“Avatar: Fire and Ash” took an early lead at the post-New Year’s box office, marking its third Friday at the top of the charts.
James Cameron’s third “Avatar” installment earned $14 million on Friday, holding strong with just a 38% decline from this time last week. The sci-fi epic is expected to gross $36 million by Sunday, bringing the domestic total to roughly $302 million.
Bringing up the rear was a batch of holdovers, including “Marty Supreme,” “Zootopia 2,” “Anaconda” and “The Housemaid.”
“Zootopia 2” once again cracked the top five on Friday, earning $7.1 million for a second-place finish. That’s about a 6% higher gross than last Friday. An impressive feat, given Disney’s animated adventure first hit theaters over a month ago. Kids are still out of school for winter break, which no doubt spurred the late-stage boost. The film looks to gross $18 million by Sunday, bringing the domestic total to $362 million.
“Zootopia 2” recently became Walt Disney Animation’s highest-grossing movie of all time with $1.46 billion at the global box office. The film surpassed another animated sequel, “Frozen 2,” which earned $1.45 billion in 2019.
“The Housemaid” took third place with $5.2 million on Friday, impressively mirroring earnings from this time last week. The Lionsgate thriller, starring Sydney Sweeney as a live-in maid with a dark past, looks to add $13.8 million by Sunday for a domestic total of $74.6 million.
Rounding out the top five on Friday were A24’s ping pong drama “Marty Supreme” and Sony’s adventure comedy “Anaconda.” “Marty Supreme” took fourth with $4.6 million, marking a 32% decline from last Friday. The film is projected to gross around $11 million by Sunday for a domestic total of $55 million. “Anaconda” landed at No. 5 with $3.5 million, representing about a 34% decline. The film should make $9.2 million by Sunday, bringing the domestic total to $45 million.
