Weekend Box Office: Jumanji Rules, Newcomers Decent

© Sony Pictures

January’s been off to a pretty strong start with each weekend representing an increase over last year. That tapered off this weekend, wrangling $138.3 million vs. 2017’s $145.01 million (a -4.7% decline), but there’s a little solace in that neither wide release bombed.

Ruling the roost yet again, Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle grossed $20.04 million (-28.7%) in its fifth weekend, crossing the $300m milestone. The Jake Kasdan-helmed sequel has notched $316.99m thus far, becoming Sony’s highest-grossing release not starring Spider-Man. At the very least, Jumanji will eclipse 2007’s Spider-Man 3 ($336.53m) to take #3 in Sony’s all-time list.

© Sony Pictures

By the same point in release, Fox’s Night at the Museum ($250.86m) had 18.4% of its eventual gross left in the tank. That would give Welcome to the Jungle a huge $375.31m haul, with the chance to go even higher given the movie’s been continuously beating Museum’s holds. Hell, even $400m isn’t entirely out of the question.

Internationally, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle added $32.6m from 92 markets, swinging to a $450.8m cume. Global total is $767.79m. Top hubs for the $90m adventure flick are China ($65.8m), the U.K. ($43.7m), Australia ($31.9m), France ($24.3m), and Brazil ($18m).

© Warner Bros. Pictures

Debuting in second, Warner Bros.’ 12 Strong took in $16.5 million from 3,002 venues. That’s a fine opening, on par with 2016’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi ($16.19m), which had the benefit of MLK weekend. 12 Strong is pacing for around $54m should it follow 13 Hours’ pattern, a decent win for Warner Bros., who has little risk on the picture (they receive a distribution fee) which cost $30m to produce. 12 Strong earned an “A” rating from CinemaScore polls, contrasting against its 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Older demographics (79% over 25), crowds not known for catching movies right away, made up the bulk of 12 Strong’s gross, indicating decent legs in the film’s future.

Overseas, 12 Strong earned $2.5m from 24 lower-key markets for a $19m global tally.

© STX Entertainment

Taking third, STX’s Den of Thieves did surprisingly fine, smuggling $15.32 million from 2,432 hubs, flying way past tracking and my own prediction that pegged the Gerard Butler-50 Cent picture in the single digit millions. Den of Thieves received a pretty “meh” critical response, scoring a 42% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences like it a bit more, giving the film a “B+” rating from CinemaScore polls and a 7.5/10 score on IMDb (from >1,200 ratings). Should Den of Thieves run similarly to David Ayer’s End of Watch ($13.15 debut, $41m total) it’ll nab around $48m. If Thieves performs akin to, say, last year’s Sleepless ($8.34m debut, $20.78m total) it’ll get $38m. Either way, STX is in the same position as Warner Bros. with 12 Strong (service deal, little risk on their end), so this ought to make them happy.

There are no international numbers to report for Den of Thieves.

© 20th Century Fox

In fourth, Fox’s The Post printed $12.15 million (-37.2%) in its second weekend of nationwide release. Domestic cume for the Steven Spielberg-directed Pentagon Papers movie is $45.19m, with much more potentially on the way depending on this week’s Oscar nominations. The Post is pacing +27.9% ahead of 2015’s Spielberg-Tom Hanks thriller Bridge of Spies at the same point in wide release, with the caveat that The Post received three weeks of limited play.

Internationally, there aren’t detailed figures for The Post just yet, but the film has a $9.9m overseas cume for a $55.09m global total.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
© 20th Century Fox

Sticking to the top five with ease, Fox’s The Greatest Showman sang to the tune of $11 million (-11.8%) in its fifth frame for a $113.48m cume. As said a few times prior, The Greatest Showman’s performance is nothing short of remarkable. It’s the only film to debut under $10m and gross over $100m and there are no signs of slowing down. Don’t be surprised if the Hugh Jackman musical eclipses the $150m mark.

Overseas, The Greatest Showman grossed $11 million from 67 markets for a $118m haul. Global is $231.48m. Greatest Showman’s top markets are the U.K. ($22.8m), Australia ($15.6m), Mexico ($10.6m), South Korea ($9.1m, not yet updated), and Russia ($6.7m, also not updated yet).

 

HOLDOVERS

© Warner Bros. Pictures

6. Paddington 2 (Warner Bros.) – $8.24 million (-25.1%), $25.04m cume
7. The Commuter (Lionsgate) – $6.69 million (-51.2%), $25.71m cume
8. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Disney) – $6.57 million (-44.6%), $604.28m cume
9. Insidious: The Last Key (Universal) – $5.95 million (-52.1%), $58.73m cume
10. Forever My Girl (Roadside) – $4.7 million (NEW)

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