Friday Estimates: Jumanji Finds Plenty of Christmas Cheer
December 14, 2019
Jumanji: The Next Level got off to a great start on Friday, earning $19.4 million. Sony is projecting just over $50 million for the weekend after this start, which is well above our $42-million prediction, and in fact on the very high end of range of everyone’s predictions. Furthermore, the film’s reviews remain solid, and, while it doesn’t have a published CinemaScore yet, its word-of-mouth does seem like an asset going forward. Granted, it does have intense competition next weekend, but I have no doubt that Sony is already working on a third installment of the Jumanji reboot.
Frozen II was in a distant second place with $4.41 million on Friday putting it on pace for close to $20 million. This is exactly what we predicted and will keep it in theaters over Christmas. A sharper decline due to more direct competition could have knocked it out of many more theaters next weekend.
Knives Out was solid in third place with $2.65 million, which will allow it to match our $9 million prediction over the full weekend. Long legs are helping the film, and it will get to $100 million shortly.
Unfortunately, that’s the last bit of good news in the top five. Black Christmas bombed with just $1.81 million on Friday putting it on pace for just over $4 million over the full weekend. The reviews are only mixed and the movie earned a D plus from CinemaScore, which is weak, even for a horror film. There is really only one bit of good news here, and that’s the lack of direct competition for a few weeks. If you are looking to see a horror movie, this is the only game in town.
Richard Jewell opened in fifth place on Friday with $1.55 million. However, due to its better reviews, its A-rating from CinemaScore, and its more mature target demographic, it will hold on better over the rest of the weekend, and earn fourth place with close to $5 million. This would mean it is on the razor’s edge of the Mendoza Line and merely avoiding that fate won’t help it earn a profit.
- Thursday Night Previews
- Weekend Predictions
- Theater Counts
- Friday Box Office Chart
- Thursday previews
Filed under: Friday Estimates, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Frozen II, Richard Jewell, Black Christmas, Jumanji: The Next Level, Knives Out, Jumanji