Happy new year! How are things going in the real world? That bad, huh? Well, at least we can take a break from that to talk about silly box office returns.
Our number one movie–for the third week in a row–is Avatar: Fire and Ash, with a better-than-anticipated drop of only 37% and bringing its stateside total to $305 million. The only way it comes up short is if you compare it to the previous two entries, but that’s to be expected. The original Avatar was a box office game-changer which behaved like an unstoppable force of nature befitting of a film that finally managed to sink Titanic, which seemed like an impossible task for years. It can’t really be overstated just how successful it was. Likewise, the long-delayed sequel performed almost as well and was extremely leggy despite its bladder-destroying runtime. So Fire and Ash is huge (it’s already made it to the $1 billion mark globally). Just not as huge as its financial ancestors.
Still, I feel that’s me coming across as too unintentionally negative. Somehow, people always underestimate these films, and they always end up bringing in a ton of money. Hopefully Fire and Ash can bring in enough repeat-business from audiences thirsting over its villain to justify the two future planned sequels going forward. Cameron has constructed a massive space soap opera here, and dammit, I want for him to be able to complete his vision (even if he doesn’t return to direct). Next weekend, Avatar should easily rule over newcomers Primate and Greenland 2: Wait, There Was a First Greenland?
But wait, we have a movie even more impressive than Fire and Ash, which is also from Disney. Zootopia 2 sees a drop of only 4% this weekend, which is just nuts. Globally, it is already the biggest film ever from Disney Feature Animation, dethroning Frozen II (granted, that movie had its box office run cut short by COVID). It has also beaten the entire domestic gross of the original Zootopia back in 2016. Simply put, everyone underestimated this one, so fingers crossed we don’t have to wait another nine years for Zootopia 3: Judy Ends Up Regretting the Abortion After All.
Other success stories for the holidays include Lionsgate’s The Housemaid, which has made it to $75 million stateside and is a much-needed hit for the struggling studio. Luckily for them, the book on which its based has two sequels. Marty Supreme, meanwhile, is bringing in the film buffs while also attracting those in the mood for some offbeat entertainment. It has overcome the total gross of director Josh Sadie’s similarly nutty Uncut Gems back in 2019.
Believe it or not, we do have new movies this weekend, although neither of them made the top ten. We Bury the Dead is a zombie apocalypse film which is winning over critics for being quiet and meditative, so no shit it’s not bringing in crowds. Also we have something called The Plague, which apparently isn’t about a plague at all, and is instead about how “a socially awkward tween endures the ruthless hierarchy at a water polo camp, his anxiety spiraling into psychological turmoil over the summer.” Huh.
Anyway, the top ten, via The Numbers
