As expected, Disney and LucasFilm’sThe Last Jedigave a shot in the arm to the sagging box office, with a massive$220 million opening weekendthat was good enough for the second highest debut ever, just behind 2015’sStar Wars: The Force Awakens($247.9 million). The movie only had one direct competitor in wide release, 20th Century Fox’s animated comedyFerdinand, but this weekend it will be facing five newcomers, two of which (Jumanji: Welcome to the JungleandThe Greatest Showman) open tomorrow, with three more (Pitch Perfect 3,Downsizing,Father Figures) win Friday, whileAll the Money in the Worldopens wide on Monday, Christmas Day. Despite this influx of new competition,Star Wars: The Last Jedishould have no trouble repeating atop the box office this weekend, with a projected $135.6 million.
Among the many box office records still held byStar Wars: The Force Awakensis the second weekend tally of $149.2 million, which marked just a 39.8% drop from its massive debut. IfStar Wars: The Last Jedimatches this projection of $135.6 million, it will also mark a 39.8% drop, and it’s possible that its second weekend decrease is even lower, given how some of the biggest secrets unveiled inThe Last Jediwere massive and change the face of the whole franchise. It’s certainly possible that this could lead to more repeat viewings over the weekend, but then again, this projection could be completely off going the other way, giving how divisive the movie has been, with some even forming a petition toremove The Last Jedifrom the officialStar Warscanon.
Among the newcomersThe Last Jediwill face this weekend, Sony’s action-packedJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan, will get the biggest rollout with roughly 3,700 theaters, and it is currently the only newcomer in wide release to havepositive reviewsthus far, with an impressive 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Pitch Perfect 3opens in roughly 3,400 theaters but currently has just a 41% rating on RT, a sharp decline from 2012’sPitch Perfect(80% on RT) and 2015’sPitch Perfect 2(67% on RT).The Greatest Showman(3,100 theaters) andFather Figures(2,800 theaters) both don’t have enough reviews to warrant a Rotten Tomatoes score, yet, withDownsizingslated to open in roughly 2,400 theaters, currently straddling the line between “Fresh” and “Rotten” with a 59% score on RT.
We’re predicting thatThe Rock’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Junglewill take second place with an opening weekend debut of $40.7 million, followed byPitch Perfect 3in third place with $32.6 million, a big drop from the $69.2 million opening weekend ofPitch Perfect 2in 2015. Rounding out the top 5 will likely beThe Greatest Showmanin fourth place with $21.6 million andDownsizingin fifth with $14.2 million, with the top 10 rounded out by Father Figures} ($7.5 million),Ferdinand($6.1 million),Coco($5.4 million),Wonder($3.1 million) andJustice League($2.8 million). Fox Searchlight will be expandingThe Shape of Waterto more theaters as well this weekend, so it’s possible that could sneak into the top 10 as well. Also debuting in limited release is Fox Searchlight’sThe Post, Entertainment Studios’Hostiles, Vertical Entertainment’sCrooked Houseand Yash Raj’sTiger Zinda Hai.
The final wide release of the year will be Sony’sAll the Money in the World, which has been making headlines afterreplacing Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer, following Kevin Spacey’s sexual misconduct scandal. The movie will open in roughly 2,000 theaters on Christmas Day, with STX Entertainment’sMolly’s Gamedebuting in roughly 200 theaters and Focus Features’Phantom Threadalso arriving in four theaters. Magnolia will also releaseInto the Fadein limited release on Wednesday, December 27 with Sony Pictures Classics releasingFilm Stars Don’t Die in Liverpoolin limited release on Friday, December 29, to close out the year that was 2017. Take a look at our projections for the weekend of December 22, and check back this weekend for the top 10 estimates, courtesy ofBox Office Mojo.
