James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” has opened at No. 1 in China, delivering a $57.6 million opening weekend that Disney cited in public statements and that was first reported by Bloomberg. A separate tally cited by Variety put the film’s early cumulative China total at $57 million. The debut gives Hollywood a high-profile win in a market where domestic hits have led annual charts for years and where imported titles now fight harder for attention and screens.
The film launched in mainland China on Dec. 19, day-and-date with North America, and quickly leaned on premium formats. IMAX said the movie earned $13.5 million in China on IMAX screens, about 23% of its market debut, and that the title opened across 1,703 IMAX screens worldwide. Chinese state media reported that by 5 p.m. on opening day the movie had taken in 90.39 million yuan ($12.81 million) in ticket sales including previews, with ticket prices ranging from 40 to 90 yuan.
Audience reaction in China has split along familiar lines for effects-driven tentpoles. Xinhua quoted one viewer praising the visuals as “amazing” and “truly immersive,” while another said the “visual spectacle” hit with less force than earlier entries and called the plot repetitive. The outlet also framed the release as a test of Hollywood’s current pull, pointing to complaints that U.S. studio films can feel culturally distant for local audiences.
The China result lands against a shifting baseline for the franchise. Xinhua said “Avatar” earned 1.34 billion yuan in China in 2010 and “The Way of Water” reached 1.7 billion yuan, while Box Office Mojo lists “The Way of Water” at roughly $246.8 million in China across releases. Chinese box office receipts have exceeded 50 billion yuan in 2025, with domestic films taking 81.9% of revenue by mid-December, Xinhua reported, while “Zootopia 2” has surged past 3.6 billion yuan in the mainland.
