NEW YORK — Hollywood opened 2026 with James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash holding the top spot at North American theaters for a third consecutive week while the franchise celebrated a global box-office milestone. In its first three weeks the film surpassed $1 billion worldwide, driven largely by international receipts. Studio estimates put the movie’s North American weekend take at about $40 million, even as other holiday holdovers and new releases kept multiplexes busy. The pattern reflects a strong holiday frame and early signs of momentum for a year loaded with franchise releases.
Key takeaways
- Avatar: Fire and Ash reached $1 billion worldwide in three weeks, earning about $40 million domestically in its third weekend and $777.1 million internationally to date.
- Zootopia 2 finished second for the weekend with an estimated $19 million, bringing its six-week global total to about $1.59 billion and marking it as Disney’s second-highest grossing animated title behind 2019’s The Lion King ($1.66 billion).
- The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, earned an estimated $14.9 million over the weekend and has reached $75.7 million domestically in three weeks; the film cost roughly $35 million to produce and has added $57.3 million overseas.
- Marty Supreme, from A24 and directed by Josh Safdie, collected an estimated $12.6 million in its third wide-weekend frame and has grossed about $56 million in North America after two weeks of wide release.
- Overall U.S. and Canada weekend box-office receipts were up about 26.5% from the same weekend in 2025, according to Comscore.
- Calendar-year 2025 ticket revenue in the U.S. and Canada totaled $8.9 billion, a 2% increase from 2024 but still roughly 20% below pre-pandemic levels, with estimated tickets sold slipping from more than 800 million in 2024 to about 780 million in 2025.
- The industry is watching an $83 billion proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. by Netflix, a deal that remains subject to regulatory approval and could reshape studio distribution strategies if completed.
Background
After a challenging 2025 for theatrical attendance, Hollywood entered 2026 hoping a slate heavy with tentpoles can accelerate recovery. The prior year produced $8.9 billion in North American ticket sales — a small uptick from 2024 but still far below box-office receipts before the pandemic. Studios and exhibitors have pointed to a combination of fewer event releases, changing consumer habits and higher ticket prices as factors shaping the slower rebound.
Studios have responded with a renewed focus on franchise entries and event pictures that are seen as more likely to draw large audiences to theaters. At the same time, consolidation and streaming deals — most prominently the proposed $83 billion Warner Bros.-Netflix transaction — have injected uncertainty into how and when major pictures will appear on streaming services versus in cinemas. International markets have also become increasingly important to overall grosses, especially for large-scale visual effects-driven franchises.
Main event
Avatar: Fire and Ash led the North American chart for a third straight frame, taking in an estimated $40 million over the weekend and pushing global receipts past $1 billion in just three weeks. The film’s international performance has been the dominant story: studios report roughly $777.1 million from overseas markets so far, underscoring the franchise’s continuing strength abroad.
Disney’s animated sequel Zootopia 2 showed exceptional durability during the holiday window, dropping only about 4% from the prior weekend to collect $19 million, and has now accumulated approximately $1.59 billion worldwide in six weeks. That places it just behind Disney’s 2019 photorealistic The Lion King ($1.66 billion) among the studio’s top animated grosses.
Lionsgate’s The Housemaid, a modestly budgeted thriller starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, posted an estimated $14.9 million for the weekend and has generated $75.7 million domestically in three weeks. The title’s $35 million production budget and strong holds have made it one of the season’s profitable midrange hits, with $57.3 million earned overseas to date.
A24’s Marty Supreme continued to find an audience, earning about $12.6 million in its third weekend of wide release and reaching $56 million in North America after two weeks of broad distribution. Other releases across the board experienced modest declines: Sony’s Anaconda fell about 31% to $10 million in its second weekend, while Focus Features’ Song Sung Blue dipped roughly 17% to $5.9 million.
Analysis & implications
The quick $1 billion milestone for Avatar: Fire and Ash highlights how event filmmaking — large-budget, spectacle-driven releases — still draws global crowds, particularly in international markets where visual spectacle often translates to strong box-office returns. For studios, such results reinforce the business case for investing in major franchises that can deliver outsized international revenue.
At the domestic level, the holiday frame’s rise (up an estimated 26.5% from the same weekend in 2025) shows that calendar timing and family-friendly or franchise fare can lift attendance despite broader yearly headwinds. However, this weekly gain sits against a backdrop where overall ticket volume fell in 2025; revenue growth that year was partially driven by higher average ticket prices rather than by more consumers going to the movies.
The pending Warner Bros.-Netflix deal, if approved, would be a material structural change for the industry. An $83 billion acquisition could alter release windows, marketing strategies and the economics of theatrical distribution, particularly if Netflix leans into different timing or platform strategies than legacy theatrical-first studios. Regulators’ decisions will be watched closely for precedent-setting outcomes.
Looking ahead, 2026’s stacked release calendar — with new entries in franchises such as Toy Story, Avengers, Spider-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Dune — raises the possibility of a stronger year for box office totals. Still, success will depend on the quality of those films, marketing execution, and whether theaters can sustain momentum beyond holiday bursts and marquee openings.
Comparison & data
| Rank | Title | Estimated Weekend (Domestic) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avatar: Fire and Ash | $40.0M |
| 2 | Zootopia 2 | $19.0M |
| 3 | The Housemaid | $14.9M |
| 4 | Marty Supreme | $12.6M |
| 5 | Anaconda | $10.0M |
| 6 | The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants | $8.2M |
| 7 | David | $8.0M |
| 8 | Song Sung Blue | $5.9M |
| 9 | Wicked: For Good | $3.3M |
| 10 | Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 | $2.7M |
The table above summarizes the weekend’s domestic standings based on Comscore’s estimates for Friday–Sunday. While Avatar dominated globally, several films with lower budgets or older release dates (such as Zootopia 2) continued to contribute significant box-office share during the holiday stretch.
Reactions & quotes
Studios framed the milestone as confirmation of franchise strength and international demand. Disney highlighted the global figure in a studio statement, while industry tracking firm Comscore pointed to the weekend’s year-over-year improvement.
“Cementing another monumental achievement for James Cameron’s groundbreaking franchise.”
The Walt Disney Company (corporate statement)
“Overall weekend box office was up 26.5% from the same weekend in 2025.”
Comscore (industry data firm)
Unconfirmed
- The precise timeline and remedies regulators may impose on the proposed $83 billion Warner Bros.-Netflix transaction remain unclear and subject to regulatory review.
- Box-office forecasting for the rest of 2026—particularly whether the stacked slate will drive sustained year-over-year gains—remains contingent on film quality, release spacing and audience behavior.
Bottom line
Avatar: Fire and Ash’s fast march to $1 billion underscores the continued commercial value of spectacle-driven franchises, especially in international markets. The film’s strong overseas performance helped compensate for more modest domestic weekends and reinforced studios’ appetite for big-budget tentpoles that travel globally.
While a single holiday weekend cannot reverse broader trends from 2025, the combination of franchise power, resilient holds for titles like Zootopia 2 and profitable midbudget hits such as The Housemaid gives studios reason for cautious optimism. The industry’s broader trajectory for 2026 will hinge on whether marquee releases sustain audience interest and how major corporate deals and distribution changes unfold under regulatory scrutiny.