‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Crosses $760 Million Globally After Two Weekends

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” has surpassed $760 million globally after two weekends of release.

Over the busy Christmas stretch, James Cameron‘s sci-fi epic collected $181.2 million from 51 overseas markets and $245.2 million globally. Those ticket sales mark a minimal 25% decline from its international opening weekend. So far, the Disney and 20th Century film has grossed $217 million in North America and $542 million at the international box office. Outside of the United States and Canada, top markets are China with $99.6 million, France with $54.4 million, Germany with $43.1 million and Korea with $32.1 million.

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“Avatar: Fire and Ash” is already the sixth-highest grossing Hollywood release of the year, and it’ll continue to climb above hits like “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” ($714 million), “Jurassic World: Rebirth ($869 million) and “A Minecraft Movie” ($958 million) in the coming weekends. Soon, “Avatar 3” should become 2025’s third blockbuster to surpass the $1 billion mark, following two other Disney behemoths, May’s “Lilo & Stitch” remake ($1.03 billion) and November’s “Zootopia 2” ($1.3 billion and counting). To underscore Disney’s box office dominance, none of its rival studios has fielded a single billion-dollar film since 2023. 

A key question for box office watchers is where “Avatar: Fire and Ash” will end its theatrical run. The third installment in the otherworldly franchise has a high bar to clear in terms of theatrical expectations because the first two trips to Pandora, 2009’s “Avatar” and 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” stand as two of the biggest movies in history with $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively. “Avatar 3” doesn’t necessarily need to hit the $2 billion mark to be considered a commercial success, though the mega-budgeted film does need to keep playing in theaters to justify its massive price tag for Disney. That shouldn’t be a problem, since “Avatar” films have become synonymous with box office staying power, meaning the visual spectacles are known to stick around in theaters.

Disney’s other juggernaut, “Zootopia 2,” remained a box office force with $67.2 million from 52 overseas territories and $87.9 million globally in its fifth weekend of release. So far, the animated sequel has generated a $321.4 million domestically and a stellar $1.099 billion internationally, bringing its global tally to $1.42 billion.

In other box office milestones, Universal’s big-budget musical “Wicked: For Good” finally crossed the $500 million mark. The film, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has earned $172 million overseas and $503.9 million worldwide. “Wicked: For Good” should turn a tidy profit against a $150 million production budget, but the movie has earned far less than its predecessor, 2024’s “Wicked,” with $758 million globally.