The festive period has delivered a major boost to cinemas worldwide, with James Cameron's latest sci-fi epic continuing to draw massive audiences while several new releases also made their mark.
Pandora's Power Prevails
Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third chapter in Cameron's groundbreaking franchise, maintains its formidable grip on the global box office. Having opened on 19 December, the film has now amassed a staggering $760 million in worldwide ticket sales. This figure includes a robust $415 million earned over the lucrative four-day Christmas holiday period.
While its current total slightly trails the $850 million achieved by its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water, at the same stage in 2022, industry projections remain sky-high. Analysts confidently predict the film will cross the coveted $1 billion threshold by the end of its third weekend in release.
The film continues the saga of the Sully family on Pandora, introducing a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe and escalating the conflict. In a recent interview, Cameron expressed hope for the franchise's future beyond this instalment, but remained pragmatic. "If we don't get to make 4 and 5, for whatever reason, I'll hold a press conference and I'll tell you what we were gonna do," the director stated.
New Challengers Emerge
The holiday season wasn't solely dominated by blue aliens. Josh Safdie's sports drama Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet as aspiring table tennis champion Marty Mauser, enjoyed a commendable debut. Since its Christmas Day opening, the A24 film has earned $27.1 million globally.
Its success was foreshadowed by a record-breaking limited release, where it achieved the highest per-screen-average of 2025, taking in $145,900 per screen across just six theatres.
Similarly, Paul Feig's mystery thriller The Housemaid, an adaptation of Freida McFadden's novel starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, outperformed expectations. Premiering the same day as Avatar, it secured $23.1 million in its first four days, boosting its total to $46.6 million worldwide after the holiday weekend.
A Robust End to a Tumultuous Year
The strong performance across multiple films underscores the holiday period's traditional strength for the cinema industry. With adults on leave and schools closed, it represents a prime opportunity for family and adult-oriented outings.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, characterised the season as "a really solid end to a tumultuous year" for the film business. He highlighted the promising future, telling The Associated Press, "if you look at the lineup for 2026, it's pretty incredible."
The ongoing success of the Avatar franchise remains unparalleled. The original 2009 film holds the title of highest-grossing film of all time with $2.9 billion, while 2022's The Way of Water sits in third place globally with $2.3 billion.
