It’s the busiest time of the year for box office sales, and Friday continued to deliver a sleigh full of Christmas Day releases. However, it was James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash that topped the list for the second week in a row.
The third installment in Disney’s “Avatar” series grossed $22.6 million domestically on Friday, down about 39% from its opening last week. The film has grossed $46.6 million since Christmas and is expected to gross between $75 million and $80 million domestically through Sunday. Profits in North America are expected to reach $176 million by the end of this week.
Rounding out the top five were two new holiday releases, including Jack Black and Paul Rudd’s Anaconda and Timothee Chalamet’s Marty Supreme, as well as throwbacks like Disney’s Zootopia 2 and Paul Feig’s The Housemaid.
A24’s Marty Supreme ranked second on Friday with sales of $6.73 million from 2,668 stores nationwide. The film has grossed $16.2 million since Christmas and is expected to gross $30 million by Sunday. Directed by Josh Safdie, Chalamet plays Marty “Supreme” Moser, an up-and-coming table tennis prodigy who uses his fast-talking arrogance and explosive skills to rise to the top of the world.
“Marty Supreme” earned $875,000 from just six screens last week, making it into the top 10 grossers at the domestic box office. At $145,933 per theater, it was the highest average PSA per screen of the year, A24’s highest PSA in history, and the highest PSA for a platform release since 2016’s La La Land, according to A24. The early hype was fueled by a brilliant promotional campaign led by Chalamet, who used Mauser-esque bravado to make Marty Supreme one of the most talked-about original holiday releases in recent memory.
“Zootopia 2,” which was in fifth place last week, moved into third place on Friday with $6.7 million. Schools are on winter break, which is no doubt contributing to the surge in popularity of family-friendly anime. The film is expected to earn an additional $20 million through Sunday, an impressive result considering the film was released a month ago. The domestic total is expected to reach $308 million by the end of this week.
Sony’s “Anaconda” slid into fourth place Friday with $5.4 million domestically. The adventure comedy, which follows a group of amateur filmmakers as they attempt to recreate their favorite 1997 film of the same name, grossed $9.1 million on Christmas and is expected to gross $22 million by Sunday. In addition to Rudd and Black, the film also stars Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, and Ice Cube. The rapper starred in the original film, and in a meta-retaliation, he plays himself in the remake.
In fifth place was “The Housemaid,” which grossed $5.2 million on Friday, up from $3.5 million on Christmas Day. The psychological thriller, starring Sidney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, is expected to reach $45 million at the domestic box office by Sunday.
