Avatar: Fire and Ash Joins Exclusive Box Office Club Once Dominated By Star Wars

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As a huge movie fan, I have to say James Cameron’s return to Pandora with the new Avatar film really cemented the franchise as a major force during the holidays. There was a lot of talk beforehand about whether it could live up to the first movie, but the box office numbers speak for themselves – it’s been consistently at the top. Avatar: Fire and Ash isn’t just doing well over Christmas; it’s become one of those franchises that completely owns that time of year, which is pretty amazing.

Avatar: Fire and Ash was the big winner on Christmas Day, bringing in $24 million domestically. Although this was a bit less than the $29.1 million earned by The Way of Water in 2022, it easily outperformed all other movies, including new releases like A24’s Marty Supreme and Sony’s Anaconda.

The latest Avatar film topped the box office on Christmas Day, making it only the second sequel ever to do so twice. With ticket sales remaining strong and predictions for a great second weekend, director James Cameron has once again shown that people love escaping to the world of Pandora during the holidays.

Movie Franchises That Have Dominated the Christmas Box Office

Star Wars

For many years, Star Wars has consistently been the most popular movie series during the holidays. This was especially true during the recent Disney sequels, which topped the Christmas Day box office four times in five years. It started with The Force Awakens in 2015, earning a remarkable $49.3 million on Christmas Day – a record that’s been hard to beat. The success continued with Rogue One ($25.8M) in 2016, The Last Jedi ($27.4M) in 2017, and finished with The Rise of Skywalker ($32.1M) in 2019.

The enduring popularity of Star Wars comes from its ability to connect with audiences of all ages. For many, going to see a Star Wars movie became a beloved holiday tradition, right up there with exchanging presents. These films were always best seen in theaters, and Disney expertly promoted them as major events. Even though new Star Wars movies aren’t currently in theaters, the franchise still has a big presence during the holidays.

The Lord of the Rings

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy really started the trend of big movies being released in December. Starting in 2001 and continuing for three years, these films made Middle-earth a popular destination for moviegoers every holiday season. The series finished with The Return of the King in 2003, which earned an impressive $13.9 million on Christmas Day alone.

These box office results were groundbreaking for a holiday release. The Lord of the Rings films were a hit because they created a remarkably detailed and captivating world, something rarely achieved in cinema. Even though each film was over three hours long, they quickly became a popular choice for Christmas entertainment. And good news – the world of The Lord of the Rings is coming back soon!

The Hobbit

Ten years after the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson revisited Middle-earth with The Hobbit trilogy – An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies – and continued to draw large audiences. The Desolation of Smaug was particularly successful, topping the box office charts on Christmas Day 2013 with $9.3 million, even with strong competition from films like Frozen and Anchorman 2.

The Hobbit movies continued to do well thanks to the positive reputation of the Lord of the Rings films. Even though reviews became less enthusiastic, many people still chose to watch them during the holidays because the series had become so strongly associated with that time of year. This consistent success over twenty years established Middle-earth as a Christmas movie tradition – something very few other franchises have achieved.

Aquaman

Most superhero movies come out in the summer, but the Aquaman films have done well by releasing in December. Both the original movie from 2018 and its 2023 sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, attracted audiences looking for exciting visual effects during the holidays. The first Aquaman movie actually had the biggest opening day on Christmas in 2018, earning $21.9 million – more than other popular films like Mary Poppins Returns.

In 2023, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom debuted at number one during the Christmas holiday week, continuing the series’ tradition. However, the sequel didn’t perform as well as the first Aquaman film, earning significantly less money despite facing limited competition. While both movies topped the box office during the holidays, the original Aquaman was a major cultural phenomenon, whereas the sequel had a more subdued performance.

Can Avatar: Fire and Ash Replicate Its Franchise’s $2 Billion Box Office Standard?

The Avatar movies have consistently been huge box office successes, each earning over $2 billion worldwide. Now, with Avatar: The Way of Water in its second week, the film industry is watching closely to see if it can continue that impressive track record. So far, the movie has earned a total of $544.3 million globally, with $153.7 million from the US and Canada and a significant $390.6 million from international markets.

Although the film has already earned a huge amount of money – making it the 11th highest-grossing film of 2025 after just one week – reaching $2 billion in total will still be very difficult. Its opening weekend in the US brought in $88 million, which was 35% lower than the previous film in the series, suggesting that audience interest might be waning slightly.

Even though Fire and Ash had high expectations to meet following the success of previous films, it’s performing very strongly at the box office. It had a great Christmas Day and is continuing to draw audiences at a rate much higher than most blockbusters. To reach $2 billion in total earnings, it would need to maintain this strong performance for an extended period, similar to the original 2009 film. Current estimates suggest the film will ultimately gross between $1.6 and $1.8 billion worldwide. While this would represent a slight decrease compared to other films in the series, it would still rank among the top ten highest-grossing movies of all time and be the biggest Hollywood hit of 2025.

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2026-01-01 11:36