‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Makes Michael Bay’s Most Embarrassing Sci-Fi Movie Look Even Smaller

4 days ago 13

Published Feb 7, 2026, 9:57 AM 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).

Nearly two months into its theatrical run, director James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash is finally dropping out of the top five at the domestic box office. It remains the second-highest-grossing Hollywood film of 2025 globally, but its domestic performance has been disappointing. Avatar: Fire and Ash is trailing the record-breaking first film by almost $400 million and Avatar: The Way of Water by approximately $300 million. Gaps this large may prompt Disney to rethink the franchise's future. Cameron has said that future installments would need to cost less in case they're made, perhaps because Avatar: Fire and Ash's reported $400 million budget significantly restricted its profit margins. But even though it underperformed, especially at the domestic box office, it has outgrossed several major franchise films, sometimes by two or three times.

Among the tentpoles that Avatar: Fire and Ash has outperformed is the final (and arguably worst) Transformers movie directed by Michael Bay. Released in 2017, Transformers: The Last Knight served as a soft reboot of a soft reboot, bringing back Mark Wahlberg as the lead for the second time but abandoning characters introduced in its predecessor. Bay was understandably confident about doing another Transformers film, seeing as both Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Age of Extinction grossed more than $1 billion each worldwide. However, Transformers: The Last Knight ended its run with just a little over $600 million worldwide, of which $130 million came from North America. The movie cost a reported $260 million to produce, and is sitting at a 16% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

Both the Avatar and Transformers Franchises Are in Limbo

By comparison, Avatar: Fire and Ash has grossed around $390 million at the domestic box office so far — three times as much as Transformers: The Last Knight. That said, the film is struggling to pass the $400 million mark, and remains the least-liked installment of the trilogy on Rotten Tomatoes. Interestingly, one of the few movies that Cameron approved after introducing a new wave of 3D presentation in Hollywood was Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The movie had scenes shot with specially constructed 3D camera rigs made by the crew behind the first Avatar. Both the Avatar and Transformers franchises are currently in limbo, but it wouldn't be surprising if they return in one form or the other eventually. You can watch Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.