FRIDAY PM UPDATE: Rainstorms in Los Angeles aren’t getting in the way of moviegoing, nor is two-to-five inches of snow in NYC as 20th Century Studios’ James Cameron Avatar: Fire and Ash will of course lead the final weekend of 2025 with a second frame around $60M over Friday-Sunday, -33%.
That’s a better second weekend hold than 2022’s Avatar: Way of Water (-52%) which encountered fierce ice storms at the time, but nothing beats the second weekend ease of the original Avatar back in 2009, which dipped -1.8%
With Christmas, the 4-day on Fire and Ash stands at $84M after a second Friday that stands at $22M at 3,800 theaters. Running cume by Sunday gets to $213.7M.
By the way, we’re coming off of the best Christmas week ever post Covid with an estimated $342.3M, +10% from last year’s previous high of $311.4M (per Box Office Mojo). We’re still down greatly from 2019, -29%, which was $485.5M, but that’s when we had Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker on marquees.
Disney has bragging rights for second place with Zootopia 2, which a month after its release refuses to be penned up at 3,370 theaters. Weekend 5 is $19M, +28% for a running cume by Sunday of $320.3M. That will be $20.9M away from besting the original 2016’s stateside gross of $341.2M. As we reported earlier this week, Disney is the only major studio to click past $6 billion at the global box office.
A24’s Josh Safdie directed Marty Supreme in 4-days will make more than Timothee Chalamet’s Christmas movie from last year, A Complete Unknown did in 5 days, $25.7M to $23.2M. Today is $6M, -37% from Christmas Day’s $9.5M for a 3-day that stands at $15M at 2,668 theaters. Don’t be shocked if it’s higher. Comp this to the previous Safdie Brothers movie, the zany gangster drama, Uncut Gems, which went wide over a 2019 5-day Christmas stretch with $18.8M. The Adam Sandler movie finaled at $50M. We already told you that the social media universe for Marty Supreme stood at 197M before opening across TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube; that’s with Chalamet standing atop The Sphere in Las Vegas. There was also a Marty Supreme blimp flying over Beverly Hills in further stunts.
Fourth is a bit of a fight with Lionsgate’s The Housemaid holding in with a 3-day of $12.5M-$15M (4-day of $16M-$18M), after a Friday in the $4.8 – $5.2M range. On the high-end that second weekend would rep a -21% hold. Angel Studios’ David might ward off Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney with a $14M second weekend, -36%, after a second Friday of $5M. Sony’s Anaconda is sneaking up behind with a 3-day of $13M, 4-day of $22M, after a $5M Friday as well at 3,509 theaters. The 4-day start on the year’s previous most prolific comedy Naked Gun was $18.4M. Very good start here for Anaconda especially in regards to its budget of net $45M (Marty Supreme cost $65M before P&A).
Anaconda‘s social media was propelled by Jack Black’s 48.7M fans along with Selton Melo’s 9.9M, however, Paul Rudd is off the grid. Social media analytics corp RelishMix says, “Convo runs positive for Anaconda when the crowd leans into self-awareness and comedy as the point, not the apology. There’s a clear pocket of viewers clocking the film as a deliberate tonal pivot, closer to Tropic Thunder, Jumanji, or Be Kind Rewind than creature-feature horror. These comments frame the cast as a feature, not a flaw, treating Black and Rudd as genre translators rather than sacred-cow desecrators. Nostalgia works when it’s playful, not reverent, and that’s where enthusiasm clusters. Humor-forward fans applaud the meta energy, soundtrack drops, and Christmas counter-programming angle. ‘Anaconda meets Tropic Thunder!!! I love it!’ and ‘Whoever thought of making Anaconda comedy action genius move!’ anchor this side of the conversation, often comparing it favorably to the original’s camp reputation rather than its scares.”
Paramount’s SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants at 3,570 sites is seeing $3.4M in its second Friday, 3-day of $10M, -36%, for a running total of $36.9M.
Focus Features’ Song Sung Blue at 2,587 theaters is seeing $2.6M today, $7.6M for the 3-day and $12M for the 4-day. Rotten Tomatoes audience score is super at 98% certified fresh. Net production cost for the Craig Brewer directed title is $30M. The social media universe for the Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman movie counts 128M, which is under A Complete Unknown‘s 187.4M. Still, there’s Jackman pushing the pic to his 80.5M followers and Hudson to her 23.1M.
Observes RelishMix: “Convo on Song Sung Blue lands strongest with audiences craving warmth, nostalgia, and communal musical comfort. The positive thread treats this less as prestige cinema and more as a feel-good jukebox experience, repeatedly framing schmaltz as intentional and welcome. Jackman’s musical credibility is defended through comparisons to The Greatest Showman and earlier stage-forward performances, while Neil Diamond’s catalog is viewed as emotional shorthand that does the heavy lifting. Fans lean into sing-along energy, cross-generational memory, and sincerity over subtlety, positioning the film as counter-programming to darker or more ironic releases. The tone here is knowingly corny but emotionally confident. ‘I think we all need a movie like this right now,’ and ‘Cheesy but also brilliant and heartfelt, perfect for Neil Diamond,’ neatly capture the pro argument.”
