Avatar: Fire and Ash dominates opening weekend at the domestic box office

Avatar: Fire and Ash opened Friday to lead the domestic box office, earning $36.5 million. The third installment in James Cameron's Avatar franchise is expected to finish the weekend with as much as $95 million in domestic receipts.

In second place, the biblical animated musical David opened with $9.6 million. David is an animated feature based on the Old Testament figure King David who defeats Goliath, the giant Philistine warrior, in the biblical narrative.

The Housemaid, a psychological thriller starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, opened in third with $8 million. The film follows a live-in maid who becomes entangled in the lives of a wealthy couple. The weekend lineup also includes The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, which debuted with $6 million, and Zootopia 2, which brought in $4 million to round out the top five.

SpongeBob and Zootopia 2 are expected to appeal to younger audiences and families, while Avatar remains the marquee draw for broader theater-going crowds. Industry trackers, citing The Numbers, project that Avatar’s domestic performance will shape the weekend box office, with the film potentially approaching the high end of its forecast as theaters fill for holiday-season releases. The broader slate reflects a continued mix of big-budget franchises, animated features, and thrillers competing for attention in a crowded market.

As the weekend unfolds, studios will monitor whether Avatar can sustain momentum or if the second- and third-place titles can chip away at its lead. While The Housemaid drew attention for its high-profile cast, the box-office cadence suggests audiences are still prioritizing the Avatar spectacle and family-friendly fare as they map out holiday plans.