'Avatar: Fire and Ash' again tops box office, passes $1.2 billion

'Avatar: Fire and Ash' has once again claimed the top spot at the weekend box office, marking its fourth consecutive weekend as the highest-grossing film in North America.

The latest installment in James Cameron's long-running sci-fi franchise earned an additional $21.3 million domestically, pushing its North American total to $342.6 million.

On the global stage, the film has now surpassed $1.23 billion in worldwide box office revenue. While these numbers fall short of the record-breaking runs of the previous Avatar films, the performance still places Fire and Ash among the biggest theatrical releases of the year. The film's success reinforces the continued appeal of Pandora and Cameron's large-scale, effects-driven storytelling.

The strong showing also contributes to an impressive year for The Walt Disney Company. Avatar: Fire and Ash becomes Disney's third billion-dollar release from 2025, following the box office success of the live-action Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2. Notably, Zootopia 2 continues to perform well in theaters, earning another $10.1 million domestically in its seventh weekend. The animated sequel has now reached a massive $1.65 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in Walt Disney Animation Studios history.

Recent industry speculation questioned whether future Avatar sequels would move forward if Fire and Ash underperformed. James Cameron previously acknowledged that he was prepared to step away from the franchise if the film failed to meet expectations. However, with the movie comfortably crossing the billion-dollar mark, the likelihood of the remaining planned installments reaching production appears strong.

Set once again on Pandora, Avatar: Fire and Ash follows Jake Sully, Neytiri, and their family as they face new challenges in an expanded Na'vi world. With sustained box office momentum and global interest, the franchise continues to prove its staying power in the modern theatrical landscape.

Development of Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999; however, according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film.

Work on the fictional constructed language of the Na'vi began in 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006. Avatar was officially budgeted at $237 million, due to the groundbreaking array of new visual effects Cameron achieved in cooperation with Weta Digital in Wellington. Other estimates put the cost at between $280 million and $310 million for production and at $150 million for promotion. The film made extensive use of 3D computer graphics and new motion capture filming techniques, and was released for traditional viewing, 3D viewing (using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats), and 4D experiences (in selected South Korean theaters).The film also saw Cameron reunite with his Titanic co-producer Jon Landau, whom he would later credit for having a prominent role in the film's production.

Avatar premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on December 10, 2009, and was released in the United States on December 18.

The film received positive reviews from critics, who highly praised its groundbreaking visual effects, though the story received some criticism for being derivative.

During its theatrical run, the film broke several box office records, including becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Cameron's previous film, Titanic. In July 2019, this position was overtaken by Avengers: Endgame, but with a re-release in China in March 2021, it returned to becoming the highest-grossing film since then. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion and the best-selling video title of 2010 in the United States. Adjusted for inflation, Avatar is the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, only behind Gone with the Wind (1939), with a total of a little more than $4 billion.

Avatar was nominated for nine awards at the 82nd Academy Awards, winning three, and received numerous other accolades. The success of the film also led to electronics manufacturers releasing 3D televisions[26] and caused 3D films[27] to increase in popularity. Its success led to the Avatar franchise, which includes the sequels The Way of Water (2022), Fire and Ash (2025), Avatar 4 (2029), and Avatar 5 (2031).