Box Office: ‘David’ Sets Angel’s Opening Record; ‘SpongeBob’ Treads Water; ‘Zootopia’ Holds; And ‘Avatar’ Rules

The end-of-year box office gives us our last look at where theatrical animation sits heading into 2026. From a record-breaking faith-based debut to a billion-dollar Disney sequel to an underwater __ and another James Cameron blockbuster, animated (or mostly animated) titles are dominating box offices around the world.

David

Angel (FKA Angel Studios) scored a surprise hit with David, a CG-animated, faith-based musical retelling of the biblical story of King David. The film debuted over the pre-holiday frame with an estimated $22 million domestically, finishing in second place and delivering the largest opening weekend ever for a faith-based animated release.

Playing in just over 3,100 theaters, David outperformed early industry expectations and set a new opening weekend record for Angel, whose previous successes have largely been live action (although it has found streaming success with several titles). The strong opening offers new possibilities for the theatrical viability of niche, religious animated titles when direct audience engagement and targeted grassroots marketing are well executed. For comparison, the faith-based Light of the World made only $2.4 million domestically when it debuted earlier this year, finishing its lifetime theatrical run with just $5.2 million.

David’s box office footprint is, predictably, overwhelmingly domestic, but its impressive launch suggests long holiday legs as family audiences look for alternatives to studio tentpoles, of which there are few this year.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants

Speaking of… Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuted over the weekend to impressive reviews, but less impressive dollar figures. The long-running franchise’s latest theatrical outing opened with an estimated $16 million from 3,557 locations.

While Sponge Out of Water ($55.4 million) and the original SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ($32 million) benefited from novelty and a still-hot franchise, Search for SquarePants comes amid a flood of SpongeBob content on all platforms and, quite likely, a bit of franchise fatigue. While far from a disaster, given the whole holiday break ahead, the film faces a climb to reach profitability. This one was made on a tidy $64 million budget, modest for a high-profile Hollywood feature, but enough to require a large return.

International rollouts are still to come, and SpongeBob may find steadier footing in foreign markets over the extended school-holiday break, especially with its strong word of mouth.

Zootopia 2

Disney Animation’s Zootopia 2 continues to dominate the late-year global animation conversation. After a massive Thanksgiving debut, the sequel has now crossed $1.27 billion worldwide, with roughly $280 million domestic and nearly $1 billion from international markets.

The film has been particularly strong overseas, including a record-setting performance in China, reaffirming the original Zootopia’s status as one of Disney’s most globally resonant animated properties. The sequel’s sustained momentum places it among the highest-grossing animated films of all time, and one of 2025’s top performers overall. The film has now overtaken Incredibles 2 for seventh place on the all-time animated feature box office list and will easily pass several more in the coming weeks, pushing into the top four.

For Disney, Zootopia 2 represents a clear continuation of its sequel-driven franchise strategy at a time when original animated features continue to face challenges at the box office.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

The heavily animated, Disney-distributed VFX fest Avatar: Fire and Ash opened to approximately $345 million in ticket sales worldwide, including an estimated $88 million domestically.

The film’s U.S. debut is notably softer than its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water, though international markets are once again doing the heavy lifting. Premium formats, particularly IMAX and 3D, continue to play an outsized role in the spectacle franchise’s appeal, reinforcing Avatar’s status as a theatrical experience rather than a conventional cinema outing.

Even with a subdued domestic start by franchise standards, Fire and Ash has already secured its place among the year’s biggest global openings and looks like the easily predictable holiday window driver it was always likely to be.