The Christmas box office is roaring back to life, led by Avatar: Fire and Ash, which has ignited the holiday frame with a massive $90 million four-day weekend in North America. The latest chapter in James Cameron’s blockbuster franchise continues Disney’s dominance of the theatrical marketplace as 2025 draws to a close.
Released by Disney and 20th Century Studios, Avatar: Fire and Ash grossed $22.6 million on its second Friday alone. Industry estimates project a $66 million three-day total and $90 million across the extended Christmas weekend, pushing the film’s 10-day domestic haul to approximately $213 million.
While the film is running about 18% behind Avatar: The Way of Water at the same point in its release, its performance remains exceptional by current box office standards. Analysts expect Fire and Ash to overtake Zootopia 2 as Hollywood’s highest-grossing domestic release of 2025 in early January.
Zootopia 2 enjoys a strong holiday rebound
Disney’s Zootopia 2 is also benefiting from the holiday corridor, delivering one of the strongest rebounds of the season. In its fifth weekend, the animated sequel is projected to earn $20.3 million from Friday through Sunday, marking a 37% increase over its pre-Christmas frame.
The film crossed the $300 million domestic milestone on Christmas Day and is now heading toward an estimated $321 million total by the end of the weekend. With sustained international momentum—particularly in Asian markets—Zootopia 2 is on track to surpass Frozen II as the highest-grossing Disney Animation release of all time.
The strong showing places Zootopia 2 well ahead of other family titles currently in the marketplace, including Angel Studios’ David and Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants, both of which continue to trail the Disney sequel.
Marty Supreme delivers a buzzy prestige opening
Outside of franchise fare, Marty Supreme has emerged as a notable holiday success. The A24 release, directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet, is riding months of cinephile anticipation into a strong wide debut.
The film earned an estimated $17.5 million over the traditional three-day weekend and $27 million across the four-day holiday frame from 2,668 theaters. Including its limited rollout in New York and Los Angeles earlier this month, Marty Supreme is expected to reach roughly $30 million domestically by Sunday.
That opening already positions the film to surpass the $50 million domestic total of Safdie’s Uncut Gems, an important benchmark given Marty Supreme’s reported $70 million production budget. Audience response has been equally encouraging, with high critical and audience scores fueling word-of-mouth.
A holiday box office led by momentum
Together, the performances of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, and Marty Supreme highlight a resurgent Christmas box office driven by tentpole spectacle, family-friendly animation, and prestige-driven adult fare. As studios look ahead to January, Disney appears poised to extend its box office dominance into the new year, while specialty distributors like A24 benefit from strategic holiday positioning. With international numbers still rolling in, the final weeks of 2025 are shaping up to be among the strongest theatrical periods since the pandemic era.
