> At a Glance
> – Avatar: Fire and Ash tops the holiday weekend with $88 million over four days.
> – Marty Supreme pulls in $27.1 million, beating rival Anaconda.
> – Domestic 2025 total reaches $8.76 billion, matching 2024’s $8.75 billion.
> – Why it matters: These results show a resilient holiday season and hint at a potential rebound in the broader 2025 market.
In a busy holiday weekend, James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash and A24’s Marty Supreme dominated the U.S. box office, delivering record sales that lift the industry’s outlook for 2025. The weekend’s results also underscore a shift toward PG-rated titles and signal a steady domestic market despite broader challenges.
Avatar: Fire and Ash Leads the Charge
The film earned $88 million over the four-day Christmas-to-Sunday stretch, with a $64 million weekend haul, according to studio estimates. It opened softer at home than its 2022 predecessor but dropped only 28 % in its second weekend versus Way of Water’s 53 % slide. In just two weeks, it has racked up $217.7 million in North America, while $542.7 million has come from overseas. With a $400 million budget, the movie still needs to stay strong into New Year’s and early January if it is to join the franchise’s two-$2 billion films and become the first series with three such hits.
Marty Supreme Breaks Expectations
A24’s 1950s-set table-tennis drama, shot on a $70 million budget, pulled in $27.1 million over the holiday weekend, outpacing Sony’s Anaconda, which earned $23.7 million. Timothée Chalamet’s promotional push-including a Las Vegas Sphere appearance-helped the film become a rare box-office winner for an original, non-franchise title. Marty Supreme’s success highlights the continued strength of PG-rated movies, which earned $2.87 billion domestically versus $2.78 billion from PG-13 releases.
Industry Trends and Outlook
Paul Dergarabedian said:
> “really solid end to a tumultuous year”
> “pretty incredible”
Domestic ticket sales for 2025 stand at $8.76 billion, roughly equal to 2024’s $8.75 billion, but still below the 2019 total of $11.4 billion. Netflix’s bid to acquire Warner Bros., the highest-grossing film of the year-Chinese production Ne Zha 2-reached $2 billion, and the most-watched film, KPop Demon Hunters, was sold to Netflix. The Oscars have also shifted to YouTube.
- Upcoming 2026 titles:
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Live-action Moana
- Toy Story 5
- The Mandalorian and Grogu
- Other releases to watch:
- Lionsgate’s The Housemaid ($46.7 million in two weeks)
- Angel Studios’ David ($49.8 million)
- Paramount’s SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants ($38.2 million)
- Focus Features’ Song Sung Blue ($12 million four-day haul)
| Rank | Film | Four-day weekend |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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‘s $88 million four-day haul signals strong franchise momentum.
- Marty Supreme‘s $27.1 million weekend shows PG-rated originals can succeed.
- Domestic 2025 total of $8.76 billion matches 2024, but still trails 2019’s $11.4 billion.
The holiday weekend’s robust sales give Hollywood a hopeful outlook as it heads into a quieter 2026, with a slate of high-profile releases poised to keep audiences in theaters.
