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 The fourth installment of the "Insidious" horror franchise
scared up a surprisingly strong $29.3 million at 3,116 sites for
Universal. Disney-Lucasfilm's "The Last Jedi" followed in third
with a 55% decline to $23.6 million at 4,232 venues for a 24-day
total of $572.5 million -- the sixth-largest of all-time.
Fox's third weekend of "The Greatest Showman" held nicely in
fourth, declining only 12% to $13.6 million at 3,342 theaters
for a 19-day total of about $77 million. It was followed in
fifth by Universal's third session of "Pitch Perfect 3" with
$10.2 million at 3,458 sites, lifting its 17-day take to a solid
$86 million.
Fox's fourth weekend of animated comedy "Ferdinand" finished
sixth with $7.7 million at 3,156 venues, followed by Jessica
Chastain's "Molly's Game" from STXfilms, which brought in $7
million after expanding to 1,608 sites from 271. Chastain
received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a drama
for her work in the film -- whether or not she wins will be
determined Sunday. The film also received a Producers Guild
Award nomination on Friday for best film, a day after Aaron
Sorkin's script received a Writers Guild nom for adapted
screenplay.
The "Jumanji" sequel has taken in $244.4 million in its first 19
days domestically. It's the first weekend box office win for "Jumanji"
-- which has gone past "Justice League" as the ninth-largest
domestic grosser among 2017 titles. "Jumanji: Welcome to the
Jungle" is also topping the $500 million mark worldwide.
Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan star in
"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," a sequel to Robin Williams'
original, which was a 1995 hit with $262 million worldwide.
"Welcome to the Jungle" follows four high schoolers in detention
who wind up as video game characters facing an array of
challenges.
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"Insidious: The Last Key" came in far above expectations, which had
been in the $16 million to $19 million range. It's the latest horror
title from Blumhouse Productions, which delivered low-cost horror
hits last year for Universal with "Split," "Get Out," and "Happy
Death Day." The franchise dates back to 2010 with "Insidious,"
followed by "Insidious: Chapter 2" in 2013 and "Insidious: Chapter
3" in 2015 -- which have grossed a collective $357 million
worldwide.
Lin Shaye, who has starred in all three films, returns in
"Insidious: The Last Key" as a parapsychologist whose haunted
childhood comes to threaten her family and home in a follow-up to
the events in "Insidious: Chapter 3." It's produced by "Insidious"
regulars Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and co-creator James Wan and by Sony
Pictures (through Stage 6 Films) with Blumhouse. Universal is the
U.S. theatrical distributor with Sony releasing in the rest of the
world.
Overall domestic business was up 18.1% to $165 million, according to
comScore -- a welcome sign after 2017 saw a 2.3% decline in total
grosses.
"2018 is off to a rollicking start with 'Jumanji's' unexpected
strength boosting the overall marketplace nearly 20% ahead of the
comparable weekend a year ago as the box office new year gives the
industry cause to celebrate with an incredibly diverse lineup of
titles driving patrons to theaters and a red hot awards season in
full swing," noted Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with
comScore. "Two years ago was not even as strong with a 'Force
Awakens' driven marketplace ringing up sales of $159.1 million for
the same weekend in 2016."
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