Avatar: Fire and Ash leads box office with $36.5 million opening, weekend projected around $95 million
Avatar’s latest sequel opens strong on Friday as rivals lag, with David in second and The Housemaid in third
Avatar: Fire and Ash led U.S. theaters on Friday, earning about $36.5 million in its opening day, according to The Numbers. The third installment in James Cameron's Avatar franchise is projected to haul in as much as $95 million at the domestic box office for the weekend, topping the chart.
In second place on Friday was David, a biblical animated musical based on the tale of King David, with roughly $9.6 million. The psychological thriller The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, was in third with about $8 million. The New York Post criticized The Housemaid, describing it as a gussied-up pile of trash and a less credible Gone Girl ripoff.
Avatar's strong start underscores continued interest in Cameron's franchise, now in its third installment. While some outlets have described the film as the weakest of Cameron's trio, industry trackers note robust domestic demand that could drive the weekend total near the high end of expectations.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants opened in fourth with about $6 million, while Zootopia 2 debuted with roughly $4 million.
As the weekend unfolds, analysts will monitor how well the genre-spanning slate holds up, with family-oriented titles competing for daylight crowds alongside more adult-oriented dramas and thrillers. The box office landscape remains fluid, and final tallies could shift as theaters report Saturday and Sunday performances.
The fourth installment in the SpongeBob SquarePants series and the latest entry in the Zootopia franchise are expected to help diversify the weekend lineup, particularly for families seeking alternatives to the high-profile sci-fi spectacle that opened the frame.
