WhileJumanji: Welcome to the Jungleis winding down its epicbox officerun, the global blockbuster just beat a 16-year-old record. The sequel just passed the $403.7 million tally of 2002’sSpider-Man, to become Sony’s highest-grossing movie ever. Worldwide,Jumanji: Welcome to the Junglehas taken in $950.7 million worldwide, and while it won’t cross the $1 billion plateau, or bestSkyfall($1.1 billion) as Sony’s highest grossing worldwide film, it did earn over 10 times its $90 million budget. Here’s what Sony Pictures Entertainment Group chairman Tom Rothman had to say about howJumanjimanaged to pull off this impressive feat.
““It’s not the IP, it’s the ‘I,’ the idea. Before the obsession grew with known properties only,big ideas are what powered big movies.”
Rothman added that the core story, where four teenagers are turned into video game avatars that represent their polar opposites in the real world, is a, “big, highly relatable idea across all demographics.” While the movie did pay homage to the original 1995Jumanjimovie starring Robin Williams, it was most certainly not a remake or a reboot of the original, taking the seeds of the original premise and taking it in a new direction. Sony had been considering making aJumanjisequel for years, but it was the pitch by Chris McKenna (Community,Spider-Man: Homecoming) that helped putJumanji: Welcome to the Junglein motion.
McKenna was one of four credited writers onJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, getting both a screen story and screenplay credit, while Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner and Erik Sommers were also brought in to work on the script. The movie was also initially slated for a June 02, 2025 debut, but while watching the dailies during principal photography, Rothman was reminded of the family adventure movie series he worked on at 20th Century Fox,Night at the Museum, which resulted in the release date being shifted to December 20, arriving just five days after the highly-anticipatedStar Wars: The Last Jedi.
Rothman revealed that the studio, “felt early on from the dailies that the movie would be anall-audience eventand at the end of the day that conviction really paid off.” WhileJumanji: Welcome to the Jungleultimately didn’t out-grossThe Last Jedi, in some ways, it out-lasted theStar Warsmovie, remaining in “wide release” of over 1,000 theaters for 14 weeks, compared to just eight weeks forThe Last Jedi. The studio also used the whopping social media presence of its stars to help get the word out, including the combined 300 million followers for Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart combined.
Nick Jonas also debuted the “Jumanji, Jumanji” music video on his social media pages, while also promoting the movie during his iHeart Radio Jingle Ball concert appearances. Overall,Jumanji: Welcome to the Junglehelped Sony to its most profitable slate in decades, withDeadlinereporting that Sony earned $305.7 million in profit fromJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, whileSpider-Man: Homecomingearned $200.1 million in profit andBaby Driverearning an additional $50 million in profit for the studio.Jumanji: Welcome to the Junglebecoming Sony’s most successful movie at the domestic box office finally lead to anofficial announcement that the third movieis happening, which was delivered by The Rock on social media.
