The Na’vi won the battle of the box office this weekend, as “Avatar: Fire and Ash” hauled in a hefty $88 million in the U.S. and Canada during its opening weekend.
The third installment of the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios’ “Avatar” franchise brought in an estimated total of $345 million globally, with about $257 million of that coming from international audiences. The movie reportedly has a budget of at least $350 million.
Box office analysts had expected a big international response to the most recent film, particularly since its predecessor “Avatar: The Way of Water” had strong showings in markets like Germany, France and China.
In China, the film opened to an estimated $57.6 million, marking the second highest 2025 opening for a U.S. film in the country since Disney’s “Zootopia 2” a few weeks ago. (That film went on to gross more than $271.7 million in China on its way to a global box office total of $1.1 billion.)
The strong response in China is another sign that certain movies can still do well in the country, which was once seen as a key force multiplier for big blockbusters and animated family films but has in recent years cooled to American movies due to geopolitics and the rise of its domestic film industry.
Angel Studio’s animated biblical tale “David” came in second at the box office this weekend, with an estimated domestic gross of $22 million. Lionsgate thriller “The Housemaid,” Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies’ “The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants” and “Zootopia 2” rounded out the top five.
The weekend’s haul likely comes as a relief to theater owners, who have weathered a roller coaster year.
After a difficult first three months, the spring brought hits like “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners” before the summer ended mostly flat. A sleepy fall brought panic to the exhibition business until closer to the Thanksgiving holiday, when “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” drew in audiences.
Kathy Kanjo, the director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, has been named the new director of the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. The news comes a little more than two months after UC Irvine announced it had acquired Orange County Museum of Art in a merger that created the new institution.
At that time, a rep for UCI said the hope was to announce a new director in the new year, so Kanjo’s appointment comes ahead of schedule. Kanjo has been at MCASD since 2016. Prior to that, she served as director of the University Art Museum at UC Santa Barbara.
When I first wrote about the merger, UC Irvine confirmed that it was taking over OCMA’s assets, employees and debt. A rep for UC Irvine declined to comment on a number, writing in an email that the budget for the new museum will come from university operating funds.
Kanjo inherits responsibility for a substantial collection of more than 9,000 artworks, including UC Irvine’s Gerald Buck Collection of more than 3,200 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by some of the state’s most important artists, including David Hockney and Ed Ruscha.
“The newly merged collection is both anticipated and underknown,” wrote Kanjo in an email. “I am eager to unveil and contextualize the artistic legacies of the Irvine, Buck, and OCMA collections from a particularly California point of view. Collected over time and together at last, these objects are an asset to be shared generously and supported by scholarly research. The constellation that is the UC Irvine Langson Museum offers a portrait of our state’s innovative artistic impulses.”
Kanjo also said the new museum would get a significant boost from UC Irvine’s research strength and commitment to public service.
“We will create rigorous and welcoming exhibitions that resonate with our region’s diverse audiences, young and old,” she wrote.
Despite the great fanfare of its opening in 2022, OCMA — with its 53,000-square-foot, $98-million Morphosis-designed building on the eastern edge of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus — never seemed fully realized. Problems were hinted at — but never explained — in April when CEO Heidi Zuckerman announced her intention to step down.
Meanwhile UC Irvine had been planning to construct a museum for its collection for quite some time. That, too, never really got off the ground. If there were ever a time to build consensus around a new mandate for the merged organizations, that time is now. Kanjo has a vision for the future that appears to center scholarship.
“I want to clarify the core identity of the collection and find connections back to campus and into the community,” she wrote. “The post is appealing because of its connection to UC Irvine, a leading research university, and the opportunity to work with the students within the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and all of the campus resources. The potential to foster innovation by working in a cross-disciplinary/cross-campus way is strong.”
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, planning a drive to Orange County in the new year. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.
On our radar
Broadway star Ben Platt will perform 10 shows at the Ahmanson starting Friday.
(Rob Kim / Getty Images)
Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson The award-winning star of stage and screen hits town for 10 shows where he’ll sing his greatest hits and Broadway favorites. And where Platt goes, his big-time friends follow, so expect some great surprise guests each night. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Dec. 19-20; 3 and 8 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 21; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org
“Holiday Legends” is this year’s seasonal performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
(Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles)
Holiday Legends The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles’ annual celebration pays homage to the greats, including Mariah Carey, Irving Berlin and Johnny Mathis, plus traditional choral classics, pop Christmas anthems and Hanukkah favorites. 8 p.m. Saturday. 3 p.m. Sunday. Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills gmcla.org
The Huntington in San Marino.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Stories from the Library: From Brontë to Butler This series highlights the literary side of the Huntington and its world-class library. In the newest exhibition, journals, letters, photographs and personal items provide a behind-the-scenes look at two centuries of women writers bookended by Charlotte Brontë and Octavia E. Butler. Through June 15. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY Holiday Soirée & Cabaret Fountain Theatre celebrates the season with a live announcement of its 2026 season, a cabaret performance from Imani Branch & Friends, plus, a raffle and reception. There will also be two separate performances of the cabaret. Soirée and cabaret: 7 p.m. Friday. Cabaret: 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave. FountainTheatre.com
Violinist Renaud Capuçon.
(Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Mozart & Sibelius Violinist Renaud Capuçon joins conductor Gustavo Gimeno and the L.A. Phil for a program that combines “Mozartian elegance with brooding Nordic drama.” 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Santasia The long-running holiday spectacle featuring broad comedy, musical parodies and old school claymation returns to L.A. for a 26th year. Through Dec. 27. Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. santasia.com
SATURDAY
Laurel Halo performs Saturday at the Nimoy.
(Norrel Blair)
Laurel Halo Currently based in L.A., the musician combines ambient, drone, jazz and modern sensibilities in new works for piano and electronics in a preview of her forthcoming album. 8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
Sound + Source Art meets music as DJs Novena Carmel, Francesca Harding and KCRW music director Ale Cohen provide a site-specific soundtrack to the exhibition “Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images.” 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd. marcianoartfoundation.org
Pacific Jazz Orchestra The 40-piece hybrid big band and string ensemble, led by Chris Walden, presents its “Holiday Jazz Spectacular,” featuring vocalists Aloe Blacc, Sy Smith and Brenna Whitacre. 8 p.m. Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. pacificjazz.org
Holiday Family Faire Theatricum Botanicum’s annual daylong winter wonderland featuring performances, food and drink and a marketplace; followed by “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” by Joe Landry, and starring Beau Bridges, Wendie Malick, Joe Mantegna and Rory O’Malley. 11 a.m. Family Faire; 5 p.m. “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga. theatricum.com
SUNDAY
The band Emily’s Sassy Lime in Olympia, Wash., circa 1995.
(Emily’s Sassy Lime)
Artist Talk Emily Ryan, Amy Yao and Wendy Yao of the ‘90s Orange County riot grrrl band Emily’s Sassy Lime join artist-activist-musician Kathleen Hanna of the band Bikini Kill for a discussion of adolescence, creativity and community. The talk is part of the museum’s “2025 California Biennial: Desperate, Scared, But Social,” which closes Jan. 4. 2 p.m. UC Irvine Langson Museum/Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. ocma.art
English Cathedral Christmas The Los Angeles Master Chorale brings the magic of Canterbury Cathedral downtown, reveling in the grand tradition of British choral works from the 16th century to the present.. 7 p.m Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org
TUESDAY Aron Kallay In “Midcentury/Modern,” the pianist performs works from world premieres by Michael Frazier, Zanaida Stewart Robles and Brandon Rolle, along with 20th century works by Grażyna Bacewicz and Sergei Prokofiev in a program presented by Piano Spheres. 8 p.m. Thayer Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. pianospheres.org
WEDNESDAY BOTH: A Hard Day’s Silent Night Open Fist Theatre Company’s annual holiday charity concert benefiting Heart of Los Angeles, an organization that helps kids in underserved communities, infuses the music of the Beatles with Gospel flair to tell the Christmas story. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday; 3:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. openfist.org
Elaine May and Walter Matthau star in “A New Leaf,” which screens at the Academy Museum on Wednesday.
(Film Publicity Archive/United Archives via Getty Images)
A New Leaf Elaine May made Hollywood history with this 1971 screwball noir as the first woman to write, direct and star in her own feature film. Walter Matthau co-stars as a playboy who has burned through his own fortune so plans to marry and murder May’s kooky heiress to get hers. 7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Architect Frank Gehry in his Playa Vista office in 2015.
Swed also wrote a story that came out of a recent trip to Tokyo about Carl Stone, an L.A. based composer from the Japanese capital, who uses his laptop to record environmental sounds and transform them into sonic sculptures. “Stone’s iPad, with its open sonic complexity, created a sense of space, a roomy aural soundscape in which jazz and butoh became elements not egos, not larger than life, just more life, the merrier,” writes Swed.
McNulty wrote an interesting essay about characters breaking the fourth wall and how it can galvanize an audience. “Breaking the fourth wall is a tried-and-true method of calling an audience to attention. But a new breed of dramatist, writing in an age of overlapping calamities — environmental, political, economic, technological and moral — is retooling an old playwriting device to do more than inject urgency and immediacy in the theatrical experience,” McNulty writes.
I spent time in Palm Springs over the Thanksgiving break to cover the grand reopening of the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre, which recently underwent a $34-million restoration. To celebrate, it hosted an intimate show featuring actor, singer, songwriter Cynthia Erivo.
I also had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview with Broadway actor Ben Platt in advance of his 10-day residency at the Ahmanson Theatre. We bonded over being anxious people, and he shared that he keeps his anxiety in check through live performance.
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Cameron Watson is the new artistic director of Skylight Theatre Company.
(David Zaugh)
Cameron Watson has been named Skylight Theatre Company’s new artistic director, beginning Jan. 1. He will replace Gary Grossman, who is stepping down after four decades at the helm of the Los Feliz-based theater, during which time he turned the company into one of the most respected small theaters in the city. “Cameron’s passion, his theatrical vision and his ability to lead, listen, nurture and mentor make him the perfect fit for Skylight,” Grossman said in a statement.
Earlier this week, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave $20 million to the Japanese American National Museum — the largest single gift in the organization’s history. Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also gave the museum $10 million in 2021.
Hamza Walker, the Brick executive director who is behind the critically acclaimed “Monuments” exhibit at the Brick and MOCA, has been honored with the 2026 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence, given by the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies. “Hamza’s three decades of curatorial practice have brought forward voices and perspectives that challenge dominant narratives, create dialogue, and have left a lasting imprint on the field,” said Tom Eccles, executive director of the Center for Curatorial Studies, in a statement.
The Times this week released its annual list of the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles. I plan to go to every one. Well, maybe, like 20. It could get expensive.
Looking for things to do in L.A.? Ask us your questions and our expert guides will share highly specific recommendations in our new series, L.A. Times Concierge.
I want to plan a weekend “staycation” with two of my girlfriends. They have kids, I don’t. This weekend would be adults-only. We are longtime friends who thought about getting out of town, but now feel that option is too expensive. We’re not heavy drinkers, but do like cocktails and good food. One of us doesn’t eat meat. We all love the outside, but would prefer to sit in the shade (to protect our skin and to be outside longer). We love dancing and live music. One of us is an avid walker.
Looking for things to do in L.A.? Ask us your questions and our expert guides will share highly specific recommendations.
Can you suggest some things to do to have a restful, relaxing and energizing weekend that is affordable and can help make unique memories? — Stephanie Perea
Here’s what we suggest:
I love your idea of doing a staycation as opposed to going out of town. It’s definitely cheaper and easier to plan (especially for moms). Plus, it’s fun to play tourist in your own city. I’ve put together three mini itineraries in different areas to give you some options. All of the hotels mentioned have rooms with double beds at rates under $250 a night (before taxes and fees).
The first place I usually recommend to visitors is the Line in Koreatown because it’s centrally located and there are loads of things to do nearby. The aesthetically pleasing hotel has a rooftop pool, a highly Instagrammed greenhouse restaurant and the ’80s-themed speakeasy with karaoke suites. Within walking distance — because you’d easily waste an hour trying to find parking — there are also several yummy restaurants. In this guide to Koreatown, Jeong Park recommends Sun Nong Dan for a delicious Korean breakfast (“get there before 10:30 a.m.,” he notes) and Guelaguetza for Oaxacan staples. If you’re a fan of Sundubu-jjigae (spicy tofu stew), my personal favorite is BCD Tofu House, which is a short walk from the hotel and stays open until 3 a.m. on most nights. It’d be criminal to not visit a Korean spa while you’re there, so check out Olympic Spa. I recently got a massage there after a stressful week and it brought me back to life — no exaggeration. For fun activities, you can take your pick from the many karaoke bars in the area, go dancing at Apt 503, take a virtual swing at W Screen Golf or bowl a strike at Shatto 39 Lanes.
For a Westside option, my colleague Christopher Reynolds suggests the lively Hotel Erwin in Venice, which “has a rooftop bar, hip vibe and a location close to the boardwalk,” he says. Some standout restaurants in the area, according to senior food writer Danielle Dorsey, are Si! Mon, Dudley Market and Wallflower (which is vegan, vegetarian and gluten free-friendly). She also suggests taking “a stroll through the Venice Canals, which is decorated during the holidays.” Take a short drive to Santa Monica for a pastry and coffee at Bread and Butter, which you can enjoy as you walk along the beach. My colleague Hanna Sender, who lives in the area, says, “I also love taking visitors to Bergamot Station for comedy at the Crow and food at Le Great Outdoor.” To achieve the ultimate relaxation, visit Tikkun Holistic Spa, featured in our Times guide to under-the-radar spas. Writers Elisa Parhad and Danielle Roderick noted that it garnered notoriety when Goop reported on its ancient vaginal steam therapy, but that its services are beloved for having “a more holistic bent than straightforward body scrubs.”
Another neighborhood that would be fun to explore during a staycation is Culver City. The Hilton has affordable rooms, but if you don’t mind splurging a bit, the charming Culver City Hotel is a great option. It’s located downtown, which is also home to an array of restaurants and shops including the infamous Erewhon. Start your day with a short hike at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, which offers a breathtaking view of the city. (If you’re feeling extra adventurous, you can even challenge yourself to the 282-step staircase.) Dorsey also recommends Destroyer for brunch and Merka Saltao for an affordable lunch. I recently tried the Japan-born ramen shop Mensho Tokyo and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. For a relaxing activity, get a facial at Formula Fig, but when you’re ready to dance, head over to Blind Barber, a speakeasy that has live DJs throughout the week.
I hope these suggestions help you plan your relaxing staycation. If you’re anything like me, simply being with your girlfriends — no matter where you end up — is always a good time and a necessary recharge. *Cues the “Girlfriends” theme song by Angie Stone.*
There were a few contenders for game of the weekend and this one was right up there.
Pau have been enjoying a brilliant season, led by Pumas Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and former Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson.
They are currently second in the Top 14 and the atmosphere was electric at the Stade du Hameau for their first Champions Cup game in 25 years.
Both sides played some superb rugby to make for an absorbing contest which remained level until the closing stages, when George Hendy scored the winning try to give last year’s finalists a five-point victory.
But as a relative unknown to many fans watching at home, Pau certainly announced themselves on the big stage and no-one will fancy facing them at home, where they hadn’t lost this season before this weekend.
As Saints and England scrum-half Alex Mitchell said after the game: “Pau are one hell of an outfit.”
Northampton are unfancied by many but after this impressive win on the road, in which they fought back after a 20-minute card, the Saints have made a statement.
