Ever since its December 19 box office debut, James Cameron‘s Avatar: Fire and Ash has been the regular occupier of the #1 spot on the box office charts. Over its first five weekends, including the opening three of 2026, the big-budget blockbuster threequel was the highest-grossing movie in the U.S. That all changed on January 23 when a debuting Mercy took the top spot and knocked Fire and Ash into second. However, the film fought back, finishing above Mercy on Saturday, January 31.

This past weekend, Fire and Ash took its global box office total up to $1.415 billion, finishing fifth in the domestic ranks. Topping the charts were a pair of debuting horror movies, with YouTuber Markiplier‘s Iron Lung taking a surprise second place and director Sam Raimi‘s first horror feature in 17 years, Send Help, taking the top spot. Across the whole weekend, Fire and Ash managed to outperform another new box office arrival in Jason Statham‘s new actioner, Shelter.

However, signs of the Avatar threequel’s decline appeared this past Monday, as Shelter overtook Fire and Ash in daily domestic earnings. Despite earning just a third of a previous Statham hit, The Beekeeper, Shelter‘s poor start still boasts enough of a first-Monday haul to outperform one of the highest-grossing movies of the past year. From fewer theaters, Shelter earned $39,000 more than Fire and Ash, with the Statham flick finishing in fourth place compared to Fire and Ash‘s fifth.

How Have Critics Reacted to ‘Shelter’?

Boasting an enormous audience score of 88% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Shelter might be struggling at the box office, but die-hard Statham fans are full of nothing but praise for his latest kick-ass thriller. “Classing up an overdone premise with professional execution, Shelter is highly derivative of previous Jason Statham action vehicles but lean and mean enough to forgive the recycled tropes,” reads the critics’ consensus on the site, with their 62% score higher than last year’s A Working Man.

“It is honestly surprising that Waugh and Statham had never worked together until now, as Shelter proves that they are a very good match,” wrote Collider’s Nate Richard in his review of the movie. He continued, “Shelter will give Statham devotees exactly what they’re looking for. It isn’t particularly memorable, nor will it launch a franchise, but did it ever need to? No, it didn’t. It’s another perfect excuse to shove popcorn in your face as you cheer watching Statham beat some people up. What’s wrong with that?”

Stay tuned to Collider for the latest box office updates.