After three weekends on top of the charts and $555 million grossed domestically, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has ceded the top spot at this weekend’s box office to Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle.”
With kids out of school and on winter break, “Jumanji” has proven to be a magnet for family audiences, who have shown up to see the Dwayne Johnson-fronted action comedy to the tune of $208 million domestic so far and is estimated to add $34 million this weekend from 3,801 screens.
It remains to be seen if “Jumanji” can hold that total through the rest of the weekend, as movie-going might be slowed by the winter storm that has engulfed much of the East Coast. However, a $34 million weekend would come close to matching the $36 million the film made on its first weekend, when numbers were weighed down by the usual lull in traffic on Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, “The Last Jedi” may also give up the No. 2 spot to Universal/Blumhouse’s new release “Insidious: The Last Key,” which made $12 million on Friday and is currently estimated for a $25 million opening, which is above tracker expectations for a $20 million start. If the estimate holds, “The Last Key” will start slightly higher than the $22.6 million opening made by “Insidious: Chapter 3” in summer 2015, but below the $40 million opening made by the series’ second installment in September 2013. “The Last Key” earned a B- on CinemaScore and a 25 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The Last Jedi,” which added $6.5 million on its fourth Friday, is currently estimated to make $24-25 million this weekend. Worldwide, the film has made $1.12 billion, but is underperforming in China against popular local fare like “Ex-Files: Return of the Exes.” Completing the top five are Fox/Chernin’s “The Greatest Showman” and Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 3,” which are respectively estimated to make $14 million and $10 million this weekend.
While “Insidious” was the only new release this weekend, STX expanded Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game” nationwide to 1,608 screens and made $2.3 million on Friday. The film is on pace to hit tracker expectations with a $6.8 million weekend, which would put it in seventh or eighth among all films.