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Box office: Jumanji bumps Stars Wars from top spot

LOS ANGELES — Move over, "Star Wars," there are some new box office champs this weekend.
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FILE - This file image released by Sony Pictures shows Kevin Hart, from left, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan and Jack Black in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle." Columbia Pictures says Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, that the Johnson-led “Jumanji” is estimated to have earned an additional $36 million, bringing its total to $244.4 million. (Frank Masi/Sony Pictures via AP, File)

 LOS ANGELES — Move over, "Star Wars," there are some new box office champs this weekend. "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" has topped the charts after three weekends in theatres, and newcomer "Insidious: The Final Key" opened in second, pushing "The Last Jedi" into third place.

Columbia Pictures says Sunday that the Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart-led "Jumanji" is estimated to have earned an additional $36 million this weekend, bringing its total to $244.4 million.

"This is all about 'Jumanji's' staying power," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore. "This is a movie that was overshadowed by all the excitement around 'The Last Jedi,' and yet 'Jumanji' just kept plugging away and drawing audiences throughout the holiday ... This is kind of unheard of for a movie this size."

In second place is the horror film "Insidious: The Final Key," the fourth in the franchise, which earned $29.3 million. The Universal and Blumhouse Pictures film even outperformed the third chapter in the series. That film launched to $22.7 million in June of 2015.

"We could not be more thrilled with that debut. It's a fantastic result," said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution. "The release date worked in our favour. There hasn't been a similar film in a couple of months. "

Young audiences drove the "Insidious" box office with 59 per cent under the age of 25. Whether or not they enjoyed the film is another question: It got a scary B- CinemaScore.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" fell to third place with $23.6 million in its fourth weekend in theatres. The space blockbuster has grossed $572.5 million to date.

"The Greatest Showman" took fourth place with $13.8 million and "Pitch Perfect 3" rounded out the top five with $10.2 million.

Awards seasons films continue to expand throughout January, too, like Aaron Sorkin's directorial debut "Molly's Game," which added over 1,300 theatres this weekend and took in $7 million. The Jessica Chastain-starrer about the real life "poker princess" Molly Bloom is up for two Golden Globe awards Sunday evening — best actress and best screenplay.

The Winston Churchill film "Darkest Hour" starring Gary Oldman (who is up for a best actor Golden Globe) also added 790 theatres and took in $6.4 million.

The weekend is up around 18 per cent from the same weekend last year, which Dergarabedian sees as a sign that perhaps the 2018 box office will be stronger and more steady than 2017.

"2017 was not consistent. It was volatile, it was a rollercoaster," Dergarabedian said. "This sets the tone for what we're hoping is a consistent and strong 2018 box office."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1."Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," $36 million.
2."Insidious: The Last Key," $29.3 million.
3."Star Wars: The Last Jedi," $23.6 million.
4."The Greatest Showman," $13.8 million.
5."Pitch Perfect 3," $10.2 million.
6."Ferdinand," $7.7 million.
7."Molly's Game," $7 million.
8."Darkest Hour," $6.4 million.
9."Coco," $5.5 million.
10."All the Money in the World," $3.6 million.