Weekend projections: Avatar passes $1 billion worldwide with another strong hold

January 4, 2026

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Avatar: Fire and Ash has sailed past $1 billion at the global box office this weekend, with a $40 million contribution from North America taking it to $306 million, and another $777.1 million internationally taking it to $1.083 billion worldwide to date. It will have another strong hold here, down 37% in its third weekend, and it is off just 29% internationally, according to Disney. Zootopia 2 and The Housemaid are both enjoying excellent holds this weekend (down 4% and 3% respectively), and will take second and third spot on the chart.

Here are the official studio projections for the weekend (click the image for a full chart of all films reporting so far).



China is the top international territory for Avatar, with $137.9 million to date. In Europe, France has delivered the film’s second-highest tally at $81.0 million, followed by Germany at $64.1 million. The United Kingdom stands at $42.5 million, while Spain and Italy have contributed $25.2 million and $24.2 million, respectively. Across the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea has scored $44.1 million, while India has $23.6 million. Indonesia also shows strength with $16.6 million, while Australia has taken in $25.8 million. Among Latin American territories, Mexico leads with $31.8 million, and Brazil follows with $14.9 million.

Zootopia 2 has now earned $1.225 billion internationally, led by a massive $601.4 million in China to date. That’s $463.5 million more than Avatar has earned there, which is more than the total difference in international earnings between the two films ($448 million). Although China is of reduced importance to the studios than it was ten years ago, it can still produce huge earnings for the right movie.

Overall, 2026 is starting well, with this weekend 26% ahead of the equivalent weekend last year. With five new wide releases coming up next weekend, including Greenland 2 and Primate, we have some much-needed momentum to start the year.

- Studio weekend projections
- All-time top-grossing movies in North America
- All-time top-grossing movies worldwide

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Bruce Nash,