Avatar 3, titled Avatar: Fire and Ash, opened in theaters on December 19, 2025, with a Friday domestic box office of $36.5 million, pointing to a three-day opening weekend of under $90 million in the US.https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/box-office-avatar-3-nabs-mere-37mhttps://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025) This early number ranks it at 3,997 on the all-time domestic inflation-adjusted box office list, where it stands at $36,500,000 after adjusting for ticket price inflation over the years.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025)
To understand inflation-adjusted numbers, think of them as a way to compare old movies to new ones fairly. Ticket prices have gone up a lot since the 1970s or 1980s, so a film from back then that made $50 million might equal $200 million today when adjusted. Avatar: Fire and Ash’s Friday haul of $36.5 million adjusts to the same $36.5 million on that list because it is so new, with no big inflation factor yet.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025) It also ranks 557 among all-time domestic sequel box office totals on an inflation-adjusted basis.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025)
This opening is lower than the 2022 film Avatar: The Way of Water, which debuted with $134 million domestically over its opening weekend. Back then, it took up 87.5 percent of the total box office that weekend because few other movies were playing.https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/box-office-avatar-3-nabs-mere-37m Fire and Ash faces more competition this time, with three other new wide releases and a strong holdover film, each expected to earn $15 to $25 million over the weekend.https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/box-office-avatar-3-nabs-mere-37mhttps://screenrant.com/avatar-fire-and-ash-box-office-opening-weekend-record-domestic-chart-report/ Projections put its three-day domestic total between $85 million and $90 million.https://screenrant.com/avatar-fire-and-ash-box-office-opening-weekend-record-domestic-chart-report/
The movie has a huge $400 million production budget, and so far its worldwide box office is just 0.3 times that amount, showing it has a long way to go to break even.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025) It rolled out internationally starting December 11 in places like South Korea, with more markets like France and Denmark on December 17.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025) Domestically, its share of the total worldwide gross sits at 26.7 percent right now.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025)
Avatar: Fire and Ash runs 197 minutes and is rated PG-13 for action, violence, and some language. It continues the story of Jake Sully and his Na’vi family.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025)
Sources
https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/box-office-avatar-3-nabs-mere-37m
https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-(2025)
https://screenrant.com/avatar-fire-and-ash-box-office-opening-weekend-record-domestic-chart-report/
