Avatar: Fire and Ash’s Opening Projections Below Zootopia 2

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The newest Avatar movie, the third in the series from director James Cameron, will be released in theaters on December 19th. It continues the story that began with the original Avatar in 2009 and continued with Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022.

I’m hearing that the new movie is predicted to make between $340 and $380 million during its opening weekend! While that sounds like a huge amount, it’s actually a bit less than what the last one, The Way of Water, earned when it came out in 2022—that one brought in $444 million! It’s amazing to think this film cost around $400 million to make.

Industry predictions suggest that 20th Century Studios’ Fire and Ash will likely have the second-highest opening weekend of any movie in 2025. It’s expected to fall just behind another Disney film, which earned $504 million during its opening weekend and has already surpassed $1 billion in worldwide earnings. Fire and Ash is currently projected to open with higher numbers than Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, which made $341 million in its debut weekend earlier this year.

Internationally, Fire and Ash is projected to earn between $250 million and $275 million. This is lower than the $310 million debut of The Way of Water in overseas markets.

The Future of the Franchise

Cameron discussed plans for future Avatar films. The original Avatar movie made $2.9 billion globally, and The Way of Water earned $2.3 billion, according to Box Office Mojo.

Cameron explained that people often lose sight of what really matters with these kinds of projects. He prefers to think of them as ongoing stories, or ‘sagas,’ with chapters that conclude and new ones that start. But, if you insist on calling it a ‘franchise,’ its success depends entirely on how well it does.

Cameron explained that audience preferences and the film market are constantly changing, and the theatrical industry is currently struggling. It hasn’t recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a roughly 35% decline in business starting in early 2020. At the same time, the costs of making movies, including special effects, keep increasing. He warned that if these trends continue, it will eventually become impossible to produce large-scale films.

While initially lower, the critic score for Fire and Ash has improved to 71% based on 153 reviews. However, it still doesn’t perform as well as the other films in the series. Avatar boasts an 81% critic score and is “certified fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, and The Way of Water also earned a “certified fresh” rating with a 76% score.

Fans of Avatar can catch Avatar: Fire and Ash when it debuts in movie theaters on Dec. 19.

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2025-12-17 19:44