Avatar: Fire And Ash Debuts Tens Of Millions Below Way Of Water Despite Instantly Hitting No. 1

By John Wilson 12/20/2025

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is dominating the competition in its opening weekend, but can't quite compete with its predecessors. The new James Cameron movie, which debuted on December 19, is the third installment in the Avatar franchise. It has big shoes to fill, as the previous installments, 2009's Avatar and 2022's The Way of Water, are respectively the first and third highest-grossing movies of all time worldwide.

Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Avatar: Fire and Ash

is projected to earn a 3-day domestic opening weekend gross between $85 and $90 million. This is more than enough for it to take No. 1 over the pre-Christmas weekend, though it is only the second-biggest debut for the franchise so far.

The Avatar: Fire and Ash release is set to outgross the raw debut total of the original movie, which earned a 3-day total of $77 million ($115.6 million when adjusted for inflation). However, it is trailing more than $40 million behind The Way of Water, which debuted with a whopping $134.1 million.

The movies' opening weekends do not necessarily reveal their long-term potential, considering the fact that the original Avatar considerably outgrossed The Way of Water, even without adjusting for inflation. The former grossed $2.924 billion while the latter only earned $2.343 billion.

More to come…

Enjoy ScreenRant's box office coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly box office newsletter (make sure to check "Box Office" in your preferences) and get exclusive analysis, predictions, and more:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Shorts

William Garcia

Stranger Things Series Finale Spoiler Review: The Duffer Brothers Miss The Mark By Playing It Too Safe

Steven Gonzalez

Stranger Things Fans Push Back On Season 5’s Production Quality Ahead of Finale

0
0
0