'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Falls Short of Franchise-Best by $1.5B

1 week ago 11

Image via 20th Century

Published Feb 16, 2026, 3:36 PM EST

Adam Blevins began working in the entertainment industry in 2022 as a Staff Writer for Agents of Fandom, where he progressed to Senior Editor and interviewed talent from Marvel Studios, House of the Dragon, and Planet of the Apes. He joined Collider as a News Author in April 2024, was promoted to a Senior position in December 2024, and has written over 3,000 articles for the site, including exclusives relating to Avengers: Doomsday, The Penguin, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and more. He primarily writes about the latest box office numbers and the hottest movies and TV shows on streaming, while also covering superhero and sci-fi news. He has completed a set visit for The Chosen and even has several months of experience writing Gaming Features at ScreenRant. You can find him on X, LinkedIn, and Muckrack.

It’s now been two months since Avatar: Fire and Ash spread like wildfire in theaters around the world. The film debuted to the lowest scores of any Avatar movie from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and things took a dark turn when director James Cameron announced that the already-confirmed fourth Avatar movie was no longer a guarantee if the third movie didn’t perform at the box office. Some fans have criticized Avatar: Fire and Ash for having a cookie-cutter story too similar to the first two Avatar movies, but others have pushed back on this, citing evil Na’vi like the Mangkwan clan and a deeper arc for Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). The third film also introduces Oona Chaplin as Varang, head of the Ash people.

At the time of writing, after nine full weekends at the box office, Avatar: Fire and Ash has earned $1.4 million at the global box office. Around $396 million of this has come from domestic earnings, with over $1 billion coming from the international box office. Avatar 3 is one of the few movies to ever earn over $1 billion just from international markets. While this is an impressive total, it’s still poised to fall over $800 million short of its immediate predecessor at the box office and around $1.5 billion short of the original film, which has been re-released multiple times. Avatar: The Way of Water scored over $2.3 billion globally, while Avatar has grossed nearly $3 billion. Fire and Ash holds a budget of around $400 million, and when factoring in marketing and ticket splits, the film needed nearly $1 billion to break even. It certainly earned a profit, but perhaps not as much as Disney would have liked.

When Does The Fourth ‘Avatar’ Movie Come Out?

Avatar 4 is currently scheduled for release on December 21, 2029. This gives James Cameron four years to finish filming the movie and get the VFX to the high level Avatar fans have come to expect. Cameron cast doubt that a fourth movie would happen if the third didn’t do well, but surely $1.4 billion is enough to secure another release. Cameron has also mentioned that he needs to find a way to make the films cheaper, which would allow more wiggle room at the box office, thanks to a lower budget. Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh will also join the cast for the fourth and fifth Avatar movies, should they happen.

Buy tickets to see Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters and stay tuned to Collider for more updates on the film’s digital release.