At a Glance
- Avatar: Fire and Ash tops the holiday weekend with $64 million.
- Marty Supreme pulls in $27.1 million over four days, beating the expected runner-up.
- Domestic 2025 totals are $8.76 billion, almost identical to 2024’s figure.
Why it matters: The end-of-year numbers show a sluggish recovery for theatrical releases while PG-rated films dominate the market.
Avatar: Fire and Ash Breaks Records
James Cameron’s new Pandora adventure led the Christmas-to-Sunday window, pulling $88 million in four days and $64 million on the weekend. The film opened softer than 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water but fell only 28 % in its second weekend, compared with a 53 % drop for the predecessor. In just two weeks, Fire and Ash has earned $217.7 million in North America and $542.7 million overseas, putting it on track for the $2 billion milestone if it keeps momentum through New Year’s and early January.
Marty Supreme Shakes Up Indie Scene
A24’s high-budget drama, directed by Josh Safdie, collected $27.1 million over the four-day holiday weekend, a rare box-office win for an original film. Timothée Chalamet promoted the release by appearing atop the Sphere in Las Vegas. The film’s $70 million budget and the star’s 30-year-old drawing power set it apart.
**Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, said:
> “It was a really solid end to a tumultuous year. It’s been a roller-coaster ride. I think the best news for the industry – I know we kind of say this every year – but if you look at the lineup for 2026, it’s pretty incredible.”
Market Trends and Upcoming Releases
Domestic ticket sales for 2025 are $8.76 billion, nearly matching the disappointing $8.75 billion of 2024. In 2019, the figure was $11.4 billion. PG-rated movies outperformed PG-13 ones for the second year running: $2.87 billion vs. $2.78 billion.
The three biggest Hollywood blockbusters were all PG-rated: Zootopia 2 ($1.42 billion globally), Lilo & Stitch ($1.04 billion) and A Minecraft Movie ($958.2 million). Disney crossed $6 billion worldwide, the first studio since 2019 to do so.
Upcoming titles that could boost 2026 include The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, live-action Moana, Toy Story 5, and The Mandalorian and Grogu. The next week, with schools out, is expected to be one of the busiest in theaters.
Other releases poised for strong legs are Lionsgate’s The Housemaid ($46.7 million in two weeks), Angel Studios’ David ($49.8 million), Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants ($38.2 million), and Focus Features’ Song Sung Blue ($12 million over four days, A CinemaScore).
Leonardo DiCaprio told Jennifer Lawrence during the latest installment of News Of Fort Worth‘s Actors on Actors series that he hasn’t rewatched Titanic.
Top 10 Domestic Box Office
| Rank | Film | Four-day Holiday Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avatar: Fire and Ash | $64 million |
| 2 | Zootopia 2 | $20 million |
| 3 | Marty Supreme | $17.5 million |
| 4 | The Housemaid | $15.4 million |
| 5 | Anaconda | $14.6 million |
| 6 | David | $12.7 million |
| 7 | The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants | $11.2 million |
| 8 | Song Sung Blue | $7.6 million |
| 9 | Wicked: For Good | $5.3 million |
| 10 | Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 | $4.4 million |
Key Takeaways
- Avatar: Fire and Ash leads the holiday box office, pulling in $64 million over the weekend.
- Marty Supreme demonstrates that indie originals can compete with major studio releases, earning $27.1 million.
- Domestic totals for 2025 match 2024’s $8.76 billion, highlighting a slow recovery for theaters.
The year-end numbers underline a cautious but hopeful outlook for Hollywood’s box-office future.
