank among the biggest blockbusters ever, “Fire and Ash” will need to sustain business through New Year’s and early January. If it does, “Avatar” could become the first franchise with three USD 2 billion movies.
‘Marty Supreme’ scores USD 27.1 million
But much of the heat in theaters over Christmas and on the weekend belonged to “Marty Supreme,” A24’s biggest budget release, Josh Safdie’s 1950s-set table tennis drama collected USD 27.1 million over the four-day weekend, a smash success for the indie studio.Chalamet went to great lengths to promote the acclaimed release, including appearing atop the Sphere in Las Vegas. The strong opening proved that the 30-year-old star has drawing power beyond most of his contemporaries, and it marked a rare box-office win for a wholly original film. Safdie’s film carries a price tag of about USD 70 million.“Marty Supreme” even bested the film most analysts expected to rank number two: Sony Pictures’ “Anaconda.” The big-screen comedy, starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, collected USD 23.7 million over the four-day holiday weekend. That’s still good for comedy, a genre most studios have abandoned in recent years. But “Anaconda” (50% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) was surely dinged by poor reviews.Hollywood is ending the year with its best Christmas Day box office since before the COVID-19 pandemic, a celebratory final note in what’s been a rough year for the film industry. Going into the year, expectations were high for the industry’s first year this decade not marred by pandemic or strike.
2025’s total box office collections hit USD 8.76 billion
But domestic ticket sales on the year are ending roughly on par with the disappointing USD 8.75 billion in 2024. With three days left in 2025, the box-office total is USD 8.76 billion, according to Comscore. By comparison, in 2019, that total was USD 11.4 billion. That’s a worrying development for theaters, which are now nervously watching Netflix attempt to buy one of Hollywood’s most storied studios in Warner Bros. The highest grossing film of the year was a Chinese production, the USD 2 billion-generating “Ne Zha 2.” The most-watched movie of 2025 was “KPop Demon Hunters,” a movie Sony Pictures sold to Netflix. Even the Oscars are headed to YouTube.
What worked in 2025?
PG-rated movies. For the second year in a row, PG-rated movies outperformed PG-13 ones. Domestically, PG films generated USD 2.87 billion, according to Comscore, while PG-13 movies collected USD 2.78 billion.The three biggest Hollywood blockbusters were all PG-rated: “Zootopia 2” (USD 1.42 billion globally), “Lilo & Stitch” (USD 1.04 billion) and “A Minecraft Movie” (USD 958.2 million).“Zootopia 2” even outranked the newcomers over the traditional weekend. In its fifth weekend, it earned another USD 20 million. Propelled by “Zootopia 2,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Disney became the first studio since 2019 to cross USD 6 billion worldwide in the year.
Hollywood to rebound in 2026
Yet expectations are already growing for a rebound year at the box office in 2026. Among the major titles upcoming are “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the live-action “Moana,” “Toy Story 5” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”The coming week, when schools are out and many people are off work, should be one of the busiest weeks of the year in theaters. Aside from the top films, a number of other releases will hope to capitalize.That includes Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid,” the Paul Feig thriller starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried (USD 46.7 million in two weeks); “David,” the animated David and Goliath film from Angel Studios (USD 49.8 million in two weeks); Paramount Pictures’ “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” (USD 38.2 million in two weeks); and Focus Features’ “Song Sung Blue.” “Song Sung Blue” may be particularly well-positioned for strong legs. The Craig Brewer-directed film, starring Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman as members of a Neil Diamond cover band, debuted over the holiday weekend with a four-day haul of USD 12 million. Audience scores (an “A” CinemaScore) have been excellent.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:1. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” USD 64 million. 2. “Zootopia 2,” USD 20 million. 3. “Marty Supreme,” USD 17.5 million. 4. “The Housemaid,” USD 15.4 million. 5. “Anaconda,” USD 14.6 million. 6. “David,” USD 12.7 million. 7. “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” USD 11.2 million. 8. “Song Sung Blue,” USD 7.6 million. 9. “Wicked: For Good,” USD 5.3 million. 10. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” USD 4.4 million.
