The January 5-7 weekend saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi officially dethroned in the U.S. box office after three weeks at the top. The reimagined Jumanji, Welcome to the Jungle, claimed the head spot with a cool $36 million over the weekend. Star Wars fell to No. 3 behind horror film Insidious: The Last Key.
The new Jumanji had reeled in an impressive $244.4 million domestically by the end of the January 5-7 weekend in just 19 days on the big screen. Another $275 million came in internationally. With a $90 million budget, this different take on a beloved classic can already claim success.
Rian Johnson’s Star Wars entry was in the lead for one week fewer than JJ Abrams’s The Force Awakens two years ago, which topped the charts for four consecutive weekends, according to boxofficemojo.com. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story also led the way at the box office for three weekends in a row in December 2016, though it only fell to No. 2 in its fourth week.
Rounding out the top 5 films for the weekend were The Greatest Showman, coming in at $13.8 million, and Pitch Perfect 3 with $10.2 million.
Over the first four weekends alone, not counting weekday figures, The Last Jedi has made over $367 million in the U.S. This compares favorably to Rogue One, which made over $290 million in the same stretch. However, The Force Awakens holds dominion over the new wave with over $529 million made in its four-weekend period.
The gap in monetary success between Episodes VII and VIII could be explained away as inevitable. The hype around a brand new Star Wars saga was certainly part of the staying power carrying The Force Awakens. Still, fans are divided on Rian Johnson’s direction for the series, with some even going so far as to demand it be expunged from the canon.
In the end, The Last Jedi will still finish its run as one of the highest-grossing films of all time, while the new Jumanji is performing above expectations in its own right. Time will tell where these two dominating films will rest as they exit theaters.