BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- While "Zootopia 2" continues to shatter box-office records across China, James Cameron's epic sci-fi film "Avatar: Fire and Ash" opened Friday in the Chinese mainland alongside its North American release.

Following "Avatar" (2009) and "Avatar: The Way of Water" (2022), the third installment in one of the most lucrative film franchises globally now joins a year-end release slate largely led by domestic titles in the world's second-largest film market.

Despite strong anticipation, few would expect the new Avatar film to match the record-setting performance of "Avatar" in China. Released in 2010 in the mainland, it became China's top-grossing title with 1.34 billion yuan (about 189.94 million U.S. dollars) in ticket sales.

The 2022 sequel earned 1.7 billion yuan in China but fell short of replicating that earlier success. By then, China's top box-office benchmark had been raised to 5.77 billion yuan by the 2021 domestic blockbuster "The Battle at Lake Changjin."

As of noon on its first screening day, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" garnered 69.65 million yuan in ticket sales, including preview screenings.

By late Thursday, China's year-end box office revenue had already topped 4 billion yuan. This year's year-end movie season runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31. ■