‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Triples the Box Office Gross of the Most Influential Sci-Fi Hit Ever Made

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Published Feb 3, 2026, 9:18 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).

Having recently passed what could be its final worldwide box office milestone, James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash seems to be winding down in theaters. The movie is still trailing its record-breaking predecessors by a wide margin, and is poised to conclude its run as the lowest-grossing installment of the trilogy. However, Avatar 3 is among the 20 highest-grossing films in worldwide box office history, which means that it has overtaken several landmark hits over the course of its run. It might not have been as successful as either Avatar or Avatar: The Way of Water, but it has overtaken every installment of the Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings franchises. With $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office so far, Avatar 3 has grossed three times as much as one of the most influential sci-fi movies ever made, The Matrix.

Released in 1999, The Matrix grossed around $465 million worldwide against a reported budget of $63 million. The movie was headlined by Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Laurence Fishburne. Directed by the Wachowski siblings, The Matrix was hailed for its weighty themes, fresh take on familiar narrative tropes, and spectacular action scenes. The movie holds a "Certified Fresh" 83% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads, "Thanks to the Wachowskis' imaginative vision, The Matrix is a smartly crafted combination of spectacular action and groundbreaking special effects." The Matrix was followed by two sequels, which were filmed back-to-back and released theatrically in 2003.

'Avatar 3' Has More than Doubled Its Production Budget

The Matrix Reloaded grossed more than $740 million worldwide, while The Matrix Revolutions made around $430 million globally. After several years of silence, a fourth film was green-lit by Warner Bros., but was directed solely by Lana Wachowski. The Matrix Resurrections was a massive box office flop, having had the misfortune of being released day-and-date on the HBO Max streaming service and in theaters in 2021. The movie proved to be highly divisive, and earned the least enthusiastic reviews of the franchise. Avatar 3 also opened to franchise-worst reviews, and is now sitting at a 66% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Produced on a reported budget of $400 million, the movie was supposed to be followed by two further installments, but there has been no official confirmation about them recently. You can watch Avatar 3 in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.