It wasn’t the tidal wave of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” but the third chapter inJames Cameron’s “Avatar” series pulled in $88 million at the U.S. box office this weekend. More importantly for the Walt Disney Company, “Avatar: Fire & Ash” earned a massive $345 million worldwide. That was on the lower end of domestic expectations, but overall, the box office was booming.
“Fire and Ash” came in behind “The Way of Water’s” $134 million opening in the U.S. and was closer to the original’s $77 million debut in 2009. That being said, with a third A CinemaScore grade and a long holiday frame, the reported $400 million production budget is still on track to be another profitable blockbuster for the Mouse House. Whether Cameron is still up for a fourth installment remains to be seen.
Coming in second place was Angel Studios’ “David.” The holiday and faith-themed animated film earned $22 million, making it the biggest debut in the independent distributor’s history. This is the second big animated hit for Angel Studios this year after “The King of Kings” took in $60.2 million in April. “David” reportedly cost $60 million, but Angel Studios acquired domestic rights for just $30 million. As with “Avatar,” it should continue to play through the holiday frame.
“The Housemaid” provided an early Christmas gift for Lionsgate with a $19 million opening. With a reported $35 million production budget and Lionsgate’s affinity for significant international pre-sales, it may end up being the mini-major’s most profitable movie of the year. A year that was especially rough before “The Long Walk” and“Now You See Me Now You Don’t” provided some positive results over the past few months. This opening is also a big win for star Sydney Sweeney, whose box office career was dismissed by too many after “Christy” bombed last month, and director Paul Feig, who had been relegated to streaming movies since the pandemic despite a string of hits, including “Last Christmas,” “A Simple Favor,” “Ghostbusters,” “Spy!” “The Heat” and “Bridesmaids.”
Also opening wide was “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” with $16 million. Despite the best CinemaScore grade of any of the four “SpongeBob” movies to date, an A-, the Paramount Pictures release opened dramatically lower than 2015’s “Sponge Out of Water,” with $55 million and the first film’s $32 million in 2004. “Sponge On The Run” was primarily released on VOD during the height of the COVID pandemic in August, 2020. “Search for SquarePants” reportedly cost $64 million.
Josh Safdie’s critically acclaimed “Marty Supreme” dropped in limited release with a spectacular $875,000 in just six theaters. That’s a stunning $145,833 per screen, the biggest of the year and the biggest since Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” averaged $142,230 average in June 2023. The power of Timothée Chalamet as a movie marketing machine may be unmatched in 2025.
Also opening in limited release was “Is This Thing On?” which pulled in $145,000 in six theaters for a $24,167 per screen. Bradley Cooper’s well reviewed dramaedy expands nationwide on January 9.
New films opening on Christmas Day include “Anaconda” and “Song Sung Blue.” “Marty Supreme” will expand nationwide.
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