James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ashes” has already set the domestic box office on fire.
“Fire and Ash,” the third film in Disney’s sci-fi saga, grossed $36.5 million from 3,800 theaters in North America on Friday. The film is expected to reach $85 million to $90 million domestically by Sunday. Including overseas box office receipts, the film could reach $365 million by the end of the week.
“Fire and Ash” is expected to debut higher than the original “Avatar” ($77 million domestic) but below its predecessor “Way of Water” ($134 million domestic). Despite relatively modest openings, both films went on to gross well over $2 billion, with the first making $2.92 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of all time. If Fire and Ash follows a similar course, Avatar will become the first blockbuster series to surpass the $2 billion benchmark three times.
Avatar: Fire and Ash follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their family as they battle a tyrannical enemy who can control fire.
In second place was Angel Studios’ animated fable “David,” which earned $9.6 million domestically on 3,118 screens in its opening day Friday. The family-friendly retelling of the Biblical story of David and Goliath is expected to gross more than $25 million by Sunday. This is Angel’s best three-day opening since 2023’s The Sound of Freedom ($19.6 million), which grossed more than $250 million worldwide.
In third place was Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid,” which earned $8 million domestically from 3,015 venues on Friday. This puts the R-rated thriller on pace to reach $21 million by Sunday. Directed by Paul Feig and based on the novel by Frieda McFadden, the film follows a troubled young woman (Sidney Sweeney) who is hired as a live-in maid for a wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Skrenner) with a dark secret.
In fourth place on Friday was “The SpongeBob Movie: Find Squarepants,” which earned $6 million in its first day of release from 3,557 locations in North America. The animated adventure is on track to gross between $15 million and $20 million by Sunday. The film, based on Nickelodeon’s long-running TV show, follows the titular burger-flipping Sponge and his best friend Patrick Star as they search for a ghostly pirate known as the Flying Dutchman.
In fifth place was Disney’s Zootopia 2, which earned $4 million at the domestic box office on its fourth Friday of release. The film is expected to gross $272 million at the North American box office by Sunday. The film recently surpassed $1 billion worldwide in just 17 days of release, making it the fastest animated film in history to reach the prestigious box office benchmark.
