Disney’s holiday sequels — the $1 billion-plus “Zootopia 2” and the soon-to-be $1 billion-plus “Avatar: Fire and Ash” — continued to do the heavy lifting at the box office as expected. But farther down the charts, there was still plenty of good news for other studios as well.
We start with “Avatar 3,” which added $88 million domestic over the 4-day Christmas weekend on top of $181 million over three days internationally, bringing its total after two weekends to $217.4 million domestic and $760.4 million worldwide.
At this pace, “Fire and Ash” is set to hit $1 billion worldwide this Friday, its 15th day in theaters. By comparison, “Avatar: The Way of Water” reached $1 billion in 14 days. How well it holds next weekend will determine whether “Fire and Ash” has a path to leg out to $2 billion, or whether it will settle for slightly below that as exhibition sources forecast to TheWrap last week.
Meanwhile, “Zootopia 2” has seen a Christmas rebound in its fifth weekend with $20 million grossed over the Fri.-Sun. period in the U.S., bringing its domestic total to $321 million. But that is nothing compared to what is unfolding for the film over in Asia.
Of course, the Disney animated sequel continues to dominate in China with a running total of $561 million. But in Japan, the film already ranks among the top 5 highest grossing films in the country after four weekends in theaters as it passed the $52 million mark there on Sunday and has remained atop the charts since its Dec. 5 release. Japanese moviegoers are far more interested in this film than in “Avatar 3,” which has made less than $10 million through two weekends in that country.
Combined with $49 million in South Korea as well as $55.2 million in France, its highest non-Asian market, “Zootopia 2” has grossed just under $1.1 billion overseas and $1.42 billion worldwide. This week, it will pass “Frozen II” to become Walt Disney Animation’s highest grossing film before inflation adjustment.
On the non-Disney side of the charts, A24’s “Marty Supreme” has converted months of pre-release hype into a $27.1 million 4-day opening from 2,668 locations. Combined with a week’s worth of play in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles, the film has a domestic total of $30.1 million.
With a reported $70 million budget before marketing costs, “Marty Supreme” still has a ways to turn a theatrical profit. But the film has the fuel to get there thanks to plenty of awards buzz, especially for lead star Timothee Chalamet. It also has won over moviegoers with an 82% Rotten Tomatoes audience score to go with a 95% critics score along with a B+ on CinemaScore, a grade that’s on the upper end of what A24 wide releases usually receive.
Also opening this weekend is Sony’s “Anaconda” with a 4-day opening of $23.6 million from 3,509 locations. The Jack Black/Paul Rudd comedy has a lower production budget at a reported $45 million and should be able to leg out to a modest theatrical profit, bookending Sony’s 2025 slate which began with another successful mid-budget comedy, “One of Them Days.”
Among holdovers, Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid” continues to perform well an industry-estimated 4-day total of $18.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $46.4 million. Primarily driven by female moviegoers, the Paul Feig thriller starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney will pass the $61.5 million of “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” to become Lionsgate’s highest grossing domestic release since the start of 2024.
Outside the top 5 is Angel Studios’ “David,” which may have lost the honor of being this Christmas’ top animated film to “Zootopia 2′ but is still legging out respectably with Christian and Jewish families with an industry estimated $13.1 3-day/$17.6 million 4-day second weekend.
With a running total of $50.1 million, “David” will pass the $60.2 million of Angel’s Easter 2025 animated film “The King of Kings” to become the studio’s second highest grossing film ever behind its 2023 breakthrough hit “Sound of Freedom,” which made $184 million.
Behind “David” is Paramount’s “The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants,” which earned $11.2 million over three days and has a running total of $38.1 million domestic and $60.2 million worldwide. It is likely that competition from “Zootopia 2” is peeling off more general family audiences from this Nickelodeon animated movie than it is from the more faith-based core audience for “David.”
It’s possible that some of the families who saw “Zootopia 2” for the first — or perhaps second — time this Christmas weekend may double back to see “Spongebob” while kids are out of school this coming week. But it is looking like an uphill battle for “Search for SquarePants” to reach $100 million domestic, let alone the near $163 million total of the 2015 film “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.”
This weekend’s offering for older audiences, Focus Features’ “Song Sung Blue,” earned a $7.6 million 3-day/$12 million 4-day total from 2,578 locations. Driven by an audience that is 65% female and 53% over the age of 55, the film reported overperformance in regional chains like the Midwest’s Marcus Theaters and Utah’s Larry Miller Theaters.
For comparison, the Universal comedy “Ticket to Paradise” starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts opened to $16.5 million over three days in the fall of 2022 and grossed $68.2 million domestic. Assuming a similar multiple given its 98% audience RT score and an A on CinemaScore, a domestic run of at least $35 million should be very doable for “Song Sung Blue” as Focus tries to fight against any assumptions among older demographics that there are no longer movies in wide release for them.
Finally, Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” has crossed the $500 million mark at the global box office, with $331 million coming from domestic theaters as the film added $5.2 million in its sixth weekend.
