James Cameron&rsquo;s Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third instalment in the blockbuster Avatar franchise, opened to a mixed response at the global box office on its first day. While the film posted strong numbers in international markets, a relatively modest performance in North America resulted in a lower-than-expected worldwide opening.
Ahead of its Friday release in the United States, the film earned $12 million through preview shows. It also generated $43 million from early international releases, including key markets such as China. On its opening Friday, Avatar: Fire and Ash added $25 million from North America and $57 million from overseas territories.
This brought the film&rsquo;s total worldwide box office collection to $136.9 million on day one. International markets contributed $100.4 million to the total, highlighting the franchise&rsquo;s continued global appeal.
Despite crossing the $100 million mark within a day, the opening fell short when compared to the franchise&rsquo;s past performance. The film is projected to earn over $350 million worldwide during its opening weekend, which is significantly lower than the $441 million opening achieved by its predecessor three years ago.
Compounding the challenge, Avatar: Fire and Ash did not secure the biggest opening of 2025. That record currently belongs to Zootopia 2, which debuted with approximately $150 million globally on its first day and went on to post a $560 million opening weekend, one of the highest in box office history.
Industry analysts suggest that Fire and Ash will need strong weekday holds and sustained word-of-mouth momentum to approach the $1.5 billion global mark, a milestone that may still be difficult given the franchise&rsquo;s past benchmarks of crossing $2 billion.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third of five planned films set in the fictional world of Pandora, where the indigenous Na&rsquo;vi continue their struggle against human colonisation. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Salda&ntilde;a, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet, with Oona Chaplin joining the cast as a new antagonist.

James Cameron’s Avatar 3 opens strong overseas but underperforms in US

Avatar Fire and Ash Day 1 Box Office Worldwide

James Cameron’s Avatar 3 opens strong overseas but underperforms in US

December 21, 2025 | 10:54 IST