‘Jumanji’ tops ‘Key,’ ‘Last Jedi’ for No. 1
As the smaller films vied for recognition at Sunday Golden Globe Awards, bigbudget blockbusters dominated the weekend’s box office charts.
Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” climbed to the top of the chart for the first time since its debut, bringing in an estimated $36 million in its third week for a cumulative total of $244.4 million, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.
Universal’s “Insidious: The Last Key,” the only new wide release this past weekend, opened impressively with $29.3 million despite coming in second place on the box office charts.
January has become a strong month for debuts in the horror genre. “The Last Key” is among the biggest horror debuts ever in January behind “Split” (another Blumhouse title) and “The Devil Inside.”
The fourth installment in Blumhouse’s “Insidious” series, “The Last Key” is the second-biggest opening in the franchise after “Insidious Chapter 2” opened with $40 million. It earned a Brating on CinemaScore and a 27% “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
In third place, Disney’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” continues to hold strong despite losing its No. 1 slot, adding $24 million in its fourth week for a cumulative average of $573 million.
Coming in fourth, Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” had the smallest decline (just 11%) among the top 10 films, raking in an additional $14 million after three weeks in theaters for a cumulative $77 million.
The film, which features Zendaya, Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, has turned into a strong word-of-mouth success.
Rounding out the top five, Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 3” added $10.2 million in its third week for a cumulative $86 million in earnings.
STX Entertainment’s “Molly’s Game,” now in its second week, and Focus’ “Darkest Hour,” now in its seventh, both saw increases in earnings after adding additional theaters.
The Jessica Chastain-led “Molly’s Game” added an additional 1,337 screens and earned $7 million this past weekend, a 198% increase, for a cumulative total of $14.2 million. “Darkest Hour,” starring Gary Oldman, added 790 locations, which translated into $6.4 million in earnings this past weekend, a 16% increase, for a cumulative $28 million in earnings.
Neon Rated’s “I, Tonya,” adding 193 screens for a total of 242, brought in $2.4 million, a 297% increase. Fox’s “The Post” continues to perform well in limited release ahead of a nationwide expansion Friday.
The film added 27 theaters and earned $1.7 million in its third weekend for an impressive per-screen average of $47,222 and a cumulative gross of $3.8 million.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the drama chronicles the Washington Post’s 1971 role in publishing what came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks starare also nominated.
This week, Lionsgate opens the Liam Neeson-led action flick “The Commuter,” Warner Bros. debuts the family adventure “Paddington 2,” and Sony Screen Gems premieres the drama “Proud Mary,” starring Taraji P Henson.