Can The Rock Beat 'The Last Jedi'?
by EG
Dwayne Johnson's Jumanji charged into the holiday on Wednesday, taking in $7.2 million in its first night. That wasn't even close to the biggest movie of the night, though, since Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi raked in $16.9 million. It's the beginning of a long, crowded holiday weekend in theaters, where nothing short of six new movies will be opening nationwide and a few more in selected cities.
Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle jumped ahead of P.T. Barnum biopic The Greatest Showman at the Wednesday box office, posting an estimated opening-day gross of $7.2 million from 3,765 theaters as the Christmas onslaught commenced.
The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman, took in $2.5 million from 3,005 locations on its first day for 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment.
So far, both event films are performing in line with prerelease tracking.
And, as expected, beating both on Wednesday was Disney and Lucasfilms' Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which earned about $16.9 million for a six-day domestic total of roughly $278.8 million. Internationally, the film took in another $20.3 million, bringing its international total to $295 million and its worldwide haul to $573.8 million.
The Last Jedi will no doubt stay atop the chart throughout the year-end holidays, raking in as much as $120 million between Wednesday and Monday alone, compared to a projected six-day debut of $48 million-$52 million for Jumanji and $20 million-$25 million for Greatest Showman.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, directed by Jake Kasdan, stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas and Bobby Cannavale. The story follows a group of teens who are transported into the video game world of Jumanji, becoming characters of the game. Welcome to the Jungle launches more than 20 years after the original Jumanji (1995), starring Robin Williams, played in theaters.
The Greatest Showman co-stars Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya and is directed by Michael Gracey.
The holiday marquee grows even more crowded on Friday with the addition of Universal's femme-skewing offering Pitch Perfect 3, Paramount's Downsizing, directed by Alexander Payne, and Alcon Entertainment's R-rated comedy Father Figures, all of which open nationwide, followed by Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World on Christmas Day. There's also a flurry of titles opening in select theaters, including Steven Spielberg's The Post, Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game and Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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