Third 'Avatar' film stays atop North American box office rankings

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” continued its dominance at the North American box office, holding onto the number one position for a second consecutive week after its debut. The film earned an impressive $64 million over the weekend following Christmas, according to industry estimates released on Sunday. The strong holiday performance underscores the enduring popularity of director James Cameron’s epic sci-fi franchise.

The third installment in the Avatar series once again transports audiences to the lush world of Pandora. Zoe Saldana returns as the fierce Na’vi warrior Neytiri, alongside Sam Worthington as former Marine Jake Sully. In this chapter, the couple faces a dangerous new enemy who threatens the safety of their family and the fragile balance of life on their home planet. Globally, the film added $217.6 million during the current weekend, further cementing its blockbuster status.

Climbing sharply in the rankings, Disney’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2” jumped from fifth to second place. The feel-good film, which is also considered a strong Oscar contender, brought in $20 million over the weekend, benefiting from increased family moviegoing during the holiday season.

A major surprise came from “Marty Supreme,” a period sports drama starring Timothée Chalamet, which surged from tenth place to third. The film earned $17.5 million, marking what industry analysts consider an excellent opening for the genre. David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research praised the film’s performance, citing outstanding critical reviews and a solid B+ CinemaScore from audiences. He noted that the holiday period is expected to further boost ticket sales across all current releases.

Slipping one spot to fourth place was “The Housemaid,” a Lionsgate thriller featuring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, which earned $15.4 million. Rounding out the top five was Sony’s action-comedy “Anaconda,” starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black, which debuted with $14.5 million. Gross described the opening as solid, noting it slightly outperformed the 2004 original.

The remainder of the top ten included “David” ($12.6 million), “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” ($11.2 million), “Song Sung Blue” ($7.6 million), “Wicked: For Good” ($5.2 million), and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” ($4.4 million).