James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” closed out China’s final weekend of 2025 on top, adding RMB166.4 million ($23.4 million) from Dec. 26–28 and pushing its local running total to RMB700 million ($98.6 million), according to the consultancy Artisan Gateway. The weekend box office in China totaled $48.6 million, a muted finish for a market that still cleared major benchmarks earlier in the month.
Disney’s “Zootopia 2” held second place with $15.2 million in its fifth weekend, keeping pressure on exhibitors to devote premium screens to a title that has played as a reliable family draw through the year-end corridor. The late-December frame reinforced a familiar 2025 pattern: Hollywood tentpoles can spike demand, while the week-to-week health of the market leans heavily on local releases and holiday timing.
China’s film regulator said the country’s 2025 box office crossed 50 billion yuan ($7.08 billion) by Dec. 13, with domestic films accounting for 81.9% of takings and admissions reaching 1.194 billion. At that point, the top five included local animation “Ne Zha 2” and several Chinese features alongside “Zootopia 2,” underlining how imports competed in a year led by homegrown hits.
From the studio side, Disney highlighted China as a bright spot for “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” reporting a $57.6 million opening in the market and calling it one of the strongest starts for an MPA title in 2025. “I don’t know if you say the big screen exists for this movie… but it is the reason to go to the movies,” Steve Asbell, president of 20th Century Studios, said in a statement.
Industry watchers see that argument playing out unevenly across territories: imports can still command premium formats and holiday playtime, yet the market’s center of gravity continues to shift toward local storytelling and franchise IP built for repeat attendance. The final-weekend leaderboard offered a clear snapshot of that balance as 2025 ended.
