BOX OFFICE: It’s still “Avatar’s” world, “Marty” makes Bank, “Anaconda” strikes and “Song Sung Blue” struggles

A $60 million post-Christmas, final-weekend of the year take certifies James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” as the final blockbuster of 2025, as it hurtles past the $200 million mark — $214 million taken in by midnight Sunday, projects Deadline.com.

It did $24 million Christmas Day alone.

That $60 million — if it hits that mark — is a little less than “Avatar: The Way of Water” earned on its second weekend, so “Ash” is still on pace to come in well under the $688 million 2022’s “Way of Water.” But dropping 30-36% weekend to weekend means it’ll have legs until Oscar nominations are announced.

Awards season won’t give it a boost. It’s mediocre.

Disney’s animated “Zootopia 2” is holding firm in second place, collecting another $19 million. It’s cleared the $300 million mark and may reach $400 million before leaving theaters, simply via lack of family film competition other than “Spongebob.”

Awards contender “Marty Supreme” opens wide — finally — with a $25 million dollar (five day Christmas) weekend, It didn’t quite earn $10 million Christmas Day and is looking at a $15 million three day weekend. Timothee Chalamet is finally box office. This ping pong hustler film is easily out-earning his turn as Bob Dylan last year.

Fourth place is a battle between holdover “The Housemaid” and Sony’s “Anaconda” reboot as a horror/action comedy. Neither film is all that, but “Housemaid” is on track to clear $14 with Christmas Day release “Anaconda” selling $13 million worth of tickets.

“Anaconda” is downright awful. I sat in a showing of it that was full enough that you’d expect to hear at least a few laughs, had anything about it worked. Nothing did. If it wasn’t the dead of winter, I’d have heard crickets.

Spongebob Movie: The Search for Squarepants” is on its way to another $10 million.

That means that the Hugh Jackman/Kate Hudson musical bio-drama “Song Sung Blue,” the most audience friendly of the year-ending releases, won’t crack the top six. The sentimental weeper is reaching an older audience, who sometimes time a while to get around to seeing a new film they’re interested in. But Neil Diamond devotees showed up to the tune of $7.6 million, $12 million since Christmas Day.

I saw that one with a third-full house Friday, “Anaconda” with a half-full house and “Marty Supreme” with a fourth of the seats filled.

As always, I’ll update these figures as the weekend progresses.

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About Roger Moore

Movie Critic, formerly with McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Orlando Sentinel, published in Spin Magazine, The World and now published here, Orlando Magazine, Autoweek Magazine
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