James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” demonstrated formidable box office dominance across both Korea and China during the December 26–28 frame, reinforcing its strong international presence. In Korea, the film added an impressive $8.6 million from over 1 million admissions, pushing its cumulative total to $32.5 million. Simultaneously, in China, it grossed RMB166.4 million ($23.4 million), elevating its local cumulative to a substantial RMB700 million ($98.6 million) and solidifying its position as a major cinematic event.

Disney’s animated sequel, “Zootopia 2,” also exhibited remarkable performance in both markets, securing the second spot. In Korea, it contributed an additional $3 million to its weekend earnings, bringing its cumulative total to $50.3 million and surpassing 7.4 million admissions, cementing its status as one of 2025’s top-performing imported animated releases. Its success was even more pronounced in China, where it garnered $15.2 million in its fifth weekend, amassing a staggering $558.3 million in the market and standing as one of the year’s highest-grossing releases.

The Korean box office saw a diverse range of films enter or maintain strong positions. Debuting in third place was the South Korean romantic drama “Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight,” directed by Kim Hye-young and based on Ichijo Misaki’s novel. Starring Choo Young-woo and Shin Si-ah, this bittersweet high-school romance, centered on a girl with anterograde amnesia, opened with $1.2 million and reached $2.5 million in its first five days. Other notable performers included the Japanese animated film “Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers,” which earned $773,000 for a running total of $1.8 million, and the local family title “Pororo the Movie: Sweet Castle Adventure,” adding $147,000 to reach $1.2 million.

Further down the Korean chart, the comedy-drama “The People Upstairs,” directed by and starring Ha Jung-woo alongside Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Dong-wook, and Lee Ha-nee, continued its steady run, pushing its cumulative haul to $3.6 million with its narrative of noisy neighbors. Stephen King’s adaptation, “The Life of Chuck,” made its debut in seventh place with $43,642. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” added $38,622, bringing its total to $1.5 million. Japanese anthology features “Tatsuki Fujimoto 17–26 Part-1” and “Tatsuki Fujimoto 17–26 Part-2” rounded out the top ten, earning $44,274 and $44,473 respectively. Collectively, the top 10 films in Korea grossed $14.02 million for the weekend, a slight decrease from the previous weekend’s $15.2 million.

In China, new releases also made their mark. The crime thriller “The Fire Raven,” directed and written by Sam Quah and starring Peng Yuchang, Alan Aruna, and Chang Ning, opened in third place with $2.8 million. The film delves into a cold case involving a student’s murder and a wider web of corruption. Following at No. 4 was the romantic drama “Love Is Hard” from NCM Television, the third entry in the “Qing Sheng” series. Co-written and directed by Dong Xu, this film about a marriage strained by a crisis of trust garnered $2.1 million, bringing its cumulative to $4 million. Rounding out China’s top five was Dirty Monkeys Studio’s “Escape From the Outland,” directed by Shen Ao and starring Yang Xiao, Xi Qi, and Simon Yam, which earned $1.7 million, pushing its total to $2.7 million. This film follows a foreign correspondent and his companions abducted by an extremist group.

Overall, the China box office generated a robust $48.6 million for the weekend. The 2025 year-to-date total in China now stands at an impressive $7.26 billion, demonstrating a significant growth of 23.1% compared to the same period in 2024. This strong performance across both major Asian markets underscores the continued vitality and diversity of the global film industry.