The current box office landscape is buzzing with excitement, especially as we dive into the numbers from this past weekend. Boldly defying expectations, ‘The Housemaid’ has emerged as a surprising success story, maintaining its earnings without any decline—a rare feat in today’s cinematic market.
Let's start with the standout performer, “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” This blockbuster has just crossed the impressive $1 billion threshold, earning approximately $14 million on Friday alone. Experts project that it will wrap up the weekend with around $40 million, showing only a 39% drop from the previous week’s earnings. This achievement marks a historic milestone for director James Cameron, making him the first filmmaker to direct four consecutive films that have all surpassed the billion-dollar mark at the box office.
Future projections suggest that this installment could ultimately rake in anywhere from $1.5 to $1.8 billion. While this is undoubtedly a remarkable success by any standard, it does fall short of the staggering $2.3 billion earned by “The Way of Water” in 2022 and 2023. Even though the audience for the “Avatar” series appears to be shrinking, there remains a substantial group of viewers who are eager to spend their hard-earned money on James Cameron’s visually stunning tales set in the expansive world of Pandora.
Shifting our focus to “Zootopia 2,” this film has made quite an impression by climbing back into the top two spots at the box office. As the go-to option for family-friendly entertainment during the holiday season, it is projected to earn around $22 million in its sixth week. Impressively, it is also on track to surpass the $600 million mark in China this weekend while exceeding $365 million domestically. By next week, its total global earnings are anticipated to reach approximately $1.6 billion.
Now, let’s talk about “The Housemaid.” This film has turned into an unexpected sleeper hit. With a budget of $35 million, this thrilling piece directed by Paul Feig, featuring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, is astonishingly set to maintain its earnings in its third weekend. Last weekend, it grossed $15 million, and it looks poised to match or even exceed that figure by late Sunday. This remarkable performance can largely be attributed to the power of word-of-mouth promotion, particularly through platforms like BookTok, which have been generating buzz about both the film and its source novel for several weeks.
It’s worth noting that while the film is being described as "good," this characterization should be taken lightly; what really makes “The Housemaid” appealing is its engaging, albeit trashy, narrative that manages to captivate audiences. By Sunday, it is expected to reach $100 million in worldwide earnings.
Lastly, we have “Marty Supreme,” which has been reported to have a production cost of $70 million—though sources indicate that the actual budget was closer to $90 million. Despite this discrepancy, the film is projected to earn around $14 million over the weekend, following a Friday gross of $4.7 million. It’s likely to surpass $60 million by Monday, if not sooner, and it hasn’t even debuted in international markets yet, which bodes well for its overall performance. Could we be looking at a potential $200 million in global earnings? It’s certainly possible.
In summary, this opening to 2026 has shown great promise for the film industry. As we look ahead to next week, two new wide releases are set to hit theaters: “Greenland 2: Migration” and “Primate.” While these titles might not be generating a lot of buzz, January often brings surprising sleeper hits, and even if they don’t, the “Avatar” franchise has a history of bringing in strong box office numbers.
