Avatar: Fire and Ash grabs the domestic box office crown for four weekends straight since its December 19 launch, matching a solid start with the trilogy’s second-best opening weekend haul at $89 million across 3,800 screens.
Projections now point to an end during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day frame, as 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple eyes a $20-22 million debut over four days. Variety tracks Fire and Ash at $12-14 million for that stretch, clearing the path for the horror follow-up from Nia DaCosta.
This clips the third Avatar short of the seven-week #1 run both prior films claimed. The 2009 original and 2022’s Way of Water dominated charts through holiday lulls and into January, building to all-time highs of $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion globally, respectively.
Fire and Ash has grossed over $350 million domestically and over $2.3 billion worldwide already, landing as the 29th biggest earner ever despite the quicker fade.
Pandora sequels thrive on repeat views and IMAX premiums, yet this pace echoes wider 2025-2026 trends where holdovers battle stacked releases. Daily drops show resilience, like New Year’s Day’s $15.9 million bump, but post-holiday plunges hit 67% on January 5.
Legs Wobble Under Pressure
Fire and Ash shows steeper drops than siblings, raising flags on billion-dollar legs. Predecessors soared past $2 billion each, with Way of Water’s seven-week grip and 3.93 multiplier fueling word-of-mouth waves.
Current math puts the newest at risk of stalling below that line domestically, even as a clear profit for Disney at $400 million production cost plus marketing, with worldwide already 3.1 times the budget.
Audience pull dips faster amid competition. Bone Temple builds on 2025’s 28 Years Later, which opened to $30 million but wrapped at $151.3 million against a $60 million budget.
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Credit: Disney+)
Its sequel’s modest projections still pack enough to shift the top slot, signaling Fire and Ash’s viewer retention slips more than rival strength, with theaters down to 3,700 by week four.
Reviews mix praise for fire Na’vi additions like Varang, with gripes on runtime drag and sequel sameness, are hurting long-haul buzz.
Global tallies hit strong early, boosted by China holdovers at 1 million viewers fast, and India nets over ₹85 crore in five days. Domestic legs trail Way of Water’s path, with a second-weekend hold at -25% average, better than some but not elite.
Pre-holiday surges helped; Christmas Day’s $24 million and New Year’s Eve dip to $8 million reflect family crowd patterns. Yet, January weekdays average under $2 million lately, exposing vulnerability to new entries.
Challenger’s Own Rough Road
Bone Temple steps up as an underdog killer, yet carries franchise baggage. Danny Boyle’s prior 28 Days Later scraped by at break-even; now DaCosta’s turn budgets $63 million with the third film’s dreams on the line.
A $20-30 million debut marks progress, but worldwide legs decide if the trilogy pushes forward, potentially matching the original sequel’s North America open.
Avatar faces similar tests. Early 2025 openings trailed Way of Water’s peaks at $134 million tracked, yet holiday timing and Cameron visuals kept multipliers healthy. Fire and Ash passes $350 million domestic in 28 days, with international markets like Korea and Europe driving the global surge past $1 billion by early January.
Franchise eyes Avatar 4 in 2029, but softer holds prompt questions on sustaining hype. Cameron’s track record of escalating spectacle helped originals redefine blockbusters, now tested by crowded slates and superhero slumps.
Fan forums buzz with bets on final totals, some pegging $1.5-1.8 billion worldwide endgame, others higher if China rebounds.
Theater chains prioritize fresh drops, squeezing sequels. Fire and Ash’s IMAX lock fades as Bone Temple claims screens, mirroring how Superman and others chipped at holdovers last year. Still, $2.3 billion locks in massive win status, even if #1 glory shortens, outpacing most 2025 releases.
Pandora expansions continue, with Na’vi fire clans adding fresh lore that critics call the series’s best world-building yet, drawing families despite the PG-13 rating.
Box office shifts spotlight franchise fatigue debates, yet Cameron’s pull endures across three films. Bone Temple’s upset, if it lands, underscores horror’s holiday bite over sci-fi stamina this season, but Avatar’s total haul likely dwarfs it.
Disney banks on Pandora parks and merch to extend revenue, while Sony hopes Bone Temple sparks zombie revival. These clashes highlight how event films now fight weekly threats, shortening dominance eras.
Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle, a sharp strategist constantly undermined by her smug superior, Bradley Preston, brought to life by Dylan O’Brien.
The two board a company flight that crashes, leaving them alone on a remote speck of land where old office grudges ignite into something feral. Linda’s unexpected outdoor know-how gives her the upper hand, turning their teamwork into a brutal mind game laced with dark laughs.
Supporting players like Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel, and Chris Pang flesh out the corporate backdrop before the chaos hits, while Emma Raimi, the director’s daughter, joins the fray.
Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, known for slasher reboots, penned the script that blends workplace revenge with castaway peril, evoking tense showdowns from past thrillers but cranked up.
Early trailers show splattered fluids and desperate screams, hinting at the power flip that test audiences loved for its wicked edge. Raimi called it a tale of characters stretched to breaking points, full of surprises that keep viewers hooked.
25 Years of PG-13 Chains Finally Shatter
Back in 2000, The Gift delivered Raimi’s last R stamp, a psychic drama with gritty edges that fit his taste for the macabre. From there, studios pulled him into Spider-Man territory, where Tobey Maguire swung through three blockbusters, all capped at PG-13, to chase family dollars.
Drag Me to Hell tried recapturing Evil Dead fire in 2009, yet landed PG-13 despite curses and gore gags. Oz the Great and Powerful went full PG whimsy, and even Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stuck to teen-safe spectacle.
Send Help (Credit: Raimi Productions)
Over eight directorial efforts since 2000, plus producer gigs on hits like Don’t Breathe, Raimi stayed leashed.
Send Help’s R rating for strong bloody violence and language blasts that barrier. Sources note its outrageous vibe matches Raimi’s early run of unrated cult gems, signaling a hunger for unrestricted chaos after years of compromise.
Fans Hype the Gore Comeback
Online buzz exploded post-rating reveal, with horror circles calling it Raimi’s meanest swing since the ’90s. Reddit threads praise the trailer for nasty liquids and boss-killing fantasies, ditching superhero fatigue for straight venom.
Test screenings drew applause for McAdams’ controlled fury and a finale only Raimi could pull off, blending laughs with sadism. Danny Elfman’s score amps the unease, linking back to his Spider-Man work but dialed darker.
Some worry the writers’ remake of history might soften the bite, but most cheer O’Brien’s heel turn and the promise of real stakes. Sneak peeks on January 24 build fever, as 20th Century Studios pushes 3D screens for immersion. This feels like Raimi reclaiming his chainsaw soul, thrilling those starved for his unfiltered style.
Survival Stakes Hit Career Highs
The R frees Raimi to splash blood freely, echoing Evil Dead’s excess that built his name. Industry watchers see it boosting his horror cred amid superhero burnout, potentially launching more adult fare.
McAdams, fresh off dramatic turns, dives into unhinged territory that suits her range, while O’Brien trades Maze Runner heroics for villainy. Their clash promises the film’s core draw: raw human rot under pressure.
With production wrapped fast and a tight 113-minute runtime, Send Help eyes box office bite from January 30. Raimi’s track record suggests it could dominate winter slots, proving mature ratings still pack crowds when the talent delivers.
