James Cameron’s highly anticipated film, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” made a resounding debut across key international markets during the Dec. 19–21 frame, dominating the box office in both China and Korea and providing a significant late-December boost to the cinematic landscape. The film’s launch highlighted robust audience engagement and strong performances from several other notable titles in both regions.

In China, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” secured the No. 1 spot, grossing an impressive RMB384.1 million ($54.1 million) over the weekend and achieving a cumulative total of RMB405.0 million ($57 million) since its release. A substantial portion of this success, approximately $13.5 million, came from the Imax format, accounting for 23% of its total opening weekend box office in the Middle Kingdom. This strong entry comfortably outpaced holdovers, including Walt Disney’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2,” which added a commendable $27 million in its fourth weekend, pushing its cumulative total to $536.8 million and solidifying its position as one of China’s top performers of the year. Daylight Entertainment’s “Gezhi Town,” a historical drama about displaced civilians finding peace shattered by Japanese forces during wartime, continued its run in third place, earning $3 million for a total of $49.7 million. The film, directed by Kong Sheng and written by Lan Xiaolong, features a cast including Xiao Zhan and Zhou Yi Ran. Debuting in fourth place was NCM Television’s romantic comedy “Love Is Hard,” which garnered $800,000 from previews ahead of its wider release. This third entry in the “Qing Sheng” series, co-written and directed by Dong Xu, explores a marriage strained by a crisis of trust. Rounding out the top five was Emperor Motion Pictures’ Hong Kong crime thriller “Under Current,” which added $200,000, elevating its cumulative gross to $4 million. Directed by Alan Mak and starring Aaron Kwok, Simon Yam, and Francis Ng, the film follows a barrister and a police officer investigating a suspicious death linked to corruption. The total China weekend box office amounted to $86.5 million, bringing the year-to-date total to $7.18 billion, a 23.4% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.

Similarly, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” made a dominant entry at the Korean box office, opening to $10.2 million from 1.3 million admissions over the Dec. 19–21 frame. According to KOBIS, the Korean Film Council’s tracking service, the film accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total weekend revenue, playing across 2,514 screens and quickly accumulating a $13.6 million haul within just five days. Despite the arrival of Cameron’s tentpole, Disney’s “Zootopia 2” maintained its formidable presence, moving to second place and adding $4 million to its Korean total, which now stands at $41.2 million after four weekends. The animated sequel continued to attract family audiences, drawing over 620,000 admissions. Local animated title “Pororo the Movie: Sweet Castle Adventure” secured third place with $250,668, reaching a total of $805,395. Following closely in fourth was the South Korean comedy-drama “The People Upstairs,” which earned $262,926, pushing its cumulative to $3.2 million. Directed by Ha Jung-woo and starring Gong Hyo-jin, the film comically depicts a couple's exhaustion from noisy upstairs neighbours. Japanese anime feature “Jujutsu Kaisen: Shibuya Incident / Culling Game – The Movie” ranked fifth, grossing $129,992 for a total of $2.3 million, condensing the anime’s Shibuya Incident arc. Universal’s horror sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” came in sixth with $126,015, elevating its cumulative take to $1.4 million. Preview screenings of “Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers” entered the chart in seventh with $75,097. Musical sequel “Wicked: For Good” continued its run in eighth with $49,252, reaching $6.5 million overall. Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s Locarno Golden Leopard winner “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” added $45,916 for a total of $238,103, following a screenwriter's contrasting seasonal journeys. Rounding out the top ten was Oscar-shortlisted Japanese period drama “Kokuho,” with $31,713, pushing its cumulative gross to $1.1 million. The top ten films in Korea collectively grossed $15.2 million over the Dec. 19–21 weekend, a notable increase from the previous weekend’s $9.5 million.