'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Dominates U.S. Box Office Again While '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' Underperforms; 'Zootopia 2' Sets New Animated Record

In a continuation of its dominant theater presence, James Cameron’s 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' led the North American box office standings for the fifth weekend in a row, accumulating approximately $13.3 million in ticket sales, as per Sunday studio estimates. The film’s persistence demonstrates a sustained audience interest, reinforcing its box office strength during the holiday period.

Trailing closely behind was '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,' a horror sequel directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Sony Pictures. The film debuted widely across 3,506 theaters, registering $13 million through Sunday, with projections anticipating an increase to $15 million by the closing of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday. Despite positive critical reception reflected in a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 72% audience recommendation rate according to PostTrak polling, the film did not meet the expected $20 million threshold for the extended weekend. This performance is somewhat surprising given the film's genre and January release timing, which have traditionally presented challenges for box office success.

Internationally, 'The Bone Temple' earned an additional $16.2 million from 61 global markets, contributing to its overall revenue. However, considering the substantial $63 million production budget exclusive of promotional and marketing expenditures, the movie faces a significant path toward profitability.

Analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore remarked on the puzzling market reaction, noting potential consumer confusion possibly contributing to the underwhelming debut. He indicated, however, that positive word-of-mouth could sustain its commercial presence, citing comparable cases such as 'The Housemaid' and 'Zootopia 2,' which showed impressive market endurance.

Adding to the franchise landscape, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, original creators linked to the first installment '28 Days Later' released in 2002, are developing a third film, which may influence future audience engagement with the series.

Disney’s 'Zootopia 2' continued its robust performance, ranking third with $8.8 million for its eighth consecutive weekend in theaters. This release has achieved a global box office accumulation reaching $1.7 billion, surpassing 'Inside Out 2' to become the highest grossing animated Motion Picture Association (MPA) title to date. This distinction excludes the Chinese film 'Ne Zha 2,' which has generated more than $2.2 billion internationally. The success of 'Zootopia 2' positions it as the ninth leading film in global box office history.

'The Housemaid,' another notable recent release under Lionsgate with a modest $35 million production budget, secured fourth place with $8.5 million in ticket sales and has accrued nearly $250 million worldwide.

Fifth place was taken by 'Marty Supreme,' an A24 feature that has ascended to become the company's highest grossing North American release with a cumulative revenue of $79.7 million, overtaking 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.' The film could see further box office boosts ahead of the upcoming Oscar nominations.

Additionally, classic re-releases of 'Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers' returned to theaters, securing spots within the top ten by generating $3.6 million and $2.4 million respectively.

Outside the top tier, 'Hamnet,' distributed by Focus Features and recognized with Golden Globe wins for best drama and best actress (Jessie Buckley), expanded its presence to 718 locations, yielding $1.3 million from Friday through Sunday. The film is regarded as a significant contender for the forthcoming Academy Awards.