Avatar: Fire and Ash remained firmly on top as the calendar flipped to 2026, leading the domestic box office for a third consecutive weekend. The Disney and 20th Century epic added $40.0 million, holding the No. 1 spot ahead of Disney’s Zootopia 2, which finished second again with $19.0 million. A strong lineup of holdovers helped lift the total weekend box office to $132.0 million, a healthy 21 percent increase over the first weekend of 2025, which generated $103.9 million.
After three consecutive years with domestic box office totals landing below $9 billion, the industry is entering 2026 with renewed optimism. Exhibitors and studios alike are hoping ticket sales can climb back to $10 billion for the first time since the pandemic, buoyed by a deeper release slate and stronger early-year holdovers.
Avatar: Fire and Ash’s third weekend performance came in 37 percent below last weekend’s $64.0 million, a steeper decline than expected given the historical staying power of James Cameron’s previous Avatar releases. After 17 days in theaters, the film has earned $306.0 million domestically and $1.083 billion worldwide.
While the drop-off is sharper than Avatar’s 9 percent third-weekend dip in 2009 and Avatar: The Way of Water’s 6 percent third-weekend increase in 2022, Fire and Ash has already crossed into profitability despite its reported $400 million production budget. With 72 percent of The Way of Water’s worldwide total at the same point in release, the film is currently tracking toward a global finish of approximately $1.7 billion.
That trajectory, however, raises long-term franchise questions. Each Avatar installment has earned less than the one before, and Disney and Cameron now face a decision about whether to move forward with a fourth film. At 71, Cameron has several non-Avatar projects in development, though his track record still places him ahead of nearly every director in box office history.
Zootopia 2 continued its remarkable run with a minimal 4 percent drop in its sixth weekend, pushing its domestic total to $363.6 million and its worldwide haul to $1.588 billion. The sequel has already surpassed the original Zootopia’s full domestic and global totals and now ranks among the highest-grossing animated films of all time.
Only The Lion King from 2019 and Inside Out 2 from 2024 have earned more worldwide among U.S.-produced animated features, while China’s Ne Zha 2 remains the overall global animation leader. With 71 percent of its revenue coming from international markets and a franchise-wide gross-to-cost ratio exceeding 10-to-1, Zootopia’s long-term outlook remains exceptionally strong.
In third place, Lionsgate’s The Housemaid delivered one of the weekend’s biggest surprises, slipping just 3 percent while adding $14.9 million. The thriller has earned $75.7 million domestically and $133 million worldwide in 17 days, already surpassing its profitability threshold.
The film marks a box office rebound for star Sydney Sweeney, whose recent theatrical releases struggled despite her high profile. With The Housemaid still playing strongly into January, Sweeney heads into 2026 with renewed momentum ahead of Euphoria’s third season and a slate of upcoming film projects.
A24’s Marty Supreme finished fourth with $12.6 million, down 29 percent, bringing its 17-day domestic total to $56.0 million. The film has already outpaced Uncut Gems at the same point in release and is poised to become A24’s second-highest domestic grosser, trailing only Everything Everywhere All at Once. While its $70 million production budget makes profitability challenging, strong word-of-mouth, awards potential, and downstream revenue from VOD and streaming deals could ultimately bring the film close to break-even.
Rounding out the top five, Sony’s Anaconda held steady with $10.0 million in its second weekend, lifting its domestic total to $45.9 million and worldwide gross to $88.4 million. Despite solid audience scores and the box office draw of Paul Rudd and Jack Black, the film has underperformed expectations. It will need sustained word-of-mouth to reach the estimated $113 million worldwide required to turn a theatrical profit.
As of January 1, 2026, the 2025 domestic box office closed at $8.61 billion, landing at 101 percent of 2024’s total but only 76 percent of the pre-pandemic 2019 benchmark. With holdovers still pulling weight and a stronger first-quarter slate ahead, the industry enters 2026 cautiously optimistic that moviegoing may finally be ready for a full-scale comeback.
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