James Cameron's highly anticipated film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, has quickly cemented its position as a major box office success, soaring past the billion-dollar mark globally in just over two weeks. The threequel earned $40 million from an expanded release in 3,835 theaters nationwide, contributing to an impressive global total of $1.083 billion. This figure is split between a domestic haul of $306 million and a significant $777 million from overseas markets, demonstrating the franchise's sustained international appeal.

The film's strong third weekend propelled it past Christopher Nolan's acclaimed threequel, The Dark Knight Rises, at the all-time global box office, placing it in 39th position. Domestically, Fire and Ash also made headlines by officially surpassing Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, a film often considered the gold standard for sci-fi sequels, with its $306 million gross against Empire's long-standing total of $292 million. With only $21 million separating it from Transformers: Age of Extinction, Fire and Ash is poised to overcome another box office titan in the coming days, continuing the Avatar franchise's tradition of rewriting box office expectations and reaffirming Cameron's status as a formidable force in filmmaking.

Despite its undeniable financial triumph, Avatar: Fire and Ash has encountered a notable disparity between critical and audience reception. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the critics' score for the Avatar franchise continued its downward trend, with Fire and Ash securing just 66-67%, making it the lowest-rated film of the trilogy by critics. Reviewers generally noted that the film, while visually cutting-edge, tended to