Last weekend was technically the first of 2026, and it was a cake walk for James Cameron‘s Avatar: Fire And Ash. With holiday releases still going strong, no new movies arrived in wide release, allowing the sci-fi epic from mid-December to win its third straight box office crown. This weekend, on the other hand, was a bit different, as the Pandora-set feature faced off against both Johannes Roberts’ Primate and Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland 2: Migration. Still, however, the results ended up pretty much the same.
While the Top 5 at the domestic box office this weekend got a bit of a shakeup thanks to the new releases, the title sitting at the top has remained consistent, as Avatar 3 continues its journey to become remembered as one of the biggest blockbusters of 2025. You can check out the full Top 10 below and join me after for analysis.
|
TITLE |
WEEKEND GROSS |
DOMESTIC GROSS |
LW |
THTRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Avatar: Fire And Ash |
$21,300,000 |
$342,590,528 |
1 |
3,700 |
|
2. Primate* |
$11,300,000 |
$11,300,000 |
N/A |
2,964 |
|
3. The Housemaid |
$11,200,000 |
$94,154,153 |
3 |
3,123 |
|
4. Zootopia 2 |
$10,100,000 |
$378,844,584 |
2 |
3,200 |
|
5. Greenland 2: Migration* |
$8,500,000 |
$8,500,000 |
N/A |
2,710 |
|
6. Marty Supreme |
$7,633,062 |
$70,133,369 |
4 |
2,512 |
|
7. Anaconda |
$5,100,000 |
$54,273,000 |
5 |
3,075 |
|
8. The SpongeBob Movie: Search For Squarepants |
$3,800,000 |
$63,631,000 |
6 |
2,567 |
|
9. David |
$3,087,465 |
$75,174,492 |
7 |
2,475 |
|
10. Song Sung Blue |
$3,000,000 |
$31,147,000 |
8 |
2,262 |
Avatar: Fire And Ash Rules The Box Office Again As It Continues Its Trek Toward $2 Billion Globally
The question of whether or not Avatar: Fire And Ash would successfully make $1 billion at the global box office was answered last Sunday when the blockbuster became the 59th movie in history to pass that benchmark. Whether or not it will be able to join its franchise predecessors in the much more exclusive $2 billion club is a whole other deal that still hasn’t resolved – but the last few days have certainly helped the movie climb toward that special goal.
According to The Numbers, Avatar: Fire And Ash added an estimated $21.3 million to its domestic total this past weekend, which marks a healthy 49 percent drop from last weekend’s earnings and brings the title’s domestic gross to date up to $342.6 million. It’s a notable number particularly because it means that the blockbuster has now pushed past Jon M. Chu‘s Wicked: For Good in the 2025 rankings (notable because the musical is still playing in 1,142 locations in the market and continues to add to its total).
Avatar 3 has now laid claim to a spot among the Top 5 movies of last year in the United States and Canada, as its sits behind only Jared Hess’ A Minecraft Movie ($424.1 million), Dean Fleischer-Camp’s Lilo & Stitch ($423.8 million), Jared Bush and Byron Howard’s Zootopia 2 ($378.8 8 and rising), and James Gunn‘s Superman ($354.2 million). A Top 3 finish by the time it’s done playing in theaters seems very doable.
As for the race toward $2 billion, that $342.6 million combines with the $888 million earned so far in foreign markets to result in a $1.23 billion total for the film worldwide so far. That’s enough for it to rank as the 27th biggest movie of all time (not accounting for inflation), as that total puts it ahead of the $1.215 billion earned by Shane Black‘s Iron Man 3 in 2013.
As indicated by the figures above, the ratio of domestic box office versus foreign box office has always skewed toward the latter for the Avatar movies, and overseas markets will ultimately determine whether or not it will be history’s eighth film to earn $2 billion-plus. That being said, it’s noteworthy that the new James Cameron feature isn’t demonstrating the same kinds of legs as its predecessors in the U.S. and Canada. While it’s making plenty of money to justify a future for the series, it’s fading much faster than Avatar: The Way Of Water did in 2022/2023.
By the 24th day of its release, the second Avatar blockbuster had made $517.6 million. That’s considerably more than where Avatar: Fire And Ash presently sits in the same amount of time. What will that mean as we get deeper into January and eventually cross into February? It’s something to keep an eye on.
Primate Scares Up Enough For Second Place, But It May Fizzle Fast
Let’s finally talk about some 2026 movies, shall we? While we are still waiting for the first new release from the new year to topple Avatar: Fire And Ash and win a box office crown, it can at least be said that Primate put on a good show this weekend – enough for second place.
An $11.3 million start wouldn’t be great for a major blockbuster, but Johannes Roberts’ ape-centric creature feature is playing with the ace up its sleeve called “not having a big budget.” Per Variety, Primate was made with a $21 million budget, which means that while it’s not quite in the black yet on paper, it doesn’t have a long road to get there.
Still, there is an open question asking if the movie will have the legs needed to get that limited distance. Primate has gotten a mostly warm response from critics, as professionals have appreciated its B-movie awareness and satisfying gore… but there are signs suggesting that audiences aren’t quite as appreciative (a perfect example being the “B-” grade delivered by CinemaScore surveys). Without more positive word of mouth, the film might be staring down the barrel of a rough second weekend.
Greenland 2: Migration Falls Short Of Den Of Thieves Money In Its Opening Weekend
Unfortunately, not able to achieve even a “mixed results” finish like Primate is Greenland 2: Migration, which landed in fifth place in its debut. Movie fans may remember that the title’s predecessor was a planned theatrical 2020 release that ended up going to VOD because of the COVID-19 pandemic – and it was ultimately successful enough to inspire a sequel. Unfortunately, box office numbers show that not a lot of people were overly interested in checking out the follow-up on the big screen during its opening weekend.
While Gerard Butler has had success as a January star in the past – with movies like Christian Gudegast’s Den Of Thieves series and Jean-François Richet’s Plane – his latest has underperformed comparatively. Unlike those past films, Greenland 2 is the first to have failed to reach eight figures, making only $8.5 million domestically in the last three days. Considering that the film reportedly cost $90 million to make (per Deadline), it looks as though it will go down as the first flop of 2026.
How will things change at the box office next week with the arrival of Nia DaCosta‘s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and the wide expansion of Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire? Be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday for my next box office column and analysis of the results.