‘Last Jedi’ continues holiday box-office haul; ‘Jumanji’ and ‘Pitch Perfect 3’ open strong

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi� continued to commandeer the box office as expected on Christmas weekend, though attendance dropped off significantly from the space opera’s opening weekend, in part due to moviegoers’ focus on holiday preparations. Ticket sales are expected to pick up again on Christmas Day.

The Walt Disney Co.-backed adventure grossed $68.5 million Friday through Saturday and is expected to haul in $100.7 million through the holiday period, according to estimates from measurement firm ComScore. That would push director Rian Johnson’s installment to a whopping $365.1 million domestic gross through Sunday and an expected $397.3 million through Christmas Day. In all, “The Last Jedi� is pacing itself toward an impressive cumulative worldwide gross of $745 million through Sunday, ComScore said.

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Meanwhile, Sony’s action-adventure reboot “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,� which opened on Wednesday, and Universal’s a capella comedy “Pitch Perfect 3� have positioned themselves as strong holiday-weekend contenders.

The Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart-starring “Jumanji� reboot trailed “The Last Jedi� with a $34-million haul through Saturday and is expected to post $47.5 million through Monday. The adventure comedy received a middling 77% “fresh� score on Rotten Tomatoes, but notched an A- rating from CinemaScore.

“Pitch Perfect 3,� which opened Friday, continues to draw theatergoers to Universal’s musical comedy franchise, which reunites the a capella-singing Bellas — Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld and more — for a USO tour. The ensemble film earned $20.5 million through Saturday and is expected to sing to a tune of $27 million through Monday, according to ComScore. Reviews have been mixed, however. The musical earned an A- rating from CinemaScore and 29% “rotten� rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

Also new this weekend is the Hugh Jackman-starring musical biopic “The Greatest Showman� from Fox, which sashayed into fourth place on Sunday morning. The Golden Globe-nominated musical about P.T. Barnum and the birth of show business has been doing fairly well since opening on Wednesday, already posting an estimated $8.6 million and is expected to earn $13.6 million through Monday, according to ComScore. The film earned an A rating from CinemaScore and 57% “rotten� rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

The animated features “Ferdinand� (20th Century Fox) and “Coco� (Walt Disney Studios) followed, with “Ferdinand� grossing an estimated $7 million in its second week and “Coco� continuing an admirable run and adding another $5 million to its fifth-week $161.3 cumulative gross.

Meanwhile, Paramount’s quirky comedy “Downsizing� had a down-sized opening with just $4.6 million earned through Sunday. Word of mouth hasn’t been doing the Alexander Payne and Matt Damon comedy any favors — the film earned a C CinemaScore and 51% “rotten� rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

Critical darlings “Darkest Hour� (Focus Features) and “The Shape of Water� (Fox Searchlight), which opened in limited release weeks ago, both expanded to nationwide openings this weekend and grossed a solid $4.1 million and $3 million, respectively.

The Warner Bros.-distributed “Father Figures� (Alcon Entertainment), starring Ed Helms and Owen Wilson, became the latest R-rated comedy bomb, opening to a mere $3.2 million since its debut on Friday.

Also worth mentioning is 20th Century Fox’s Pentagon Papers drama “The Post,� which has done well during its limited opening in nine theaters. Steven Spielberg’s journalism biopic grossed an estimated $495,000 with an impressive $55,000-per-location average.

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