Surprise hit
‘Jumanji’ tops box office for third straight weekend
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” outdid another weekend’s worth of newcomers to top the North American box office for the third straight weekend, making the surprise hit the fifth-highest grossing film of all time for Sony Pictures.
“Jumanji,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, sold $20 million in tickets, according to studio estimates Sunday, bringing its five-week domestic total to $317 million. That makes Sony’s reboot the studio’s best non-Spider-Man movie domestically, not adjusting for inflation.
The film’s unexpectedly strong staying power has lent a boost to the January box office but kept new releases from reaching the top of the box-office chart. “Jumanji” has also reigned overseas, where it has grossed $450.8 million and topped all films internationally for three straight weeks.
The war drama “12 Strong,” starring Chris Hemsworth, debuted in second with $16.5 million in ticket sales.
The Warner Bros. release, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, is a fact-based tale, adapted from Doug Stanton’s bestseller “Horse Soldiers,” about a group of Special Forces soldiers sent into northern Afghanistan just weeks after Sept. 11.
“12 Strong” appealed largely to an older crowd. Seventynine per cent of its audience was over the age of 25, said Warner Bros.
The heist thriller “Den of Thieves” slotted in at third place with an opening weekend of $15.3 million. The STX films release stars Gerard Butler and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Though “Paddington 2” disappointed last weekend in its debut, the acclaimed sequel slid just 25 per cent in its second week. “Paddington 2,” which has set a new record for the most widely reviewed 100per cent fresh movie on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed $8.2 million in its second week of domestic release.
Warner Bros. acquired the film’s North American distribution from The Weinstein Co. in November.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread” expanded nationwide, taking in $3.4 million from 896 theatres. The Focus Features release, starring Daniel Day-Lewis in what the actor has said will be his final performance, has grossed $6.2 million.
Also notable: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” crossed the $600 million mark domestically with $6.6 million in its sixth week of release.
The Disney release stands at $604.3 million domestically — or no. 9 all-time, not accounting for inflation — and $1.296 billion worldwide.