“Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” was a surprise hit in 2017 and it took the movie world off guard for dozens of reasons. First, no one really knew there was that much affection for the “Jumanji” franchise—the movie based on the original 1995 film starring Robin Williams— though the truth may be, it wasn’t so much the brand itself, but an entertaining movie that really pleased family audiences looking for something to watch during the Christmas season of that year.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji’ Sequel Trailer: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart & Co. Try And Take Things To The ‘Next Level’ at The Playlist.

This time of year, we’ll make sure to take a look at as many of the Best of 2018 lists as we can. Of course, we want to cultivate the lists we feature, focusing on those opinions that we generally respect (but don’t always agree with). However, we can’t help but take a gander at the recent Best of 2018 list from Google, tracking what films and TV series were the most popular (i.e.

Continue reading Google Play’s Bestsellers Of 2018 Include Superheroes, More Superheroes & Stale TV Series at The Playlist.

You really have to wonder how many scripts are piling up in front of Dwayne Johnson‘s door. If there was any doubts about the charismatic star’s pull at the box office ,”Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” should easily put those to rest.

Sony and Columbia Pictures‘ franchise reboot has had an impressive, and truly staggering run at the box office that shows no sign of slowing down just yet.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle’ Swings Back To Top Spot [Box Office] at The Playlist.

The January blahs continued this weekend, with only one major movie headed into wide release. And it was the final chapter in a franchise that audiences seemed to have abandoned long ago.

“The Maze Runner: The Death Cure” knocked off reigning champ “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” with $23.5 million. It’s a weak showing in the last installment in the YA series. The original “The Maze Runner” opened with $32 million, the followup “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” launched with $30 million, but it’s clear that Fox could never ramp up this series to a wider audience.

Continue reading ‘The Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ Clings To Life [Box Office] at The Playlist.

While you were arguing about “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” has grown into a monster, global hit and currently stands at $769 million worldwide and there’s much more to come. The rebootquel is the first movie to open below the number one slot, and earn more than $300 million domestically — in fact, ‘Jumanji’ has spent the last three weeks at the top of the box office.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji’ Sequel Aiming To Face Off Against ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ In 2019 at The Playlist.

A quiet January for new releases means that Dwayne Johnson and co. simply can’t be stopped. For the third straight week, “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” has retained its top spot at the box office. The film has been nothing short of sensational, leaping past $300 million domestic, with its worldwide total crossing the $700 million barrier. Now in its fifth week of release, Sony continues to remain mum about any sequel possibilities — perhaps they’re still locking down deals — but you know it’s an inevitability at this point.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle’ Still Reigns [Box Office] at The Playlist.

Liam Neeson punching people on a train and a delightful bear couldn’t stop the Dwayne Johnson train this weekend at the box office.

“Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” stayed on top for the second straight week, hauling in $27 million. Again, it doesn’t need repeating how much of a success the film is. Sony‘s rebootquel survived opening in the same frame as “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and in its third and fourth weeks at the box office, held onto the top spot.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Becomes The Highest Grossing Film Of 2017 [Box Office] at The Playlist.

The reign of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” at the top of the box office wasn’t going to last forever, and this week it finally fell from the first thanks to another unstoppable blockbuster, and a horror franchise that just won’t die.

“Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” has been going very strong since it opened before Christmas, but it always remained in the shadow of ‘The Last Jedi.’ That ended this weekend with the rebootquel pulling in $36 million.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle’ Knocks ‘The Last Jedi’ From Top Spot [Box Office] at The Playlist.

This weekend, some folks are busy doing their last minute holiday shopping and others, who are far more organized, have time to squeeze in a movie. And the force was with one movie in particular this weekend….

Predictably, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” cruised into the top slot with $68.4 million, but it’s worth taking a closer look at the numbers. The somewhat controversial entry in the saga saw a sharp second week audience drop of 68.9%, the largest decline of any of the Disney era “Star Wars” films (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” only fell 39.8% in week two, while “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” dropped 58.7%).

Continue reading The Force Is With ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ This Christmas [Box Office] at The Playlist.

1995’s “Jumanji” shouldn’t be deemed a classic, but it holds a warm, schlocky sincerity. Carried brightly by the late Robin Williams and his palpable, energetic presence, Joe Johnson‘s rambunctious, schmaltzy, chaos-driven adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg‘s picture book is very much an action-adventure fantasy of its time. There’s a sense of casual anarchy packed inside the very mid-’90s family movie. When it focuses heavily on exposition or character building, it’s clunky and torpid, but when the animals are let loose and the special effects-based madness ensues, it’s exciting, engaging and even suspenseful.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’: An Underwhelming, Overly Familiar Update [Review] at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 20 films that will be officially considered for this year’s Best Visual Effects Academy Award.  Many of the expected contenders made the cut including “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Okja,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Blade Runner: 2049,” “War for the Planet of the Apes” and “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”

The only notable omissions were “It” (although horror rarely plays with this branch), “Downsizing” and “Mother!”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary shortlist.

Continue reading ‘Dunkirk,’ ‘Okja,’ ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Make First Cut In Oscar’s 2018 Visual Effects Race at The Playlist.

There’s several ways you can look at “Jumanji,” a reboot of the franchise started in 1995 with Robin Williams, but quickly abandoned. One, the modern version features Dwayne Johnson, arguably the world’s biggest and bankable star, so it has that going for it. It also looks like a cross between “Kong: Skull Island” and “Land Of The Lost.”

READ MORE: Dwayne Johnson’s 6 Best Movies, And Why He Is The Biggest Star In The World

But what’s perhaps more interesting to us is the fact the film’s being directed by Jake Kasdan, the comedy filmmaker behind films like “Bad Teacher” “Sex Tape” and Judd Apatow’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.” And like many filmmakers around him, Kasdan is making the ambitious leap into big-budget filmmaking with “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’: The Rock Goes Exploring In 2 New Trailers at The Playlist.

The wait is almost over.

For years we’ve all been anguishing over the relative lack of board game related disaster movies in our collective cultural life since the 1995 Robin Williams vehicle, “Jumanji”  — give or take a “Battleship” here and there. Anguish no longer, as Sony has at long last released the first trailer for “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” yet another sequel to a long forgotten film franchise that no one cares about anymore.

Continue reading First Trailer For ‘Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle’ Rumbles With Dwayne Johnson at The Playlist.