‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Has No Chance of Catching the Original Before Its Box Office Run Ends

6 days ago 8

20th Century Studios/Everett Collection

Published Feb 5, 2026, 3:32 PM EST

Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him).

Director James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash has been playing in theaters worldwide for nearly 50 days, and it's nearing the end of its run. The epic threequel was released only three years after the franchise's second installment, Avatar: The Way of Water, which debuted over a decade after the first Avatar. By now, it has become clear that Avatar: Fire and Ash has no chance of matching either of its predecessors at the box office. But the difference is quite staggering. Even though Avatar: Fire and Ash is now among the 20 highest-grossing films of all time at the worldwide box office, its performance in domestic theaters has left a lot to be desired. As the movie nears the two-month mark in theaters, here's a look at just how far behind it remains from its two predecessors.

A part of the reason behind its underperformance is the fact that it earned the weakest reviews of the trilogy. Avatar: Fire and Ash is the least-liked installment of the series, according to the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It holds a 66% score on the website, compared to 81% for the first film and 76% for the second. Avatar: Fire and Ash is also the trilogy's first installment to not receive a Best Picture nod at the Oscars. And even though it has made over $1 billion globally, becoming Cameron's fourth film in a row to do so, its huge production budget has significantly reduced its profit margins. Avatar: Fire and Ash cost a reported $400 million to produce, and millions more to market. It needed to gross at least $800 million to become theatrically profitable.

Here's How Much 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Has Grossed So Far

While it has passed this milestone, Cameron has admitted that costs would need to be reduced significantly if further installments are made. The filmmaker had previously expressed a desire to make at least two more movies, but he has downplayed them in recent weeks. The first Avatar concluded its run with nearly $800 million domestically and around $2.9 billion worldwide — this includes revenue from its several re-releases. The second film made $2.3 billion worldwide and nearly $700 million domestically. Avatar: Fire and Ash is sitting at around $385 million domestically and a little over $1.4 billion worldwide. The movie has grossed roughly half of the first film at the box office, both domestically and worldwide. It's a hit, but not as massive as those involved would've liked.

You can watch Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.