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Avatar 3 and Zootopia 2 Lead Global Box Office Charge
Disney is officially the king of the 2025 box office. While James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash claimed the #1 spot this weekend with a massive $347 million global launch, it was a battle of the blockbusters as the studio’s own Zootopia 2 continued its historic run toward the all-time record books.
Related – Avatar: Fire and Ash Ignites Global Box Office with Projected $340M+ Debut
Pandora Returns: A Solid, If Not “Way of Water,” Start
James Cameron has once again proven that you should never bet against him. Avatar: Fire and Ash debuted to an estimated $89 million domestically and $258 million internationally, bringing its three-day global total to $347.1 million.
While this marks the second-biggest global opening of 2025, it does represent a cooling of the franchise’s initial heat. For comparison, 2022’s The Way of Water launched with $435 million globally. Analysts note that Fire and Ash faced a steeper domestic decline (down 35% from the previous film’s opening), but international audiences—particularly in China—remain obsessed. In China, the film opened to $57.6 million, actually outpacing the start of The Way of Water.
As is tradition with the Avatar saga, the opening weekend is just the beginning. With an “A” CinemaScore and strong word-of-mouth, the film is expected to have “long legs” through the lucrative holiday corridor, with early projections eyeing a final global total between $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion.
The Zootopia Juggernaut
While the Na’vi took the weekend crown, the real story of 2025 remains Zootopia 2. Now in its fourth week, the animated sequel added another $14.5 million domestically, pushing its global cume to a staggering $1.276 billion.
Zootopia 2 currently holds the title for the #1 film of the year and the largest global opening of 2025 ($497M). It has become a cultural phenomenon in China, where it recently became the 7th most-attended movie of all time. Disney is now tracking the film to potentially challenge the $1.45 billion mark, which would place it among the highest-grossing animated films in history.
Disney’s $6 Billion Milestone
The combined power of these two sequels has pushed Disney toward a historic year-end finish. With Avatar 3 and Zootopia 2 leading the charge, Disney is expected to cross the $6 billion worldwide mark by December 27.
This holiday “one-two punch” has left competitors in the dust. Warner Bros. currently sits in second place for the year with $4.37 billion, proving that when it comes to tentpole sequels, the “Mouse House” still owns the mountain.
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