‘Jumanji’ takes easy ride to No. 1 again

Jungle movie topped ‘The Post,’ ‘The Commuter’ and ‘Proud Mary’

NEW YORK — Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Taraji P. Henson and Paddington Bear rushed into movie theaters over the weekend, but “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” had an estimated $27 million in ticket sales, Friday to Sunday.

“Jumanji” easily remained No. 1 in North America, approaching $300 million domestically, $40 million in China for a worldwide total of $667 million.

Coming closest was Steven Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers drama “The Post,” starring Streep as Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and Tom Hanks as editor Ben Bradlee. Twentieth Century Fox is forecasting $18.6 million for the weekend and $22.2 million for the four-day holiday.

Landing in third was the Neeson thriller “The Commuter.” The modest $13.5 million opening for the film — Neeson’s fourth with director Jaume Collet-Serra (“Non-Stop,” ”Unknown, “Run All Night”) — suggested some of the thrill of Neeson’s action-movie period may be waning.

The children’s book adaptation sequel “Paddington 2” opened with $10.6 million. The film, originally to be distributed in North America over the Christmas holiday by The Weinstein Co., was sold to Warner Bros. after any association with the disgraced Weinstein Co. co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was deemed toxic for the film.

The R-rated “Proud Mary,” starring Henson as a hit woman, followed close behind with $10 million. The movie drew poor reviews and even criticism from John Fogerty, who accused the film of exploiting the title to his Creedence Clearwater Revival classic.