Box Office ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Powers to $345 Million Globally, ‘Zootopia 2’ Hops to $1.27 Billion

James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar: Fire and Ash” loomed large over the global box office with $345 million, a robust start that’s nonetheless a significant decline from its predecessor. To compare, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which opened in 2022 after countless release date delays, ignited to $435 million over the same holiday frame.

Initial ticket sales for “Avatar 3,” from Disney and 20th Century, include $257 million internationally and $88 million domestically. Globally, this is the second-largest debut of 2025 behind another Disney juggernaut, “Zootopia 2” which earned $500 million over the three-day period.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” certainly has a high bar to clear in terms of theatrical expectations because the first two trips to Pandora were smash hits to the tune of above $2 billion at the global box office. Plus, Disney spent a massive $350 million to produce and roughly $150 million to promote, meaning the big-budget blockbuster needs to earn a lot of coin to justify its mega budget.

In that regard, “Avatar” installments have become ubiquitous for their box office longevity. Neither 2009’s “Avatar” nor “The Way of Water” had particularly shattering opening weekends ahead of Christmas but both remained the de facto choice for moviegoers well into the new year. They stand as two of the highest-grossing movies in history with $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively.

International audiences will be key to the threequel’s commercial success. The original adventure “Avatar” earned a mammoth $2.1 billion from just overseas markets, while the sequel generated a massive $1.65 billion from foreign territories.

“The first two movies earned over 70% of their box office overseas,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “So far the foreign openings are extremely strong again.”

That’s led by China, where “Fire and Ash” started slightly stronger than its predecessor with $57.6 million, a touch above the $56 million debut of “The Way of Water.” Outside of China, the top overseas launches were France with $21.4 million, Germany with $18 million, Korea with $13.6 million and the United Kingdom with $11.9 million.

“Avatar” movies are known as visual spectacles, so it’s no surprise that moviegoers opted to watch the third entry in the best possible quality. Premium formats such as Imax and 3D represented a notable 66% of total grosses. Imax alone delivered $43.6 million globally, registering as nearly 14% of the worldwide bow on less than 1% of screens. Those sales mark Imax’s biggest opening of 2025 as well as the fifth-largest start in the company’s history.

“As James Cameron continues to break new ground with Avatar, the indelible connection between Imax and this one-of-a-kind franchise endures, with Imax delivering an outsized share of the box office across virtually every market worldwide,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax. “Avatar films have historically played with longevity like few other franchises, and we look forward to fans continuing to enjoy ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ in big numbers in Imax throughout the holiday season and beyond.”

Disney also scored over the weekend as “Zootopia 2” collected a remarkable $76.6 million overseas and $91 million globally in its fourth frame. The animated sequel has been a powerhouse at the international box office with $990 million to date. It’s about to become only the second animated film ever (“Inside Out 2” was the first) to surpass $1 billion in international ticket sales. Along with $282 million in North America, “Zootopia 2” has hopped to $1.27 billion worldwide to stand as the highest-grossing Hollywood release of the year.