The biggest hit so far is "Avatar: Fire and Ash" by James Cameron, which passed the $1 billion mark worldwide on Saturday.
Disney and 20th Century Studios announced the milestone on Sunday after confirming the total earnings from different parts of the world. Cameron is already known for directing three of the four highest-grossing movies of all time globally. Those movies are "Avatar," "Avengers: Endgame," "Avatar: The Way of Water," and "Titanic."
"Avatar: Fire and Ash" earned an estimated $1.083 billion globally by Sunday, including $771.1 million from overseas and another $129.6 million from there.
In the US, the movie collected $303 million over the weekend after making $40 million on its opening day, which was better than expected.
This movie is one of just three 2025 Hollywood films to pass the $1 billion mark, and all three are from Disney.
These include "Lilo & Stitch," which made $1.038 billion, and "Zootopia 2," which has reached $1.558 billion globally.
"Zootopia 2" continues to do well and is expected to fall only 7% in its sixth week, bringing in around $18 million from over 3,000 theaters.
It's still moving strong and surpassed "Frozen II" in box office earnings for Walt Disney Animation Studios, not including inflation. It's also the top-grossing Hollywood animated film in China, with earnings over $560 million, and is the second biggest film of all time, behind "Avengers: Endgame."
Disney is having a great year, returning to its former success before the pandemic.
But other movies are also doing well.
"Lionsgate" and Paul Feig's movie "The Housemaid" is expected to drop just 3% to make $14 million, bringing its total earnings in the US close to $75 million and $133 million worldwide.
The film is a big win for the team and especially for Sydney Sweeney, who faced a lot of criticism after her campaign for American Eagle jeans and the movie "Christy," which didn't do well at the box office.
Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in "The Housemaid."
Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate
A24's movie "Marty Supreme," directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet as a 1950s table tennis champion, is also a standout this holiday season.
It was the biggest surprise of Christmas weekend, making $27.1 million and reaching second place. Its earnings from Friday to Sunday were $17.5 million, the second-highest for A24. The movie is also doing well overseas, having earned $8.8 million in just four countries, including $4 million from this weekend.
"Marty Supreme" is expected to finish fourth in the US with around $12 million from 2,887 theaters.
It's also ahead of Sony's movie "Anaconda," which is a comedy action film featuring Jack Black and Paul Rudd. "Anaconda" made $10 million this weekend, bringing its total in the US to $56 million and $88 million worldwide. It has a modest $45 million budget. But Sony's Tom Rothman is still a powerful figure. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Lopez are also in the movie.
Paramount and Nickelodeon's animated movie "SpongeBob: The Search for SquarePants" made $56 million in its first week.
The movie was supported by Brian Robbins, who was both the president of Paramount and Nickelodeon, but David Ellison's new team is moving in a different direction for the various Nick series. (Ramsey Ann Naito recently left as Paramount's president of animation.)
Universal's movie "Wicked: For Good," which was released around Thanksgiving, is expected to finish ninth.
The only new movie to open nationwide this weekend is "We Bury the Dead," which may end up in tenth place if it doesn't earn much more than $2.7 million.
The movie is playing in 1,172 theaters and stars Daisy Ridley.
It was first shown at the 2025 South by Southwest festival. The story is about a young married woman who travels from America to Tasmania to find her husband alive. The U.S. military conducted a nearby weapons test that destroyed the population of Tasmania, leaving behind either dead bodies or zombies that are getting more aggressive. Her husband, Mitch, was on a work trip there at the same time.
Other stars in the movie include Brenton Thwaites, Matt Whelan, Mark Coles Smith, and Kym Jackson, and the movie is being distributed by Vertical.
Jan 4, 8:15 a.m.: Updated with revised Avatar estimates
Jan 5, 12:15 p.m.: Updated with additional estimates.
Jan 5, 12:15 p.m.: Updated with certain foreign grosses.
This story was originally published Jan. 3.
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