James Cameron's third Na’vi adventure, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” has continued its extraordinary box office dominance, leading the charts for the fourth consecutive weekend and singlehandedly bolstering cinema performance in the new year. The film generated an estimated $21.3 million from 3,700 theaters between Friday and Sunday, pushing its domestic total to $342.6 million and an astounding $1.23 billion globally. Its weekend earnings were twice as much as the next closest films, highlighting its massive appeal.

Vying for second place were two notable releases, newcomer “Primate” and holiday holdover “The Housemaid,” both estimated to generate around $11 million over the weekend. “Primate,” distributed by Paramount and the first film under its production deal with 18Hz (led by former DC Films chief Walter Hamada), opened with an estimated $11.3 million from 2,964 venues. The $21 million-budgeted horror film, which also earned $2.1 million internationally for a global start of $13.4 million, received a mixed “B-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls. It tells the story of a tropical vacation gone awry when a nearby chimpanzee turns violent.

Lionsgate’s psychological thriller “The Housemaid” maintained its strong performance, projected to secure the No. 3 spot with an estimated $11.2 million. After four weekends, the R-rated film has amassed $94.15 million in North America and $192 million worldwide, an impressive feat given its modest $35 million production cost.

“Zootopia 2” continued its impressive run, dropping to fourth place with $10.1 million in its seventh weekend. The animated sequel has proven to be a box office powerhouse, accumulating $378.8 million domestically and a remarkable $1.65 billion globally to date, solidifying its position as Walt Disney Animation’s highest-grossing movie of all time.

Rounding out the top five was another new release, Lionsgate’s disaster sequel “Greenland 2: Migration,” starring Gerard Butler. The film debuted with an estimated $8.5 million from 2,710 locations. Produced by STX for $90 million, with Lionsgate acquiring domestic rights for $10 million, the sequel follows a family’s search for a new home after a comet strike devastates much of the planet. Despite a “tepid B-” grade on CinemaScore, industry analyst David A. Gross, who runs Franchise Entertainment Research, noted its “flat start” but expressed optimism for its international numbers and ancillary business due to Butler's global appeal.

A24’s “Marty Supreme,” a Timothée Chalamet-led ping pong dramedy, secured sixth place with $7.3 million from 2,512 theaters, a decline of about 38% from the previous weekend. Its domestic sales have now surpassed $70 million, making it one of A24’s biggest movies. With a $70 million production budget, the most expensive for A24 to date, its box office performance will need to continue strongly, though awards attention, including a Critics Choice win for Chalamet and Golden Globe nomination, helps justify the studio's investment.

Further down the charts, Searchlight’s “Is This Thing On?,” directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Will Arnett as a divorcee turned stand-up comedian, expanded to 1,475 theaters, bringing in $2.3 million for a total of $3.4 million to date. Neon’s awards contender, the dark comedy “No Other Choice” from acclaimed South Korean director Park Chan-wook, generated $1.3 million from just 147 theaters over the weekend, accumulating an impressive $3.4 million in its limited release. Angel Studios debuted “I Was a Stranger,” a PG-13 film with a $6 million budget depicting a Syrian family’s tragedy in Aleppo, which earned $1.2 million from 1,400 theaters to land at No. 15 on domestic charts.

Overall, the box office for the new year is pacing slightly ahead of 2025. January, typically a slower month for theaters, could see increased activity with upcoming blockbuster hopefuls. These include Sony’s apocalyptic thriller “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” the anime “All You Need Is Kill,” Amazon MGM’s sci-fi adventure “Mercy” starring Chris Pratt, Sam Raimi’s survival horror film “Send Help,” and the Jason Statham-led “Shelter.” Gross anticipates that these films will need to perform significantly for the January box office to approach pre-pandemic levels, expressing hope for a stronger start to the year compared to 2024 and 2025.