Weekend box office: Jumanji opens strong but can’t beat Star Wars: The Last Jedi
I wasn’t able to see STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI until this past Monday, so I avoid spoilers or reading anything about it until Monday evening. I walked out of the theater thinking that people would love it because it was new, different and launched the franchise in a completely new direction; things that STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS failed to do and got criticized for. But nope, it turns out there’s a portion of the internet that hate it and have spent the past week complaining and whining that Rian Johnson killed their childhood. But it seems those people are in the minority because The Last Jedi is on pace to make another $100 million over the Christmas holiday weekend box office, which is more than double the next challenger.
Speaking of challengers, there were several this weekend, starting with Dwayne Johnson’s JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. The film opened strong and proved once again that people love The Rock and Kevin Hart. PITCH PERFECT 3 “probably” closed out the franchise, opening with about $25 million. That’s not bad, but it’s a far cry from the $69 million the second film opened with. Then there’s Hugh Jackman’s THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, opening in a distant fourth place. I think Jackman should double think his hanging up the claws since he still struggles to open his own movies. Matt Damon’s DOWNSIZING also struggled, maybe because the film was nothing like the trailers made it out to be. Finally, there’s the comedy FATHER FIGURES, which, if we’re honest, was never going to do well.
Next week sees a trio of Oscar hopefuls, starting with the troubled ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD. Then we have Aaron Sorkin’s MOLLY’S GAME, which features a great performance from Jessica Chastain. And finally, there’s Paul Thomas Anderson’s THE PHANTOM THREAD. So in other words, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI should easily make it three in a row. Note: the numbers below are for the four day Christmas weekend and will be updated as they become final.
1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi $102.5m
2. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle $44.3m
3. Pitch Perfect 3 $35.6m
4. The Greatest Showman $12.1m
5. Coco $9.8m
6. Ferdinand $9m
7. Downsizing $7.1m
8. Darkest Hour $6.1m
9. The Shape of Water $5m
10. Father Figures $4.8m
(Deadline)
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