LOS ANGELES (AP) — Move over, “Star Wars,” there are some new box office champs this weekend. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” has topped the charts after three weekends in theaters, and newcomer “Insidious: The Last Key” opened in second, pushing “The Last Jedi” into third place.
Columbia Pictures says Sunday that the Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart-led “Jumanji” is estimated to have earned an additional $36 million this weekend, bringing its total to $244.4 million.
“This is all about ‘Jumanji’s’ staying power,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore. “This is a movie that was overshadowed by all the excitement around ‘The Last Jedi,’ and yet ‘Jumanji’ just kept plugging away and drawing audiences throughout the holiday … This is kind of unheard of for a movie this size.”
In second place is the horror film “Insidious: The Last Key,” the fourth in the franchise, which earned $29.3 million. The Universal and Blumhouse Pictures film even outperformed the third chapter in the series. That film launched to $22.7 million in June of 2015.
“We could not be more thrilled with that debut. It’s a fantastic result,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. “The release date worked in our favor. There hasn’t been a similar film in a couple of months. “
Young audiences drove the “Insidious” box office with 59 percent under the age of 25. Whether or not they enjoyed the film is another question: It got a scary B- CinemaScore.
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” fell to third place with $23.6 million in its fourth weekend in theaters. The space blockbuster has grossed $572.5 million to date.
“The Greatest Showman” took fourth place with $13.8 million and “Pitch Perfect 3” rounded out the top five with $10.2 million.
Awards seasons films continue to expand throughout January, too, like Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut “Molly’s Game,” which added over 1,300 theaters this weekend and took in $7 million. The Jessica Chastain-starrer about the real life “poker princess” Molly Bloom is up for two Golden Globe awards Sunday evening — best actress and best screenplay.
The Winston Churchill film “Darkest Hour” starring Gary Oldman (who is up for a best actor Golden Globe) also added 790 theaters and took in $6.4 million.
The weekend is up around 18 percent from the same weekend last year, which Dergarabedian sees as a sign that perhaps the 2018 box office will be stronger and more steady than 2017.
“2017 was not consistent. It was volatile, it was a rollercoaster,” Dergarabedian said. “This sets the tone for what we’re hoping is a consistent and strong 2018 box office.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1.”Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” $36 million ($70 million international).
2.”Insidious: The Last Key,” $29.3 million ($20.1 million international).
3.”Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” $23.6 million ($64.7 million international).
4.”The Greatest Showman,” $13.8 million ($24 million international).
5.”Pitch Perfect 3,” $10.2 million ($18.1 million international).
6.”Ferdinand,” $7.7 million ($23.3 million international).
7.”Molly’s Game,” $7 million ($5.1 million international).
8.”Darkest Hour,” $6.4 million ($1.8 million international).
9.”Coco,” $5.5 million ($19.9 million international).
10.”All the Money in the World,” $3.6 million ($5.1 million international).
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. “Ex-File 3 (Qian Ren 3),” $78.9 million.
2. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” $70 million.
3. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” $64.7 million.
4. “The Greatest Showman,” $24 million.
5. “Ferdinand,” $23.3 million.
6. “Insidious: The Last Key,” $20.1 million.
7. “Coco,” $19.9 million.
8. “Pitch Perfect 3,” $18.1 million.
9. “Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds,” $11.8 million.
10. “Going Vertical,” $9.7 million.
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr