The third installment of James Cameron's 'Avatar' saga, 'Avatar: Fire and Ash', maintained its dominance at the North American box office during its third weekend in theaters, solidifying its position as the audience's top choice in the post-New Year's period.

The sci-fi epic earned $14 million on Friday, according to Box Mojo Office, experiencing strong audience retention with a drop of only 38% from the same day the previous week. The film is projected to reach approximately $36 million by Sunday, bringing its domestic total to around $302 million.

In a commendable second place, 'Zootopia 2' proved its enduring appeal by earning $7.1 million on Friday, even registering a 6% increase over the previous Friday. This performance is especially noteworthy considering the Disney animated film was released over a month ago. Winter school holidays have contributed to this late surge. The animated sequel is expected to earn $18 million by Sunday, bringing its domestic total to $362 million. Globally, 'Zootopia 2' has already become Walt Disney Animation's highest-grossing film of all time, with $1.46 billion, surpassing 'Frozen 2' (2019), which had earned $1.45 billion. Third place at the North American box office went to Lionsgate's thriller 'The Housemaid,' starring Sydney Sweeney, which earned $5.2 million on Friday, holding steady from the previous week. It is projected to add 13.8 million by Sunday, bringing its domestic total to 74.6 million.

Rounding out the top five, A24's sports drama 'Marty Supreme' came in fourth with $4.6 million (a 32% drop), projected to add 11 million on Sunday and bring its cumulative total to 55 million.

In fifth place,Sony's adventure comedy 'Anaconda' grossed $3.5 million (down 34%), with expectations of reaching $9.2 million by Sunday and a domestic total of $45 million.