Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle surprised everyone when it hit theaters in December of 2017 and defied even the wildest expectations for the rebooted property by going on to gross nearly $1 billion at the box office. The sequel film, Jumanji: The Next Level, won’t achieve quite those heights, but it is still a huge success. As evidence of just that, star Dwayne Johnson took to social media to point out a big box office win for Jumanji: The Next Level, saying:
Just heard some really cool news that I had to share with you guys. As of this past weekend, Jumanji: The Next Level still going strong in theaters all around the world. Top 10 movies, still in the top 10 all around the world. That is extremely rare. But just to contextualize it for you guys, it’s not rare being in the top 10, that’s not rare. After two-and-a-half months, being in the top 10, that is extremely rare.
Sometime the box office is a race and other times it’s a marathon, but no matter how you get there, a win is a win. You often hear about a film having or needing legs at the box office. Well, like a video game character with unlimited stamina, Jumanji: The Next Level has had some serious legs. As Dwayne Johnson explains on his Instagram, Jumanji: The Next Level is still in the top 10 at the worldwide box office, two-and-a-half months after its release.
Jumanji: The Next Level opened in domestic theaters on December 13 of last year and opened in the majority of international territories -- including majors like China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia -- between December 4 and December 27. In most places, Jumanji: The Next Level has been out quite a while. So long, in fact, that Jake Kasdan’s sequel hits digital this coming week and Blu-ray in two weeks.
And yet despite being near the end of its theatrical run, Jumanji: The Next Level is still in the worldwide and domestic top 10. Domestically, Jumanji: The Next Level stayed in the top five into the second weekend in February, falling to number nine this past weekend. As Dwayne Johnson explained when taking to social media to express his gratitude to the audience, that type of longevity in the box office top 10 is no common thing.
For example, another December blockbuster, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, although it overall has grossed more than Jumanji: The Next Level, did not stay in the domestic top 10 that long. Domestically, The Next Level basically matches the top 10 longevity of its predecessor. It is a huge box office win for the Sony film that Dwayne Johnson has every reason to be proud of.
The Jumanji movies might not have the massive opening weekends of superhero films, but their legs at the box office show that audiences, whether for repeat viewings or their first time, are seeking out these movies on the big screen. In an age where people can launch Netflix and watch brand-new $100+ million blockbusters, that’s no small thing.
This longevity is also testament to the release date strategy employed by Sony. Disney was arguably the first to recognize the blockbuster box office potential of holiday release dates, but others are catching on. Rather than risk getting overlooked and chewed up in the summer bloodbath, release in December and then have a long runway through the doldrums of January where you only have to compete with comedies and bad horror flicks.
To date, Jumanji: The Next Level has made $312 million domestically and $477.1 million internationally for a worldwide total of $789.2 million, according to Box Office Mojo. That’s on a $90 million budget. Given the ending and performance of Jumanji: The Next Level, a third film (or fourth depending on whether you count the original as part of this), is all but assured.
Jumanji: The Next Level arrives on digital on March 3 and on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on March 17. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see all the movies headed to theaters this year and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest movie news.
