Legendary director James Cameron’s science fiction epic continues to make cinematic history, with “ Avatar : Fire and Ash” surpassing the billion-dollar mark at the global box office, reaffirming the “Avatar” series’ status as one of the most important cinematic phenomena of the 21st century.
According to industry estimates released Sunday, the third installment of the series maintained its absolute dominance in North American theaters, adding $40 million to its total earnings. This brings the film's total domestic gross to $306 million in the United States and Canada, while it also saw a significant surge in international markets with $777 million, for a worldwide total of $1.08 billion, according to data from Exhibitor Relations.
Cameron and the Billion Dollar Club
This achievement cements James Cameron's legendary status at the box office, marking his fourth film to surpass the billion-dollar mark and joining his list of timeless classics, which includes the first two Avatar films and Titanic. This success reflects the immense trust audiences place in Cameron's visual vision and his ability to deliver cutting-edge production techniques and epic stories that resonate with viewers across cultures.
In this new installment, the core cast returns, with Zoe Saldana reprising her role as the warrior Na'vi Neteri and Sam Worthington as the former soldier Jake Sully. The film follows the couple as they confront a new and unprecedented threat that puts their family's lives and the future of Pandora at risk, adding deeper dramatic dimensions to the environmental and military conflict for which the series is renowned.
Fierce competition: Zootopia 2 chases the lead
Despite the dominance of "Avatar," the competition was fierce, with Disney's animated film "Zootopia 2" debuting in second place in North America. The Oscar-nominated film earned $19 million in its opening weekend, but its global total is astounding, nearing $1.6 billion, making it one of the most successful animated films in recent history.
Box office rankings and competing films
The list featured a wide variety of works, and the ranking of the remaining top five films was as follows:
- Third place: The Housemaid, with $14.9 million in revenue. Based on the best-selling novel by Frieda McFadden, and starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, the film is a mystery about the dark secrets hidden by a wealthy couple.
- Fourth place: The historical sports drama “Marty Supreme” produced by A24 and starring Timothée Chalamet, earning $12.6 million.
- Fifth place: “Anaconda,” a comedy revival of the famous 1990s horror film, starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black, earning $10 million.
The top ten also included other notable works such as “The SpongeBob Movie” ($8.2 million), “David” ($8 million), “Song Sang Blue” ($5.8 million), the musical “Wicked: For Good” ($3.3 million), and finally the horror film “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” ($2.7 million).
