‘Jumanji’ Reboot Shows Surprising Strength Against ‘Last Jedi’

Mix one of the world’s most popular actors, some family-friendly humor and a time-tested storyline together, and you can give yourself a chance at the box office, even against an army of stormtroopers.

“Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle,” the Dwayne Johnson reboot of a mid-1990s adventure film, has been nipping at the heels of Walt Disney Co.’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” at the U.S. box office since both debuted last month. It is expected to topple the space saga from the top position this weekend. Box Office Pro estimates “Jumanji” will bring in $32 million, about $7 million more than “The Last Jedi.”

Sony Pictures scored a definitive win with its re-imagining of “Jumanji,” a Robin Williams-led feature from 1995. The new version outperformed expectations and marks an upswing for the Japanese-owned movie-maker after disappointments including 2017’s “Flatliners” bomb and the much-reviled 2016 remake of “Ghostbusters.” The studio’s performance this year will be closely watched amid consolidation fever that has already picked off 21st Century Fox.

The secret to the success of “Jumanji” is that it  “is both familiar and fresh at the same time,” said Sanford Panitch, president of Sony’s Columbia Pictures, in a telephone interview.

Updated Game

In the original “Jumanji,” Williams led a tale of two children who stumble across a mysterious board game, unleashing a jungle adventure that takes over their New England home and neighborhood. This time, two of Hollywood’s most-popular actors, Johnson and Kevin Hart, lead a cast that includes pop crooner Nick Jonas. In the movie, a group of high school kids get sucked into an old video game and become avatars.

While the new “Jumanji” may have benefited from nostalgia among U.S. moviegoers, the 1995 film was much less familiar to audiences overseas, Panitch said. That enabled the Culver City, California-based studio to make the movie without the weight of meeting a lot of preconceptions.

“Jumanji” is “not the obligatory sequel,” Panitch said.

The film likely will be profitable given it already has taken in $352.9 million worldwide on a $90 million production budget before advertising costs, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. In the two weekends since its debut, “Jumanji” has held second place at the box office behind “The Last Jedi," which premiered a week earlier. Sony is already considering a sequel.

“‘Jumanji’ was greatly underestimated as a box office contender because it was naturally overshadowed by ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ but now has proven to be a major holiday season draw,” said Paul Dergarabedian of researcher Comscore Inc. “Jumanji” opens in China, the world’s second-biggest movie market, on Jan. 12, a week after “The Last Jedi."

Funny Men

Competing against the juggernaut that is Disney’s Star Wars series would be a tough task for any movie, but “Jumanji” was able to draw moviegoers in part by reuniting Johnson, known as “The Rock,” and Hart. The two starred in the comedy “Central Intelligence” in 2016.

“It was a great combination of actors,” said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. Timing also helps, he said. Other than “The Last Jedi,” he said, “there is nothing for the family to see” in theaters.

It also helps that the Johnson version was better received than the Williams original. About three of every four critics gave the new one positive reviews, according to aggregator Rottentomatoes.com. The original was liked by only one of every two reviewers in 1995.

Of course, the current success needs to be kept in context. “The Last Jedi” has been in the theaters longer, giving fans more time to have seen it. The movie also earned well over $1 billion worldwide, far more than “Jumanji,” and is one of only four movies ever to open with domestic weekend sales north of $200 million.

Even so, the weekend victory will be sweet for Sony film executives who have had some recent box office success with offerings such as the co-production revival of “Spider-Man,” which excited fans and set the franchise up to continue. Sony’s “Call Me by Your Name” is expected to be among Oscar voter favorites, while “Baby Driver,” break-out horror hit “Don’t Breathe” and the critical flop “The Emoji Movie” have made money.

Studio chief Tony Vinciquerra, appointed in May, told employees in September he was optimistic the year would be one of its most profitable in recent history.