The initial weeks of 2026 have seen the domestic box office establish a lead over previous years, driven by strong performances from established franchises and new releases.
The initial weeks of 2026 have been a strong start for the domestic box office, establishing a clear lead over previous years. This success is largely attributed to the robust performances of established franchises like "Avatar: Fire and Ash" and "Zootopia 2," alongside a slate of successful new releases. Titles such as "Send Help," "Wuthering Heights," and "GOAT" have emerged as leading new films across various weekends, demonstrating diverse appeal. Market conditions, including a mid-January winter storm and the Super Bowl weekend, significantly influenced weekly totals, while global markets consistently showed strength.
January 3-5: New Year's Weekend Sets Post-COVID High
The first weekend of 2026 recorded a total gross of $127.4 million across all films, marking the highest initial weekend revenue since the COVID-19 pandemic. This impressive figure surpassed 2023's $104.2 million by 22% and stood only 11% below the first weekend of 2020. Theater chains also retained approximately 95% of an estimated $25 million-$27 million in concession revenue from a two-day Netflix "Stranger Things" series finale event over New Year's Eve and Day.
- Top-Performing Films (Estimated 3-day totals):
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios) led with $36 million in its third weekend, reaching a cumulative domestic total of $302 million. Its global earnings through New Year's Day totaled $935 million ($266 million domestically and $699 million internationally), projected to surpass $1 billion worldwide and $300 million domestically that weekend.
- Zootopia 2 (Disney) placed second with $18 million in its sixth weekend, accumulating a domestic total of $362.6 million. The film recently became Walt Disney Animation’s highest-grossing film globally with $1.46 billion, surpassing "Frozen 2"'s $1.45 billion.
- The Housemaid (Lionsgate) earned $13.8 million, bringing its cumulative domestic total to $74.6 million.
- Marty Supreme (A24) secured $11.75 million in its third weekend, with a cumulative domestic total of $55.1 million.
- Anaconda (Sony) followed with $9.2 million in its second weekend, for a cumulative domestic total of $45 million.
- We Bury the Dead (Vertical), an indie zombie thriller starring Daisy Ridley, debuted with $2.8 million from 1,172 theaters. It received an 86% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes against a 48% audience score.
January 10-12: "Avatar: Fire and Ash" Maintains Lead
The domestic box office for the first 11 days of 2026 reached approximately $324 million, marking a significant 22% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
- Top-Performing Films (Estimated 3-day totals):
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios) held the No. 1 position for its fourth consecutive weekend, earning $21.3 million from 3,700 theaters. Its cumulative domestic total reached $342.6 million, and global cumulative total reached $1.23 billion.
- Primate (Paramount/18Hz) opened with $11.3 million from 2,964 venues. The film, budgeted at $21 million, received a "B-" grade on CinemaScore and a 76% Rotten Tomatoes score.
- The Housemaid (Lionsgate) secured $11.2 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $94.15 million and global total to $192 million.
- Zootopia 2 (Disney) earned $10.1 million in its seventh weekend, pushing its domestic total to $378.8 million and global total to $1.65 billion.
- Greenland 2: Migration (Lionsgate/STX) debuted with $8.5 million from 2,710 locations. The $90 million co-production received a "B-" grade on CinemaScore.
- Anaconda (Sony) surpassed $100 million globally, reaching $101.6 million ($50.4 million domestically and $51.2 million internationally).
January 17-20: MLK Weekend and "28 Years Later" Debut
The Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) holiday weekend box office collectively grossed approximately $102 million over four days, an 8% increase from the previous year, marking the third-best post-COVID MLK holiday weekend.
- Top-Performing Films (Estimated 4-day totals):
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios) maintained its No. 1 position for a fifth consecutive weekend, with an estimated $17.6 million, bringing its domestic total to approximately $367.8 million and global cumulative gross to $1.32 billion.
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony) debuted with $15 million over the four-day holiday, which was below initial projections. The film received an A- CinemaScore and a 93%-94% critical approval rating. Its three-day opening was $13.2 million, representing a 56% reduction from the previous film in the franchise. The net production cost was $63 million.
- Zootopia 2 (Disney) earned $12.2 million, pushing its domestic total to around $393.4 million and worldwide gross to $1.7 billion. It became the highest-grossing MPA animated movie and highest-grossing animated Hollywood film of all time.
- The Housemaid (Lionsgate) was estimated at $10.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $108.7 million and global total to $247.3 million. A sequel, "The Housemaid’s Secret," is reportedly in development.
- Marty Supreme (A24) earned an estimated $6.6 million, with its domestic box office total of $80.8 million surpassing "Everything Everywhere All at Once" as A24’s highest-grossing film in North America.
January 24-26: Winter Storm Impacts Box Office; "Send Help" and "Iron Lung" Debut
A significant winter storm impacted the U.S. domestic box office, leading to theater closures and resulting in the lowest overall revenue of the year to date. The total box office for the weekend was approximately $83 million, a 4% decrease from the corresponding weekend last January.
- Top-Performing Films (Estimated 3-day totals):
- Send Help (20th Century Studios) led the global box office with a $28.1 million debut, comprising $20 million domestically and $8.1 million internationally. The film, with a production cost of $40 million, received a B+ CinemaScore.
- Iron Lung (Independent) secured approximately $17.8 million domestically. Its global debut was an estimated $21.7 million, with a production cost under $3 million. The film received a 4-star rating on PostTrak with a 65% definite recommend from audiences, appealing to a younger demographic.
- Melania (Amazon MGM Studios), a documentary, earned $7 million domestically. It received an A CinemaScore and an 89% definite recommend on PostTrak, with an audience predominantly over 55 and female. Amazon MGM acquired the film for $40 million.
- Mercy (Amazon MGM Studios) opened with an estimated $12.6 million, then accumulated $4.7 million domestically for the weekend, bringing its global cumulative to $41 million.
- Shelter (Black Bear) opened with an estimated $5.5 million domestically. The film, with a $50 million production cost, received a B+ CinemaScore.
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios) dropped to second place after five consecutive weekends at No. 1, generating an estimated $7 million domestically. Its global total reached $1.41 billion.
- Zootopia 2 (Disney) earned $5.7 million, crossing the $400 million mark domestically and reaching a global haul exceeding $1.7 billion.
February 1-3: Super Bowl Weekend Sees Low Revenue
The Super Bowl weekend recorded low box office performance across North American venues, with total revenue reaching approximately $60 million. This figure exceeded 2024's $38.9 million but remained below the pre-pandemic average for the same weekend.
- Top-Performing Films (Estimated 3-day totals):
- Send Help (20th Century Studios) maintained the No. 1 position in its second weekend, grossing an estimated $10 million, with a global total of $53.7 million.
- Solo Mio (Angel Studios) debuted in second place with $7.2 million. The romantic comedy received an "A-" CinemaScore.
- Iron Lung (Independent) placed third with $6.2 million, bringing its total domestic gross to $31.2 million.
- Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience (K-pop concert documentary) opened in fourth place, generating $5.5 million domestically and $13.2 million internationally for a global total of $19.1 million.
- Dracula (Vertical) rounded out the top five, earning $4.5 million, marking the largest opening weekend for distributor Vertical.
- Zootopia 2 (Disney) earned an estimated $4 million, reaching over $1.8 billion worldwide in its 11th week.
- Melania (Amazon MGM Studios) dropped to ninth place, taking in $2.37 million, bringing its domestic total to $13.35 million.
February 14-17: Presidents' Day Weekend Sees "Wuthering Heights" Lead
The Presidents' Day holiday weekend featured three major studio film releases, contributing to an overall box office for 2026 that was 8% ahead of last year's total, though attendance levels for this weekend did not match 2025's $179.5 million. The Walt Disney Studios became the first studio to exceed $1 billion at the global box office in 2026, primarily driven by "Avatar: Fire and Ash" and "Zootopia 2."
- Top-Performing Films (Estimated 4-day totals for holiday weekend):
- Wuthering Heights (Warner Bros./MRC) secured the top position, earning $38 million domestically and $45 million internationally for a global total of $83 million. The R-rated adaptation, with an $80 million production budget, attracted a predominantly female audience in North America. Its success marked Warner Bros.' ninth consecutive No. 1 opening.
- GOAT (Sony Pictures Animation) secured second place, earning $35 million over the four-day period ($27.2 million during the traditional weekend). With an $80 million production budget, it generated $15.6 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $50.6 million. The PG-rated film received an "A" grade from audiences.
- Crime 101 (Amazon MGM Studios) placed third, earning $16.3 million over the holiday period ($14.2 million during the traditional weekend). Globally, it collected $12 million internationally, totaling $28.3 million worldwide. Amazon MGM acquired rights for over $90 million for the film.
February 21-23: "GOAT" Maintains Lead; New Releases Debut
The North American box office was estimated to reach $75.4 million, a 3% decrease compared to the post-Presidents' Day weekend last year. The year-to-date box office for 2026 stands at $1.05 billion, a 7% lead over 2025 figures. Harsh winter weather contributed to a decline in North American revenues.
- Top-Performing Films (Estimated 3-day totals):
- GOAT (Sony Pictures Animation) secured the No. 1 position at the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend, generating $17 million, bringing its domestic total to $58.3 million and its worldwide gross to $102 million. Internationally, it earned $17 million, for an international total of $44 million.
- Wuthering Heights (Warner Bros./MRC) ranked second, earning $14.2 million. Its domestic total reached $59.5 million, with a global total of $151.7 million, including $91.7 million from overseas markets. It secured the No. 1 position at the international box office with $26.3 million.
- I Can Only Imagine 2 (Lionsgate/Kingdom Story) opened at No. 3 with $8 million. Despite being behind its 2018 predecessor, it received an “A+” grade on CinemaScore. The sequel had an $18 million budget.
- Crime 101 (Amazon MGM Studios) generated an additional $6.2 million internationally, bringing its overseas total to $21.6 million and its worldwide gross to $46.3 million.
- EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (NEON) debuted at No. 7 with $3.2 million from a limited release on 325 IMAX screens. The concert film received positive critical and audience scores (95% Fresh with critics, 99% with audiences).
- How to Make a Killing (A24) opened at No. 6 with $3.5 million.
Major Film Global Milestones
- Zootopia 2 exceeded $400 million domestically, becoming the year's top Hollywood release worldwide and the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with over $1.83 billion in global ticket sales.
- Avatar: Fire and Ash reached a global cumulative total of $1.41 billion, ranking as the 18th highest-grossing film of all time.
- Wuthering Heights reached $150 million globally, with GOAT surpassing $100 million globally.
Upcoming Releases
Anticipated releases for the coming months include:
- Scream 7 (Paramount)
- Hoppers (Disney’s Pixar)
- The Bride! (Warner Bros., Maggie Gyllenhaal)
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Universal/Illumination)
- Project Hail Mary
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
- They Will Kill You