Jumanji: The Next Level’s current box offie projections have it opening bigger than Welcome to the Jungle did. Few (if anyone) expected a Jumanji sequel-reboot to go toe to toe with a Star Wars film at the box office two years ago, but that’s exactly what happened when Welcome to the Jungle faced off with The Last Jedi in late 2017. The movie ultimately made over $960 million at the global box office, making it a highly profitable venture for Sony. So, naturally, the studio green-lit a third Jumanji movie shortly thereafter.
Titled The Next Level, the new film opens tonight and brings back Welcome to the Jungle stars like Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black, while also adding Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, and Awkwafina to its cast in key roles. And with competition being light ahead of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s arrival next week, it stands to reason The Next Level will start its run at the domestic box office on a strong note this weekend. According to the latest estimates, that’s exactly what will happen.
Box Office Pro is now projecting The Next Level will open with $35-50 million at the U.S. box office during its first weekend of release. Welcome to the Jungle debuted with $36.2 million this same month two years ago, so the odds are good its sequel will either gross somewhere in the same vicinity or more.
Reviews for The Next Level has been generally positive so far, with many critics praising it for its body-swapping comedy (this time around, Johnson and Hart’s Jumanji in-game avatars are “controlled” by DeVito and Glover’s characters) and entertaining set pieces. At the same time, even the more supportive reviews admit The Next Level is largely a retread of Welcome to the Jungle - something that could affect interest among general audiences, as Box Office Pro notes in their report. Keeping that in mind, the latest Jumanji movie is much more light-hearted and family-friendly than the other releases going wide this weekend (namely, Clint Eastwood’s true story drama Richard Jewell and the slasher remake Black Christmas). That will no doubt serve the sequel well, and should help to push it past Welcome to the Jungle’s opening numbers.
In the long run, however, The Next Level is unlikely to match Welcome to the Jungle’s performance. The latter had incredible legs at the U.S. box office two years ago and managed to remain in the top ten for essentially three straight months, leading it to become Sony’s highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Odds are, The Next Level won’t be able to sustain a similar pace, especially since its critical reception has been weaker than Welcome to the Jungle’s, and it will have lots of direct competition for families over the winter holidays from not only The Rise of Skywalker, but also films like Cats and Spies in Disguise. As such, it will be interesting to see how things actually play out for The Next Level in the weeks ahead.
Source: Box Office Pro
- Jumanji 3 Release Date: 2019-12-13
