“Jumanji 2” set for strong Christmas debut

Christmas looks to be very merry for Sony's “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, which is tracking for a six-day debut of $60 million, according to early prerelease surveys.

That's an especially strong number, considering the broad all-audience tentpole — starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan — will have to compete with Disney and Lucasfilm's “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, which opens December 15. Sony insiders are being more cautious and suggesting $45 million, which would still be a strong start.

“Jumanji”, which is set to launch December 20, is among a flurry of year-end holiday titles that came on the tracking Thursday morning.

Universal's female-skewing comedy “Pitch Perfect 3” likewise looks like a Christmas winner. The threequel, which will open December 22, is projected to post a four-day bow in the $30 million range, according to one major tracking service.

Fox's "The Greatest Showman", a biopic of circus maestro PT Barnum starring Hugh Jackman, is tracking to post a six-day debut of roughly $21 million, a solid start. It will bow December 20 in theaters.

Source: Variety