Weekend Box Office Report: December 22-24, 2017

Star Wars for Christmas!

Just before Santa delivers endless amounts of related merchandise, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI once again topped the weekend box office with an estimated $68.4 million!

While director Rian Johnson's entry in the galactic saga has amassed a ten-day domestic total of $365 million, this weekend's take represents a loss of nearly 69% from its monstrous opening last week.

It's up for debate whether that plunge is due more to holiday distraction or fandom dissatisfaction, but THE LAST JEDI has the unfortunate distinction of setting a record for biggest monetary gap between an opening and second weekend (a difference of $151 million). By comparison, THE FORCE AWAKENS dipped only 40% between weekends from a record-breaking $247 million start down to $149 million over weekend two (which included Christmas Day).

The ninth chapter in the live-action STAR WARS series (not counting Ewok TV movies and the infamous holiday special) currently has a worldwide total of $745 million.

Opening in second place was the family adventure JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE with $34 million.

The sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams hit has gathered $50.6 million domestic since it opened on Wednesday. The PG-13 body-swapping fantasy with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan cost a reported $90 million.

That opening is nearly equal to the previous pairing of Hart and Johnson (CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE started with $35.5 million last year), and nearly double the $18 million opening of The Rock's summer comedy attempt BAYWATCH.

Critics were mostly delighted to play the game this time around, giving the movie an average 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can check out the JoBlo review HERE.

In third place was the return of Anna Kendrick's Bellas in the new singing sequel PITCH PERFECT 3 with an opening of $20.4 million.

That's a deep cut after the $69 million opening of PITCH PERFECT 2, which went on to $184 million domestic in 2015. The latest ensemble musical comedy cost a reported $45 million.

Critics weren't finding the groove in the third a cappella competition, jeering the sequel with an average of 29% on Rotten Tomatoes (the JoBlo review is HERE).

Yet another new release was in fourth place as THE GREATEST SHOWMAN opened with $8.6 million.

The new musical, with Hugh Jackman in the spotlight as ringleader P.T. Barnum, has rounded up $13.4 million domestic since its Wednesday opening.

The tuneful circus spectacle is on the other end of the spectrum from Jackman's R-rated superhero sequel LOGAN, which opened in March with $88 million.

Critics were divided on the $84 million period production, giving it a 51% average on Rotten Tomatoes. The JoBlo review can be found HERE.

The animated bull comedy FERDINAND was in fifth place with $7 million, down by 47% from its opening last weekend for a ten-day domestic total of $26.5 million. Pixar's COCO followed in sixth with $5.2 million for a domestic total of $161.3 million and $486 million worldwide.

The new Matt Damon comedy DOWNSIZING opened in seventh place with $4.6 million.

It's a slightly better start than the $2.8 million opening of Damon's SUBURBICON in October, but the actor's last solid opening was the $59 million first weekend of JASON BOURNE in July 2016.

The new R-rated shrinking experiment from director Alexander Payne cost a reported $68 million. The movie scored neither small nor large with critics, who gave it an average of 51% on Rotten Tomatoes (the JoBlo review is HERE).

In eighth place was the Winston Churchill biopic DARKEST HOUR with $4.1 million as it expanded from limited release to 806 screens. The Gary Oldman drama has a domestic total of $6.9 million.

In ninth place was the new comedy FATHER FIGURES with an opening of $3.2 million.

Formerly known as BASTARDS (and delayed from a November 2016 release), the R-rated ensemble comedy with Owen Wilson, Ed Helms and a bunch of familiar faces cost a reported $25 million.

Critics clearly didn't want to spend the holidays with the screen family, giving the movie an average of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. The JoBlo review is HERE.

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's THE SHAPE OF WATER swam into the Top 10 with $3 million as it expanded from limited release. The creature romance, which cost a reported $19 million, now has a domestic total of $7.6 million.

Outside the chart, the busy schedule's lengthy casualty list included JUSTICE LEAGUE, LADY BIRD, WONDER, THE DISASTER ARTIST, DADDY'S HOME 2, THOR: RAGNAROK and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. In limited release, Steven Spielberg's drama THE POST had a strong $55k per-screen average.

Next week mostly has limited release features for new options: Ridley Scott's revised drama ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, Paul Thomas Anderson's PHANTOM THREAD and the Jessica Chastain thriller MOLLY'S GAME.

What was your favorite movie of 2017? VOTE HERE!