'Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle' Tops Weekend Box Office For The Third Week
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle continued to roar at the weekend box office. The action-packed film brought more adventure seekers to movie theatres.
King Of The Box Office Jungle
For the third week in a row, moviegoers wanted to the see the latest chapter in the Jumanji franchise. This week, the film topped the weekend box office with over $20 million in ticket sales.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle focused on four high school students who transformed into their avatars in the game. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillian portrayed the game characters, and they had to play the legendary game. While on the quest, Jefferson 'Seaplane' McDonough (Nick Jonas) made an appearance to give them a hand. The film also paid homage to the late Robin Williams who starred in the original Jumanji film.
Since its release on Dec. 20, Jumanji's total ticket sales already exceeded $450.8 million.
The Box Office Debut Club
Three films made their box office debuts last weekend. Chris Hemsworth's 12 Strong came in second place as the movie took home $16.5 million in box office sales. 12 Strong's plot involved a small Green Beret battalion invading Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and making their way to a potential ally on horseback.
Den of Thieves took home third place with more than $15.3 million in ticket sales. The action thriller starring Gerald Butler, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and O'Shea Jackson, Jr. focused on the Regulators, an elite unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The plot revolved around the face-off between the Regulators and an aggressive group of bank robbers.
The romance comedy, Forever My Girl, capped off the Top 10 weekend box office list with $4.7 million. The film starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe focused on the story of a country star who received a second chance to pursue a woman he left at the altar.
A Franchise Fever
In addition to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, moviegoers continued to flock to sequels of popular film franchises.
Paddington 2 continued to attract families to the theatres. The sequel picked up $8.2 million in ticket sales and came in sixth place. Star Wars: The Last Jedi earned $6.6 million. The film, which marked the final appearance of Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa, amassed more than $604.3 million in gross sales since its debut on Dec. 15. The horror film Insidious: The Last Key made $5.9 million in ticket sales. Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Last Key made it to the eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Award Show Update
Two films that might receive several Oscar nominations made it to the box office list. Steven Spielberg's The Post featuring the impeccable performances of Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep earned over $12.2 million. Meanwhile, Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya's movie, The Greatest Showman, netted $11 million in ticket sales.
Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23, and nominees might include Jackman and the songwriting team composed of Benk Pasek and Justin Paul.
