Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third installment in James Cameron’s blockbuster sci-fi fantasy series, debuted atop the North American box office with $88 million in ticket sales the weekend before Christmas, industry estimates showed Sunday.
Fire and Ash grossed $345 million worldwide in its opening weekend. The movie once again stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington as Na’vi warrior Neytiri and ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family’s life on Pandora.
Debuting in second place with $20 million was David, an animated retelling of the biblical David and Goliath story from Angel Studios, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations reported.
In third place with $19 million was Lionsgate’s The Housemaid, a film adaptation of Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel about a young woman (Sydney Sweeney) hired by a wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar) with troubling secrets.
Paramount’s family-friendly animated The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants—based on the popular Nickelodeon TV show—opened in fourth place at $16 million.
And in fifth place was Disney’s feel-good animated film Zootopia 2, which earned $14.5 million. The Oscar contender has so far taken in $1.27 billion worldwide.
Rounding out the top 10 are Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 with $7.3 million, Wicked: For Good at $4.3 million, Dhurandhar bringing in $2.5 million, Marty Supreme with $875,000, and Hamnet earning $850,000. AFP
