A weekly film and box office newsletter. Howdy, folks! It's the week of Christmas, which means theatergoing is in high gear. And we already have a lot to unpack. "Avatar: Fire and Ash" launched to a huge $345 million worldwide this weekend — a great start for James Cameron's third "Avatar" movie — and yet, the launch is below 2022's "The Way of Water" and there's reason to believe "Fire and Ash" will be the first "Avatar" movie not to crack $2 billion. It'll still make a ton of money for Disney/20th Century, mind you. Estimates are a finishing global total in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion. That's a lot! But is it enough to convince Disney to drop another $400 million on "Avatar 4" and lure 71-year-old Cameron back to spend another 3-4 years of his life on yet another "Avatar" movie? But there are two other success stories from the weekend that portend a healthy holiday frame ahead. First, the Timothée Chalamet-fronted "Marty Supreme" scored A24's highest per-theater average ever with $875,000 from its platform release on six screens in New York and Los Angeles. Chalamet has spearheaded a bespoke marketing campaign that's actually reaching Gen Z, and the R-rated sports-drama film has phenomenal reviews. Watch out for its wide release on Christmas Day. Then Lionsgate's Sydney Sweeney/Amanda Seyfried thriller "The Housemaid" overperformed with $19 million, boasting an audience that was 70% female. That was by design, as Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Erin Westerman broke down the film's development process and marketing blitz for me last week while underlining the importance of delivering for an underserved female audience. More next week. For now, Happy Holidays — and Happy Moviegoing — to all! Adam Chitwood 
Box Office: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Lifts Off With $345 Million Global Opening WeekendDisney/20th Century/Lightstorm’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is leading what has been a fruitful pre-Christmas weekend at the box office, topping the charts with an $88 million domestic opening and $345 million worldwide. While that's well short of... 
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