How Avatar Fire And Ash Earned Global Globe Nomination For Box Office Achievement Even Before Release

James Cameron's much-awaited Avatar: Fire and Ash has landed a Golden Globes 2026 nomination in the Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category, even before millions of fans globally even had the chance to buy a ticket for its December 19 release and onwards. This has sparked plenty of confusion online about the nomination rules.

Introduced in 2023, the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Golden Globe award was created to recognise the year’s most viewed, highest-earning and most talked-about films. Barbie claimed the first award in 2024 after grossing $1.4 billion, followed by Wicked in 2025. The Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo starrer musical earned more than $758 million worldwide. Even Wicked: For Good earned a nomination based on its early $440 million haul.

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While the two already released Avatar movies have grossed over $5 billion worldwide collectively, how did the forthcoming Avatar: Fire And Ash won a box office achievement nod even before hitting the theatres? 

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The Golden Globes nominations rules state, "Motion pictures are eligible for the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award if they achieve a box office receipt total/gross of $150 million, of which $100 million must come from the U.S. domestic box office, and/or obtain commensurate digital streaming viewership recognized by trusted industry sources. Films released after November 22 can also qualify based on projected box office performance and/or streaming views.”

Avatar: Fire And Ash is projected to open at $100 million in US alone, thus making it eligible for nomination for a Golden Globe in the box office achievement category. The upcoming sci-fi epic is expected to become another multi-billion grosser in the franchise.