Avatar 3 Box Office Tracking Falls Short of The Way of Water
Avatar: Fire and Ash is tracking a $340–$380 million global opening, falling short of The Way of Water’s early pace.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is tracking big, just not Way of Water big. Early numbers point to a massive global debut that still lands a step behind the last film, while comfortably outpacing the first Avatar.
The money (and how it stacks up)
Industry projections say the third film is headed for a worldwide opening in the $340 million to $380 million range, with a domestic start above $90 million.
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (projection): $340M–$380M worldwide, $90M+ domestic
- Avatar: The Way of Water (actual): $444M worldwide, $134M domestic
- Avatar (2009) (actual): $232.2M worldwide, $77M domestic
Translation: a notch down from The Way of Water out of the gate, but still a stronger opening than the original. That is a huge launch by any normal metric.
Where the story picks up
The new film is set about a year after The Way of Water. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are still dealing with the loss of their eldest son, Neteyam, which sets a heavier tone right from the start.
The twist with the villains
For the first time in this series, the main antagonists are another Na'vi clan. The Mangkwan, also called the Ash People, are led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). She teams up with the very-much-still-a-problem Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) to go after Jake and his family. That alliance is a spicy choice and should change the dynamics we are used to in Pandora conflicts.
Who is back
Alongside Worthington, returning players include Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, Cliff Curtis as Tonowari, Britain Dalton as Lo'ak, Trinity Bliss as Tuk, Jack Champion as Spider, Bailey Bass as Reya, and Kate Winslet as Ronal.
Behind the camera
James Cameron is back directing and co-wrote the script with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Cameron also produces, along with the late Jon Landau, who passed away in July 2024.
Release plan
Avatar: Fire and Ash hits theaters on December 19, 2025. Disney still has two more sequels on the books: Avatar 4 in 2029 and Avatar 5 in 2031.