‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ Leads U.K., Ireland Holiday Box Office as New Releases Crowd Top 10

Disney’s “Avatar: Fire And Ash” held the No. 1 position at the U.K. and Ireland box office for a second weekend, adding £6.1 million ($8.2 million) and lifting its total to £20.8 million ($28 million), according to Comscore. The threequel comfortably dominated the Christmas corridor, outperforming a packed slate of holiday newcomers.

Lionsgate U.K.’s erotic thriller “The Housemaid,” starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, debuted in second place with $6 million, marking one of the strongest adult-skewing openings of the Christmas corridor. Paramount’s “The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants” followed in third, launching with $4.1 million.

Disney’s “Zootopia 2” moved to No. 4 in its fifth weekend, earning $2.1 million for a cumulative $30.4 million, while Entertainment Film Distributors’ newcomer “Marty Supreme” opened at No. 5 on $1.9 million.

Sony’s “Anaconda” arrived in sixth place with $1.7 million, edging ahead of Universal’s “Wicked: For Good,” which placed seventh. The musical added $1.1 million to bring its total to $60.3 million,…