Move over “Spider-Man,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” just became Sony Pictures’ high-grossing film of all time.
The hit, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan, reached $403.714 million at the domestic box office on Tuesday, breaking the record at Sony, which has been held by “Spider-Man,” with Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, since 2002.
Directed by Jake Kasdan, and produced by Matt Tolmach and William Teitler, “Jumanji” is also the top-earning Sony-owned film at the global box office, having reeled in $950 million worldwide, and the second-highest-grossing film ever released by the studio, behind “Skyfall.” The movie is the highest-earning one on Johnson, Black, and Hart’s resumes as well.
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which was not expected to be the blockbuster it has become, was No. 1 at the box office for four consecutive weeks following its Dec. 20 release. A continuation of 1995’s “Jumanji,” the movie follows four teenagers who are sucked into an old video game console, dropped into the jungle, and transformed into the game’s avatars.
A sequel has since been announced by Sony, with writers Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner in negotiations to pen the script, and the original stars in talks to reprise their roles. Kasdan is expected to return to the director’s chair, and Tolmach will be back to produce along with the Seven Bucks Production team of Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia.
