The first true Christmas-corridor weekend of 2025 delivered exactly what Hollywood needed: scale, contrast, and early indicators of how the final weeks of the year may shape up. Led by James Cameron’s long-awaited return to Pandora, the domestic box office saw a clear No. 1 debut, a surprise family breakout, steady holdovers, and one of the year’s most eye-catching limited-release performances — all pointing to a marketplace that is no longer ruled by opening-weekend shock value alone.
Avatar: Fire and Ash — A Measured Start to a Long Game
James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash debuted at the top of the domestic chart with $88 million from 3,800 theaters, translating to a healthy $23,158 per-theater average, according to The Numbers. The opening landed almost exactly where late-week tracking had settled, after early projections of $90–$105 million were gradually tempered by softer-than-expected pre-sales in the final days.
In isolation, the $88 million start represents a clear step down from Avatar: The Way of Water, which launched with $134 million in December 2022. But franchise context matters. The original Avatar opened to $77 million in 2009 and proceeded to dominate multiplexes for nearly two months, while The Way of Water similarly held the No. 1 position for seven consecutive weekends. Cameron’s films are engineered for endurance, not immediacy.
Early signs suggest Fire and Ash is positioned to follow that familiar trajectory. Premium formats accounted for a significant share of ticket sales, underlining the franchise’s reliance on IMAX and 3D, while audience response was encouraging. The film earned an “A” CinemaScore, and younger moviegoers turned out in meaningful numbers — nearly 38% of opening-weekend audiences were under 25 — an important signal heading into school holidays.
Globally, the film’s $345 million worldwide debut (including $257 million overseas) places it among the year’s biggest launches, even if it trails the previous sequel’s $435 million global opening. With Christmas and New Year’s still ahead, exhibitors are betting that Fire and Ash will behave less like a front-loaded blockbuster and more like a slow-building seasonal juggernaut.
Angel Studios Scores a Holiday Win with David
The weekend’s most notable surprise came from Angel Studios. The animated biblical musical David opened to $22 million from 3,118 locations, securing second place and posting a solid $7,056 per-theater average. The debut marks the best three-day opening in the studio’s history, surpassing Sound of Freedom’s initial $19.6 million bow.
Audience reception strongly favored the film, with an “A” CinemaScore signaling excellent word-of-mouth potential for the coming weeks. In a holiday marketplace increasingly defined by audience segmentation, David demonstrated that clearly targeted, family-oriented programming can still thrive alongside mega-budget tentpoles.
Mid-Tier Openers Find Their Footing
Lionsgate’s psychological thriller The Housemaid claimed third place with $19 million from 3,015 theaters, delivering a respectable $6,302 per-theater average. The R-rated adaptation skewed older and female-heavy, with PostTrak data indicating that roughly three-quarters of the audience was over 25. A “B” CinemaScore — typical for darker thrillers — suggests the film will rely on steady adult turnout rather than explosive growth.
Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants followed closely with $16 million from 3,557 theaters. While the opening represents the weakest debut in the franchise’s theatrical history, the film earned an encouraging “A-” CinemaScore, the strongest audience grade in the series. With schools closing for winter break, exhibitors expect SpongeBob to benefit from weekday matinees and family-driven repeat business.
Holdovers Continue to Matter
Disney’s Zootopia 2 rounded out the top five, grossing $14.5 million in its fourth weekend. Despite a 44% week-to-week drop, the animated sequel now stands at $282.8 million domestically, reinforcing its position as the highest-grossing Hollywood release of the year worldwide. Its staying power continues to provide stability in an otherwise uneven box office year.
Universal’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 added $7.25 million in its third weekend, pushing its domestic total past $108 million, while Wicked: For Good collected $4.3 million in weekend five, bringing its cumulative haul to over $320 million — a reminder that musicals, when well-positioned, can deliver strong legs.
Specialty and International Titles Add Texture
In limited release, A24’s Marty Supreme delivered the weekend’s most striking statistic, earning $875,000 from just six theaters for a massive $145,833 per-theater average — the best of the year so far. The performance signals significant pent-up demand ahead of the film’s nationwide expansion on Christmas Day.
Jio Studios’ Dhurandhar continued its modest U.S. run with $2.5 million from 400 screens, lifting its domestic total to $12.4 million — a solid result for an Indian release in a crowded holiday marketplace. Focus Features’ Hamnet rounded out the top ten with $850,000, pushing its cumulative gross close to $8.8 million.
With domestic box office revenues hovering around $8.38 billion for the year, the final two weeks of December remain critical. The question is not whether Avatar: Fire and Ash opened “big enough,” but whether it can replicate the long, patient climb that defined Cameron’s earlier films. If Pandora once again proves immune to short-term box office volatility, the holiday corridor may yet push 2025 closer to its hoped-for finish — and remind the industry that, in certain franchises, time is still the most valuable currency.
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