1. Jumanji: The Next Level (reviews)- $60.1M
Sony has a legit blockbuster franchise on its hands. I think there was some feeling that 2017’s Welcome to the Jungle, a reboot/sequel to the classic 1995 Jumanji, was a fluke as it legged its way to $962M (!!!). That film, which starred Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan as avatars for teens sucked into the video game, was one of the biggest hits of that year, going up against the likes of The Last Jedi and The Greatest Showman. Two years later and its sequel, The Next Level, is off to an even better start with $60.1M domestic and $112M worldwide. It remains to be seen if it can have a similarly lengthy run. The last film stayed in theaters through April and did well right up until the end. Now it’s just a question of when, not if, the next one will be greenlit.
2. Frozen 2– $19.1M/$366.5M
3. Knives Out– $9.2M/$78.9M
4. Richard Jewell (review)- $5M
Clint Eastwood’s biopic Richard Jewell opened with just $5M, the worst wide-release debut of his career. Ouch. That’s despite some pretty good reviews for the story of the security guard who went from national hero to FBI suspect after discovering a bomb at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The film has been getting grilled lately for Olivia Wilde’s portrayal of late journalist Kathy Scruggs as using sex to secure headline stories, but it’s unclear if that had any impact on the poor box office. More likely, it’s just another case of audiences not paying for conventional dramas like this anymore. Warner Bros.’ 2019 filmography is littered with them. If they don’t involve superheroes, supervillains or killer clowns nobody wants anything to do with them.
5. Black Christmas (review)- $4.4M
Blumhouse’s disappointing (at least to me) remake of 1974 holiday slasher Black Christmas got a lump of coal in its stocking. The $4.4M debut is pretty weak, even for a movie that only cost $5M to produce. Of course, it’ll turn a profit and maybe become a Christmas staple in the long run, but I think there were greater expectations from director Sophia Takal’s timely thriller about a sorority stalked by a hooded figure on Christmas Eve. The PG-13 rating may have turned off genre fans, as well.
6. Ford v Ferrari– $4.1M/$98.2M
7. Queen & Slim– $3.6M/$33.1M
8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood– $3.3M/$49.3M
9. Dark Waters– $2M/$8.8M
10. 21 Bridges– $1.1M/$26.3M
