Box Office: ‘Jumanji’ Closes in on ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’

Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is catching up with Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” as both struggle to dominate the domestic box office of the last weekend of the year.

“The Last Jedi” pulled in about $19 million from 4,232 domestic sites on Friday, with “Jumanji” staking its claim with around $17.8 million from 3,765 locations. “Star Wars'” number marks a 23% drop in revenue from the previous weekend, a relatively small downtick, with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” having exhibited a 30% third weekend drop and 2016’s “Rogue One” coming in with a 20% decline.

“The Last Jedi” should pass $535 million domestically by the end of the four-day weekend, which will rocket it to just ahead of 2008’s “The Dark Knight” to become the sixth highest grossing film of all time, behind Marvel’s “The Avengers” with $623 million. The new number will also beat out “Beauty and the Beast” as the highest grossing film of 2017.

“Jumanji” has become by far the strongest threat to the “The Last Jedi” since it opened Dec. 20, during the “Star Wars'” second weekend. By the end of 2017, “Jumanji” should bring in around $187 million. The film, a sequel to the 1995 hit, launched amid solid reviews, with an 77% “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes, though Variety‘s critic was not so favorable. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black.

Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 3” is set to come in third place this weekend, closing the year with around $70 million from 3,468 sites. The threequel stars Anna Kendrick, Britney Snow, Rebel Wilson, and Anna Camp in their original roles as the a capella singers face one final competition.

Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” should beat out “Ferdinand” for the weekend, but end up just behind Fox’s animated film cumulatively, with a roughly $53 million year-end total after its second weekend. The Hugh Jackman musical also features Zendaya and Zac Efron and tells the story of the Barnum & Bailey circus. “Ferdinand” is set to round out 2017 in fifth place with nearly $60 million after its third weekend.

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