‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ tops box office for fourth straight week with newcomer ‘Primate’ second

This image released by Disney shows Lo'ak, performed by Britain Dalton, left, and Tsireya, performed by Bailey Bass in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash."

LOS ANGELES — “Avatar: Fire and Ash” kept on smoldering at the box office, taking the top spot for a fourth straight week on a relatively quiet weekend as the January doldrums began setting in for the industry.

The third chapter in James Cameron’s Pandora epic brought in US$21.3 million in North American theaters for The Walt Disney Co., according to studio estimates Sunday.

In total after four weeks, “Fire and Ash” has grossed $342.6 million in North America and $888 million in the rest of the world. Last week it joined its two predecessors as a billion-dollar earner.

The week’s top-grossing new release was Paramount Pictures rampaging-chimp horror film “Primate,” which earned $11.3 million domestically and $13.4 worldwide.

Disney’s “Zootopia 2” has shown remarkable staying power since its November release. It continues to be a global juggernaut and a sensation in China. Globally, the animated sequel has piled up $1.65 billion. That put it just on the edge of becoming Disney’s highest grossing animated movie ever, trailing only the $1.66 billion brought in by 2019’s photorealistic “The Lion King.”

In its seventh week, it was fourth at the North American box office with $10.1 million for a domestic total of $378.8 million.

The Sydney Sweeney-driven thriller “The Housemaid” continues to be a good earner for Lionsgate, which earlier this week greenlit a sequel. It collected $11.2 million in North America in its fourth weekend for a total of $94.15 million and has brought in $192.5 million worldwide after costing just $35 million to make.

The figures came on a Sunday when much of Hollywood’s attention is on the Golden Globe Awards. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Zootopia 2” are nominated for two awards apiece.

But among contenders in top categories at the Globes, only A24’s “Marty Supreme” is in this weekend’s box office top 10, finishing sixth with a $7.6 million take and a $70.1 million four-week total in North America.

It’s nominated for best picture musical or comedy, with star Timothée Chalamet nominated for best actor in a comedy and cowriter and director Josh Safdie nominated for best screenplay.

On the whole, Hollywood started 2026 strongly. Revenues this weekend were up 23% from the same weekend in 2025, according to data firm Comscore. And the 2026 total so far is also up 23% from last year.

The movie industry is coming off a poor 2025, where domestic moviegoing continued to slide. But studios are hoping 2026 could be the best box-office year of the decade as they await the releases of new “Avengers,” “Spider-Man,” “Toy Story,” “Super Mario Bros” and “Dune” movies.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $21.3 million.

2. “Primate,” $ 11.3 million

3. “The Housemaid,” $11.2 million.

4. “Zootopia 2,” $10.1 million.

5. “Greenland 2: Migration,” $8.5 million

6. “Marty Supreme,” $7.6 million.

7. “Anaconda,” $5.1 million.

8. “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” $3.8 million.

9. “David,” $3.1 million.

10. “Song Sung Blue,” $3 million.

Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press