Hollywood’s Strong Start to 2026
Hollywood is buzzing as Avatar: Fire and Ash leads the box office for the third week. This latest installment by James Cameron has already crossed $1 billion globally, with $40 million coming in just this weekend in North America. Its international earnings are impressive too, totaling $777.1 million.
The holiday season gave Hollywood a boost, with schools still on break. Beyond Avatar, movies featuring stars like Sydney Sweeney and Timothée Chalamet also drew audiences. Zootopia 2 continues to be a surprise success, holding strong in its second place position with $19 million, just a slight dip from last weekend. In six weeks, it has made $1.59 billion, making it Disney’s second highest-grossing animated film ever.
Another hit is The Housemaid, featuring Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. This thriller raked in $14.9 million, totaling $75.7 million over three weeks. Its success is noteworthy given its modest budget of $35 million.
Chalamet stars in Marty Supreme, which earned an estimated $12.6 million this weekend, bringing its two-week total to $56 million. This puts it ahead of Chalamet’s previous film, Uncut Gems.
Other films also showed resilience. Sony’s Anaconda dropped by 31% to earn $10 million, while Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, saw a smaller 17% decrease with $5.9 million for a total of $25 million.
Overall, ticket sales in Hollywood have risen significantly compared to the same weekend last year—up 26.5%, according to Comscore. This upswing seems hopeful after 2025, which saw a decline in movie-going. Despite a slight rise in ticket sales, real attendance dropped to about 780 million from over 800 million in 2024, remaining about 20% below pre-pandemic levels.
Looking ahead, excitement is building. Warner Bros. may be sold to Netflix in a potential $83 billion deal, pending regulatory approval. Many expect 2026 to be a strong year for box office, with upcoming big titles like new Toy Story, Avengers, Spider-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Dune films.
Top Box Office Performers:
- Avatar: Fire and Ash – $40 million
- Zootopia 2 – $19 million
- The Housemaid – $14.9 million
- Marty Supreme – $12.6 million
- Anaconda – $10 million
- The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants – $8.2 million
- David – $8 million
- Song Sung Blue – $5.9 million
- Wicked: For Good – $3.3 million
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 – $2.7 million
As the industry looks to the future, fans can hope for a diverse slate of films along with the return of big-name franchises. It seems that 2026 could indeed be a turning point for Hollywood.
Source link
Timothee Chalamet, Sydney Sweeney, James Cameron, Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie, Amanda Seyfried, Paul Rudd, Movies, General news, Local News for Apple, California, Trending News, Hollywood, Jack Black, Hugh Jackman, U.S. news, Entertainment, Business, U.S. News
