Weekend Wrap-Up: Jumanji Nears $300 million after $35.18 million MLK Long Weekend

January 16, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle continues to surprise analysts earning $35.18 million over the MLK long weekend. At this point, I would be shocked if it didn’t finish with $350 million domestically, while I assume Sony has a planned trilogy in the works. The best “new” release of the week was The Post, which expanded into second place with $23.06 million, while the best truly new release of the week was The Commuter at $15.80 million. Overall, the box office fell 4.7% from last weekend, earning $165 million over the the three-day weekend. This was still 5.9% higher than the same weekend last year, and that’s the more important number. It is still very early in the year, extremely early, but 2018 does have a $27 million / 5.1% lead over 2017 at $553 million to $526 million. 2018 could lose that entire lead next weekend, but I chose to focus on the positive for now.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle dominated the box office earning $28.10 million / $35.18 million over the weekend. After four weeks of release, it already has $291.31 million domestically, which could be enough to pay for its production budget and complete advertising budget. Or to be more accurate, it’s initial advertising budget. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony spent another $20 million or $30 million on advertising to take advantage of the film’s phenomenal box office success. The film is currently in eighth place on the domestic chart for 2017 and should have no trouble finishing in the top five.

The Post was next with $19.36 million / $23.06 million for a total of $27.54 million, including its limited release. This is a little bit better than our prediction, but not by enough to really change my view on its long-term prospects. It should have no trouble becoming a midlevel hit, but unless it turns its reviews into Awards Season glory, it won’t go further than that.

The Commuter opened in third place over the three-day weekend with $13.70 million, but had to settle for fourth place during its four-day opening of $15.80 million. Its reviews won’t really help its legs, while its CinemaScore was just a B, so that suggests short legs. It likely didn’t cost a lot to make, so perhaps it will still break even, if it finds an audience internationally and / or on the home market.

The Greatest Showman was a surprise hit earning fourth place over three days with $12.47 million and third place over four days with $16.18 million for a total of $98.93 million after four weeks of release. It will hit $100 million very shortly, and it won’t be the last film from 2017 to get to that milestone.

Fifth place was also a confusing mess, as Insidious: The Last Key earned fifth place over the three-day weekend with $12.42 million, but fell to seventh place if you include Monday with $14.35 million. The film’s running tally rose to $50.59 million after just two weeks of release.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi earned sixth place both during the three-day weekend, $11.85 million, and over the four-day weekend, $14.63 million. It now has $594.90 million after a month of release and will hit $600 million shortly. However, its daily numbers have really dropped and getting to $650 million domestically is out of the question. It is still a monster hit and will earn Disney hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, so they should be very happy.

Paddington 2 struggled earning seventh place over the three-day weekend with $11.00, but it climbed into fifth place if you include Monday with $15.00 million. In fact, it earned second place on Monday alone. This could be a good sign for its legs, but I fear its theater average is so low that theater owners will be looking to drop it ASAP. This is a real shame, as the film earned a near perfect Tomatometer score and an A from CinemaScore and really deserved to be a much bigger hit.

Proud Mary opened in eighth place with $9.96 million / $11.70 million during its opening weekend. This is slightly better than anticipated, but its reviews and the B plus it earned from CinemaScore will likely result in it failing to last long in theaters.

- Weekend Box Office Chart

- Paddington 2 Comparisons
- The Post Comparisons
- The Commuter Comparisons
- Free Fire Comparisons

Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, The Greatest Showman, Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, The Commuter, Insidious: The Last Key, Proud Mary, The Post, Paddington 2