Still from Disney’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

Disney

The opening weekend for Disney’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” was less of a blaze and more of a simmer.

And that’s the expectation for the full theatrical run of the third installment in James Cameron’s Avatar franchise.

During its first three days in theaters, “Fire and Ash” tallied $88 million, falling well shy of analysts’ expectations, which called for a debut haul between $110 million and $125 million. For comparison, 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” brought in $134 million during the same three-day period.

Internationally, the film collected $257 million, bringing the film’s global opening to an estimated $345 million.

“Fire and Ash” faced some theatrical headwinds, namely its over-three-hour runtime. There was also less pent-up demand compared to “The Way of Water,” which was released more than a decade after the first Avatar film. Some box office analysts and critics noted that “Fire and Ash” has less technological innovation than its predecessors, which had been a driving factor in past ticket sales.

Around 5.2 million domestic moviegoers went to see “Fire and Ash,” according to data from EntTelligence, a massive decline from the 8.7 million that ventured out in 2022 to see the opening weekend of “The Way of Water.”

Still, the Avatar franchise has never been front-loaded at the box office. The first film, 2009’s “Avatar,” generated just $77 million in its opening weekend domestically, but stayed in theaters for nearly a year. By the time it exited theaters, the film had generated $2.7 billion globally. With re-releases, the film now stands at $2.9 billion, according to data from Comscore.

“The Way of Water” ran in theaters for 23 weeks and has grossed $2.3 billion globally.

“With less than two weeks remaining in the box office year, the pressure on ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ to deliver big was intense and though the film may have come in a bit below pre-release opening weekend projections, the Avatar films have always been known for their marathon box office trajectories,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore.

Also aiding the franchise at the box office are premium large-format ticket sales. The Avatar films have over-indexed with the more expensive experiential screens like IMAX and Dolby as well as 3D showings. Disney reported that 3D and premium theaters accounted for 66% of the weekend total.

While 3D films have fallen out of favor with domestic audiences, they remain popular internationally —especially in China. Indeed, “Avatar” made the bulk of its money outside the U.S., with a whopping $2.08 billion coming from overseas.

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A Delta Airlines and American Airlines plane are seen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on July 1, 2023.

Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

Airlines are cutting their first-quarter profit and sales estimates, warning that a weaker economic backdrop is weighing on travel demand.

Ahead of a JPMorgan industry conference, American Airlines on Tuesday said it expects to lose between 60 cents a share and 80 cents a share in the first three months of the year, a wider loss than the 20 cents to 40 cents a share it previously forecast. It said revenue would likely be flat on the year compared with a January estimate of a rise of as much as 5%.

American said in a securities filing that “the revenue environment has been weaker than initially expected due to the impact of Flight 5342 and softness in the domestic leisure segment, primarily in March,” referring to the deadly collision of one of its regional jets and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., in January.

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The forecast followed Delta Air Lines slashing its first-quarter estimates after the market closed Monday. Delta said its outlook was “impacted by the recent reduction in consumer and corporate confidence caused by increased macro uncertainty, driving softness in Domestic demand.”

In addition to leisure travel, carriers have said also noted a sharp decline in government travel since the start of the latest Trump administration and its policies like tariffs, government layoffs and other cost cuts.

“I think people are cautious and they’re pulling back a little bit on travel, not in an organized manner but just kind of waiting to see what’s going to transpire, whether it’s trade and tariff challenges or macroeconomic policy changes or just a little bit of the unsettledness of the market that we all see,” CEO Ed Bastian said at the JPMorgan conference.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby echoed that sentiment at the same conference.

“We have also seen weakness in the demand market,” Kirby said. Government travel is about 2% of United’s business, but other workers’ travel is also affected, like consultants and contractors, which account for another 2% to 3%.

“We’ve seen some bleed over to that into the domestic leisure market,” Kirby said.

One cost-saving measure: Kirby said United is retiring 21 aircraft early, airplanes that it would otherwise have to spend $100 million on to overhaul engines this year.

Both executives were more upbeat on longer-term trends and bright spots like long-haul international and premium travel demand.

Delta shares ended the day more than 7% lower. United shed 2% and American shares fell more than 8%.

Southwest Airlines also cut its unit revenue guidance, to up no more than 4%, down from a forecast of as much as 7% for the first quarter over last year. The carrier also announced on Tuesday an end to its “two bags fly free” policy to charge customers for checked luggage for the first time, starting in May. Its shares rose more than 8%.

JetBlue Airways shares ended 4% higher.

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Tesla launched a revamped version of its Model Y in China.

Tesla

Tesla on Friday announced a revamped version of its popular Model Y in China, as the U.S. electric car giant looks to fend off challenges from domestic rivals.

The Model Y will start at 263,500 Chinese yuan ($35,935), with deliveries set to begin in March. That is 5.4% more expensive than the starting price of the previous Model Y.

A spokesperson for Tesla China said that the new Model Y is only open for pre-sale in the Chinese market, rather than being launched globally.

Tesla’s Model Y refresh comes after the auto giant this month reported its first ever annual decline in overall deliveries for 2024.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle firm is facing heightened competition around the world, from startups and traditional carmakers in Europe. In China, the company continues to face an onslaught of rivals from BYD to newer players like Xpeng and Nio.

Jason Low, principal analyst at Canalys, notes that the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling EV in China in 2024 and that the popularity of the car “remains high.” However, he noted that the competition in the sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment with vehicles priced between 250,000 yuan and 350,000 yuan “has been fierce.”

“Tesla must showcase compelling smart features, particularly a unique but well localized cockpit and services ecosystem,” as well as “effective” semi-autonomous driver assistance features “to ensure its competitiveness in the market,” Low added.

Tesla is offering a number of incentives for customers to buy the Model Y including a five-year 0% interest financing plan.

The new Model Y can accelerate from 0 kilometers per hour to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.3 seconds, Tesla said, exceeding the speed capabilities of the previous vehicle. The Model Y Long Range has a further driving range on a single charge versus its predecessor.

Tesla has not introduced a new model since it began delivering the Cybertruck in late 2023, which starts at nearly $80,000.

Investors have been yearning for a new mass-market model to reinvigorate sales. Tesla has previously hinted that that a new affordable model could be launched in the first half of 2025.

Despite Tesla’s headwinds, the company’s stock is up nearly 70% over the last 12 months, partly due to CEO Musk’s close relationship with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

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