It’s a very good start to the year with all movies grossing $134.7M this weekend; in fact that’s the best first weekend of a New Year post-Covid, besting 2023’s $104.2M. Nothing melodramatic going on, just a solid holdover frame. Compared to the first weekend of 2020, before Covid shut us down and when Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker ruled, weekend one of 2026 is only -11% off from that frame (which did $142.4M per Box Office Mojo).

When the box office year starts off great in weekend one, it’s never any indication of good luck or chi going forward, i.e. we’re beginning 2026 +29% over the first weekend in 2025; percentile wise that doesn’t mean we land there, of course.

Largely everything overperformed in relation to their Friday standings; sources in distribution say whatever we lost in the Christmas holiday stretch in the front-end, we’d make it up on the back-end this weekend: Avatar: Fire and Ash is coming in at $40M for weekend 3 (and near domestic cume of $306M) and Zootopia 2 at $19M for weekend 6 (cume of $363.6M). Saturday was higher than many forecasted with some films in the top 10 up between 10%-17% over Friday. Today will take a steep dive of -35% to -40% for most titles in the top 10. Still waiting on Disney’s global on Avatar: Fire and Ash but it’s well north of $1 billion global, and was always bound to get there this weekend as we first told you.

Top 10 chart – updated

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th) 3,835 (+35) theaters, Fri $14M (-38%) 3-day $40M (-37%) Total $305.9M/Wk 3

2. Zootopia 2 (Dis) 3,285 (-85) theaters, Fri $7.1M (+4%) 3-day $19M (-4%) Total $363.6M/Wk 6

3. The Housemaid (LG) 3,070 (+28) theaters, Fri $5.2M (0%) Sat $5.9M Sun $3.68M 3-day $14.8M (-3%), Total $75.7M/Wk
Has the nation turned on Sydney Sweeney after the performances of Christy, Eden and Americana? Absolutely not. Those movies were never referendums for her success at the box office. The Paul Feig-directed, Hidden Pictures-produced thriller is $13.7M from taking over the entire running domestic B.O. ($88.3M) of her 2023 Christmas sleeper Anyone But You.

4. Marty Supreme (A24) 2,887 (+219) theaters, Fri $4.6M (-32%) Sat $4.8M Sun $3M 3-day $12.55M (-21%) Total $56M/Wk 3
As we told, the Josh Safdie directed movie clicked past Uncut Gems to become A24’s third highest grossing movie at the domestic box office behind Everything Everywhere All at Once ($77M) and Civil War ($69M). Any awards halo just keeps Marty Supreme more fierce. The first 17-days of Marty Supreme is ttk% ahead of Timothee Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic last year, A Complete Unknown by 19%, that Searchlight title ending its run at $75M.

5. Anaconda (Sony) 3,509 theaters, Fri $3.5M (-35%), Sat $4M Sun $2.3M 3-day $10M (-31%), Total $45.8M/Wk 2

6. SpongeBob Movie (Par) 3,217 (-353) theatres, Fri $3M Sat $3.2M Sun $1.9M 3-day $8.2M (-26%), Total $57.1M/Wk 3

7. David (Ang) 2,900 (-103) theaters, Fri $2.9M (-39%) Sat $2.9M Sun $2.1M 3-day $8M (-36%), Total $70.1M/Wk 3

8. Song Sung Blue (Foc) 2,705 (+118) theaters, Fri $2.1M (-22%) Sat $2.3M Sun $1.4M 3-day $5.87M (-17%) Total $25M/Wk 2
The audience has expanded slightly in weekend 2 on this Craig Brewer-directed title, with Latino and Hispanic moviegoers increasing from 7% to 11% from weekend one to two, and Caucasian audiences recessing from 86% to 78% over the same period. It’s still an older skewing movie with 77% over 45 (versus 76% last weekend). In fact, the Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson movie got older with the over 55 bunch coming out yesterday at 60% versus 48% last week.

9. Wicked: For Good (Uni) 1,885 (-123) theaters, Fri $1.2M (-35%) Sat $1.2M Sun $780K 3-day $3.25M (-39%), Total $339.8M/Wk 7
The Jon M. Chu sequel hit PVOD and digital platforms on Dec. 30. Let the record show that Wicked, after arriving on PVOD on Dec. 31, 2024, went on to make an extra $45.7M at the domestic box office before ending its run at $474.9M.

10. Five Nights at Freddy‘s (Uni) 1,986 (-294) theaters, Fri $960K Sat $1M Sun $680k 3-day $2.7M (-39%) Total $125.2M/Wk 5

11. We Bury the Dead (Vert) 1,172 theaters, Fri $1.3M, Sat $695K Sun $495K, 3-day $2.53M/Wk 1
The Daisy Ridley zombie film was acquired out of SXSW by Vertical. There’s a divide between Rotten Tomatoes critics and audiences at 86% fresh to 48%, and a very bad definite recommend from Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak audiences at 24%. Result makes this the best opening for a Vertical release with the movie playing well in the West, where close to a third of ticket sales are coming from, versus the 21% average for other pics in the marketplace. AMC Dine-In in Montclair, CA is top grossing venue for the Zak Hilditch-directed movie with close to $8k. 57% guy leaning, 55% between 18-34. Diversity demos are 47% Caucasian, 25% Latino and Hispanic, 12% Black, 8% Asian American and 8% other.

Other misc. details in distribution land:

–Hearing that theater chains got to keep 95% of that $25M-$27M concession cash from that 2-day Netflix stunt with the Stranger Things series finale over New Year’s Eve and Day.

–Paramount titled André Øvredal’s next horror film as Passenger and dated it for May 29. Producers are 18Hz’s Walter Hamada, as well as It‘s Gary Dauberman. Pic stars Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell and Oscar winner Melissa Leo. The movie is the only major studio wide release opening post Memorial Day’s Star Wars: Mandalorian and Grogu and before Amazon MGM Studios/Mattel’s Masters of the Universe during the first weekend in June.

Since this weekend is a holiday holdover one, please enjoy the following top 10 lists from 2025:

Top 10 Movies at the Domestic B.O. (as of Dec. 31, people).
Interesting to note that of all the comic book movies, DC’s Superman prevailed and only one Marvel movie out of three released last year cracked the top 10. Bravo to DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran.

Top 10 Openings at the Domestic B.O. (3-day)

1.A Minecraft Movie (WB) – $162.7M
2. Wicked: For Good (Uni) – $147M
3. Lilo & Stich (Dis) – $146M
4. Superman (WB) – $125M
5. Fantastic Four – First Steps — $117.6M
6. Zootopia 2 (Dis) – $100.2M
7. Jurassic World: Rebirth (Uni) – $92M
8. Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th) – $89.1M
9. Captain America: Brave New World (Dis) – $88.8M
10. How to Train Your Dragon (Uni) – $84.6M

Top 10 Exhibitors (by box office)

Top 10 theaters (in box office)

via Deadline