Avatar and Marty Supreme propel strong ticket sales

Hollywood wrapped up a turbulent year with big ticket sales for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and a box-office hit for Timothée Chalamet with “Marty Supreme” over a busy holiday weekend in movie theaters.

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As expected, James Cameron’s latest trip to Pandora dominated ticket sales, collecting $88 million over the four-day Christmas-to-Sunday period and $64 million on the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Though “Fire and Ash” initially opened notably softer domestically than its 2022 predecessor, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” it held better in its second weekend. It dipped just 28 percent, whereas “Way of Water” fell 53 percent.

In two weeks, “Fire and Ash” has quickly amassed $217.7 million in North America for The Walt Disney Company. But the $400 million-budgeted film has been a massive draw internationally, grossing $542.7 million overseas thus far. To reach the box-office heights of the previous films, both of which rank among the biggest blockbusters ever, “Fire and Ash” will need to sustain business through New Year’s and early January. If it does, “Avatar” could become the first franchise with three $2 billion movies.

But much of the heat in theaters over Christmas and on the weekend belonged to “Marty Supreme,” A24’s biggest budget release. Josh Safdie’s 1950s-set table tennis drama collected $27.1 million over the four-day weekend, a smash success for the indie studio.