Hollywood has launched into 2026 with a promising start as "Avatar: Fire and Ash" remains firmly at the top of the box office for its third consecutive weekend. The film, which is the third installment of James Cameron's Pandora saga, has now accumulated more than $1 billion globally just three weeks after its debut, a milestone announced by The Walt Disney Company.
During its third weekend in North American theaters, the movie brought in an estimated $40 million in ticket sales, with a remarkable portion of its revenue generated from international markets, where it has achieved $777.1 million in earnings. Disney heralded surpassing the $1 billion barrier as another significant milestone for the franchise, highlighting its enduring appeal and commercial impact.
While "Avatar: Fire and Ash" was the headline attraction over the holiday weekend, other releases also contributed to a healthy box office environment, bolstered by the fact that many schools remained closed during the period, encouraging family and youth attendance.
A notable standout was Disney's animated sequel "Zootopia 2," which, despite premiering back in November, demonstrated exceptional staying power by securing second place with $19 million in revenue. Its weekend gross reflected only a modest decline of 4% compared to the previous week. Over six weeks, "Zootopia 2" has generated an impressive $1.59 billion worldwide, ranking as Disney's second-highest-grossing animated film to date, just behind the 2019 photorealistic remake of "The Lion King," which earned $1.66 billion globally.
In addition to these family-oriented titles, the thriller "The Housemaid," starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, emerged as a notable success over the holiday weekend, earning $14.9 million domestically and totaling $75.7 million in North America over three weeks. The film experienced only a minor 3% dip from the previous weekend, signaling consistent audience interest. Internationally, "The Housemaid" has added $57.3 million to that total, despite its modest production budget of $35 million.
Alongside Sweeney's rising profile with "The Housemaid," Timothée Chalamet's film "Marty Supreme," distributed by A24, also sustained solid box office returns in its third weekend, grossing an estimated $12.6 million. After just two weeks of wide release, this energetic narrative centered on table tennis has amassed $56 million in North America, surpassing the total domestic gross of the director Josh Safdie’s previous work, "Uncut Gems," which made $50 million worldwide.
Nearly all films in theaters showed some reduction in ticket sales compared to the prior weekend, which is typical as films mature in their runs. Sony's action comedy "Anaconda," featuring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, saw a steeper decline of 31%, earning $10 million in its second weekend. Meanwhile, Focus Features' "Song Sung Blue," a film with a narrative about a Neil Diamond cover band starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, dropped just 17% to collect $5.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $25 million.
With "Avatar: Fire and Ash" leading, supported by a variety of smaller but steady performers, Hollywood has commenced 2026 on a strong footing. According to Comscore, weekend box office revenues were up 26.5% compared to the same period in 2025.
This positive performance follows a challenging year for the movie industry in 2025, where domestic ticket sales exhibited a marginal increase to $8.9 billion, up 2% from the previous year, but remained approximately 20% below pre-pandemic figures. This slight growth was influenced more by increased ticket prices than by volume, with ticket sales declining from over 800 million in 2024 to about 780 million in 2025.
Additionally, the market awaits significant changes, such as the $83 billion pending acquisition of Warner Bros. by Netflix, which could alter theatrical distribution dynamics once regulatory approval is secured.
Nevertheless, there is guarded optimism within the industry that 2026 could mark a turnaround with several high-profile franchise films, including new entries in the "Toy Story," "Avengers," "Spider-Man," "Super Mario Bros," and "Dune" sagas, slated for release throughout the year.
Domestic box office rankings for the most recent weekend are as follows, based on Comscore estimates for Friday through Sunday in the U.S. and Canada:
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avatar: Fire and Ash | $40 million |
| 2 | Zootopia 2 | $19 million |
| 3 | The Housemaid | $14.9 million |
| 4 | Marty Supreme | $12.6 million |
| 5 | Anaconda | $10 million |
| 6 | The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants | $8.2 million |
| 7 | David | $8 million |
| 8 | Song Sung Blue | $5.9 million |
| 9 | Wicked: For Good | $3.3 million |
| 10 | Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 | $2.7 million |