Box Office: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Ignites to $36.5 Million on Opening Day

James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is already setting the domestic box office ablaze.

“Fire and Ash,” the third installment in Disney’s sci-fi saga, grossed $36.5 million from 3,800 North American theaters on Friday. The film is on track to reach between $85 million and $90 million domestically by Sunday. Including international grosses, it could climb as high as $365 million by the end of the weekend.

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“Fire and Ash” is expected to debut above the first “Avatar” ($77 million domestically) but below the previous sequel “Way of Water” ($134 million domestically). Despite the relatively tempered openings, both films went on to earn well over $2 billion, with the first installment earning a towering $2.92 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing movie of all time. If “Fire and Ash” charts a similar course, “Avatar” would be the first blockbuster franchise in history to notch three installments all over the $2 billion benchmark.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their family as they fight against a tyrannical fire-wielding foe.

Second place went to Angel Studios’ animated parable “David,” which earned $9.6 million domestically on its Friday opening from 3,118 screens. The family-friendly retelling of the David and Goliath Bible story looks to gross upwards of $25 million by Sunday. That would mark Angel’s best three-day opening since 2023’s “Sound of Freedom” ($19.6 million), which went on to generate more than $250 million worldwide.

In third is Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid,” which debuted on Friday to $8 million domestically from 3,015 venues. That puts the R-rated thriller on pace to reach $21 million by Sunday. Directed by Paul Feig and adapted from Freida McFadden’s novel, the film follows a troubled young woman (Sydney Sweeney) who is hired as the live-in maid for an exuberantly wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar) who harbor dark secrets.

Fourth place on Friday went to “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” which earned $6 million on its opening day from 3,557 North American locations. The animated adventure looks to earn $15 million to $20 million by Sunday. Based on the long-running Nickelodeon TV show, the film follows the titular burger-flipping sponge and his best friend Patrick Star as they search for the ghost pirate known as the Flying Dutchman.

The No. 5 slot went to Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” which earned $4 million domestically on its fourth Friday at the box office. The film looks to grow its North American tally to $272 million by Sunday. The film recently crossed $1 billion worldwide after just 17 days in theaters, making it the fastest animated film in history to reach the prestigious box office benchmark.