Weekend Box Office: AVATAR Stakes Its Fifth Claim at #1

(L-R) Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in 20th Century Studios' AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Key Takeaways

Total 3-Day Weekend Gross:
$84,302,188 | -14.6% Last Week / +7.9% Weekend 3, 2025

This is the industry’s third week in a row coming out ahead year-over-year from 2025 thanks to the box officr pillar that is Avatar: Fire and Ash. Speaking of ash, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple burned out with a $13M opening weekend, less than half what the previous film opened to last year. Once again it was strong holdovers like Zootopia 2 and The Housemaid to the rescue, keeping theaters packed through the MLK weekend.

  • Top Title: Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century) | $13.3M / 3,300 Screens / $4,036 PSA | Week 5
  • Top Opener: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony) | $13M / 3,506 Screens / $3,708 PSA | Week 1
  • Best PSA: The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight) | $336K / 28 Screens / $12,000 PSA | Week 4

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash
20th Century Studios | Week 5
$13.3M 3-Day Weekend | $363.5M Domestic Total
$1.31B Global Total

Should its marginal lead ahead of 28 Years Later hold, 20th Century’s Avatar: Fire and Ash will become the first movie since Avatar: The Way of Water to place first for five consecutive weeks at the box office. Both previous Avatars spent seven straight frames on top. The James Cameron threequel earned an estimated $13.3M over the 3-Day from 3,300 screens (-400) for a $4,036 PSA, and a $17.2M projected MLK 4-Day. With a $365.5M domestic take, Fire and Ash has now surpassed Superman as the #4 movie of 2025.

Here’s how the 4-Day looked…

  • Friday – $3.2M
  • Saturday – $6M
  • Sunday – $4.1M
  • Monday – $3.9M (projected)

Overseas Fire and Ash earned $44.5M from 52 material territories for an international total of $955.3M and a global haul of $1.318B. Top 3 markets are China ($155.4M), France ($98.9M), and Germany ($80.3M). It has now passed 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II ($1.312B) as the 23rd biggest global release ever, with the next target in site being #22 Star Wars: The Last Jedi at $1.32B.

2. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Sony Pictures | NEW
$13M 3-Day Opening Weekend | $31.2M Global Total

Sony’s 28 Years Later was a strong performer last June, earning $30M in its opening frame. Seven months later whatever alchemy was there for this franchise has evidently evaporated as 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple performed well below forecasting with an estimated $13M 3-Day take and $15M MLK 4-Day projection. The fourquel played out on 3,506 screens for a PSA of $3,708.

Unadjusted, this performance is only slightly ahead of the 2003 original’s $10M domestic opening. It is also below the $22M director Nia DaCosta’s Candyman reboot opened to in late-COVID 2021. What it is on par with is the debut of Sony’s recent I Know What You Did Last Summer redo, which made $12.75M last July. The only silver lining is the gross is so close to Avatar that it could potentially eke out a #1 placement come Monday actuals.

Here’s how the 4-Day looked, including $2.1M in Thursday previews…

  • Friday – $5.6M
  • Saturday – $4.1M
  • Sunday – $3.3M
  • Monday – $2M (projected)

Whatever happened here, quality of the product was not necessarily a factor with an “A-” CinemaScore (great for a horror film), 89% Rotten Tomatoes audience score plus 93% critical, and a 4.5-star PostTrak rating. Perhaps it has more to do with the previous film’s 63% audience score and “B” CinemaScore driven by a divisive ending, which may have scorched the earth for the sequel it shot back-to-back with.

Overseas 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple took in $16.2M from 10,100+ screens in 61 markets for a WW total of $31.2M. Top 3 territories were the UK ($4.6M), Mexico ($1.5M), and Australia ($1M).

Other Notable Performances

Disney’s reign continued lower on the chart with Zootopia 2 placing third with $8.76M, taking its domestic total to $390M, remaining the #3 title of 2025. Globally it marched to $1.7M WW, passing Inside Out 2 as the top grossing animated release ever and the #9 global grosser in history.

At #4 Lionsgate’s psycho-thriller The Housemaid took in $8.5M with only a -22% drop. The movie has now passed the $100M landmark with a $107.1M domestic total and $247.3M WW.

Next Weekend

Amazon/MGM have the near-future AI thriller Mercy arriving with a 3D PLF focus. Lead Chris Pratt has not opened an original movie domestically since Passengers limped to $100M total a decade ago, with projects like The Tomorrow War and The Electric State going direct-to-streaming. Cineverse has the duties for releasing Return to Silent Hill, based on the iconic horror video game franchise and featuring the return of Christophe Gans who directed the original two decades ago.

Sunday Studio Estimates | Weekend 3 – 2026
Total 3-Day Domestic Gross: $84,302,188 | (+7.9% vs 2025)

Title Weekend Estimate % Change Locations Location Change PSA Domestic Total Week Distributor
Avatar: Fire and Ash $13,320,000 -38% 3,300 -400 $4,036 363,530,340 5 20th Century…
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple $13,000,000   3,506   $3,708 13,000,000 1 Sony Pictures
Zootopia 2 $8,769,000 -12% 3,100 -100 $2,829 390,011,207 8 Walt Disney
The Housemaid $8,515,000 -22% 3,101 -22 $2,746 107,141,000 5 Lionsgate
Marty Supreme $5,477,927 -27% 2,027 -485 $2,702 79,653,221 5 A24
Primate $5,000,000 -55% 2,964 n/c $1,687 19,596,000 2 Paramount Pi…
Greenland 2: Migration $3,365,000 -60% 2,718 8 $1,238 14,121,000 2 Lionsgate
Anaconda $3,200,000 -36% 2,424 -651 $1,320 59,091,000 4 Sony Pictures
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants $2,315,000 -40% 1,939 -628 $1,194 67,133,000 5 Paramount Pi…
No Other Choice $2,237,000 63% 695 548 $3,219 6,543,415 4 Neon
Song Sung Blue $1,780,000 -43% 1,593 -669 $1,117 35,091,000 4 Focus Features
David $1,455,714 -51% 1,522 -953 $956 77,484,087 5 Angel Studios
Hamnet $1,310,000 120% 718 486 $1,825 14,669,000 8 Focus Features
Is This Thing On? $957,000 -58% 1,495 20 $640 5,355,252 5 Searchlight …
All You Need Is Kill $431,839   765   $564 431,839 1 GKIDS
Madagascar $406,000   1,083   $375 194,002,000 1,078 Universal
The Testament of Ann Lee $336,000 653% 28 24 $12,000 725,946 4 Searchlight …
Wicked: For Good $307,000 -70% 414 -728 $742 342,497,000 9 Universal
The Choral $305,000 589% 506 489 $603 439,000 4 Sony Picture…
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 $288,000 -67% 401 -631 $718 127,472,000 7 Universal
Night Patrol $255,000   800   $319 255,000 1 IFC Films
The Secret Agent $179,860 2% 114 -2 $1,578 2,506,751 8 Neon
I Was a Stranger $160,512 -87% 520 -880 $309 1,875,452 2 Angel Studios
All That’s Left Of You $86,311 54% 30 28 $2,877 152,139 2 Watermelon P…
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother $71,710 -78% 101 -152 $710 825,710 4 MUBI
Sentimental Value $50,000 -16% 60 -8 $833 4,250,423 11 Neon
The Chronology of Water $44,000 -48% 31 -6 $1,419 200,754 7 The Forge
Resurrection $25,900 -39% 24 -18 $1,079 509,492 6 Janus Films
Magellan 23,200 -23% 4 2 $5,800 63,144 2 Janus Films
It Was Just an Accident $14,000 -24% 16 1 $875 1,740,135 14 Neon
Sound of Falling $11,895   1   $11,895 11,895 1  
OBEX 7,929 -19% 8 7 $991 22,307 2 Oscilloscope…
Mistress Dispeller 1,990   $3   $663 $92,620   Oscilloscope…
(L-R) Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in 20th Century Studios' AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.