‘Jumanji’ tops ‘The Post,’ ‘The Commuter’ at MLK box office
NEW YORK — Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Taraji P. Henson and Paddington Bear and all rushed into movie theatres over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, but “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” still roared the loudest with an estimated $27 million in ticket sales, Friday to Sunday.
“Jumanji” easily remained the no. 1 film in North America despite an onslaught of new challengers, according to studio estimates Sunday.” The Sony Pictures release is now approaching $300 million domestically and, after grossing $40 million in China this weekend, a worldwide total of $667 million.
Coming closest was Steven Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers drama “The Post,” starring Streep as Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and Tom Hanks as editor Ben Bradlee. Twentieth Century Fox is forecasting $18.6 million for the weekend and $22.2 million for the four-day holiday.
It’s a solid result for “The Post” in its nationwide expansion following several weeks of limited release. Made for about $50 million and fast-tracked after the election of President Donald Trump, “The Post” is considered by many a timely commentary on the power of the press, and a rebuke of Trump from some of Hollywood’s biggest names.