Domestic Box Office Leaders
December 2025's domestic chart is headlined by Avatar: Fire and Ash in first place, followed closely by Zootopia 2, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, and Wicked: For Good. These newcomers have quickly amassed significant earnings, with Avatar leading the pack due to massive Christmas weekend turnout. Lower-ranked films like Tron: Ares ($73M cumulative) and Soul on Fire ($7.4M) show varied performance across wide and limited releases.[1]
The weekend of December 19 set the tone, with Avatar: Fire and Ash at #1, David at #2, The Housemaid at #3, and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants at #4. This surge highlights holiday family viewing trends boosting ticket sales globally.[5]
Smaller arthouse titles persist in the lower tiers, such as The Choral ($11K) and Man Finds Tape ($11K), demonstrating niche appeal amid blockbuster dominance.[1]
Worldwide Top Grossers of 2025
Ne Zha 2 reigns as 2025's highest-grossing film worldwide at $2.2 billion, shattering records as the top animated, non-English, and non-Hollywood movie ever—with minimal sales outside China. Zootopia 2 hit $1 billion faster than any PG-rated or animated MPA film, surpassing Inside Out 2.[2][4]
The top 10 includes How to Train Your Dragon ($636M), F1 ($632M), Superman ($617M), and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning ($599M). Superhero and action films like Superman provide bright spots, though Marvel entries like Fantastic Four underperformed.[2][4]
Animation's dominance is evident, building on successes like Super Mario Bros. and Inside Out 2, signaling shifting audience preferences toward family-friendly content.[2]
Holiday Season Impacts
The Christmas 2025 weekend propelled Avatar: Fire and Ash to over $500 million globally, dominating theaters and setting new benchmarks for the holiday period. This performance reinforces December's role as a peak earning month for tentpole releases.[7]
Global trends favor animated spectacles, with Zootopia 2 and Ne Zha 2 exemplifying cross-cultural appeal. Domestic holdovers and new entries like The SpongeBob Movie capitalize on festive crowds, while flops earlier in the year (e.g., some January-March releases) contrast sharply.[3][5]