- Box Office
World Box Office Jan 22 – Jan 28, 2018
Fox’Maze Runner: The Death Cure finally unseated January Champ Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, taking $23.5 million to beat the incumbent film’s $16.4 million. Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster return to lead the final MR film, bringing a close to a trilogy of young adult novel adaptations that began in 2014. In their last adventure, the fearless crew of quick witted and light-footed plague survivors go on the offensive, breaking into the dystopian government’s stronghold to end their experiments on genetically immune teenagers and stop the disease that has reduced their world to a fascist autocracy. Director Wes Ball again took the helm and in doing so completed the nowadays rare feat of being in charge of three consecutive linked titles.
Foreign sales for Death Cure totaled $62.2 million, bringing its global cume to $105 million after last week’s four-territory launch in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea. New launches netted first place finishes in 58 markets, including a $21.6 million start in a crowded Chinese market. The previous film, Scorch Trials, finished its run there in 2015 on just $29.6 million. Other highlights included a Russian opening worth $3.9 million, one in Indonesia at $3.1 million, and a UK landing that netted $2.9 million. South Korea is its third biggest territory so far at an already very strong $15.1 million.
While it has finally dropped off of the top spot both at home and abroad, Jumanji took a healthy $34 million from what may be its last frame near the top of the canopy. Foreign sales were worth $17.7 million and brought its overseas total to $484 million. Along with its $338 million domestic performance this surprise super hit has reached $822 million and is now Sony’s fifth biggest film of all time.
Next below it on the domestic chart is Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike led western Hostiles. Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper is at the helm of this picture about an army captain, eager to finally go home from far-flung and unwelcoming New Mexico, who is summoned to one last mission by none other than President Benjamin Harrison before he can get his discharge papers. Bale plays the captain, a veteran of so many years of Indian wars that he speaks fluent Cheyenne. For his last duty to the US Army he is asked to take an old foe Chief Yellow Hawk, now nine years imprisoned along with his family and close to his last breath, to die in his ancestral lands in Wyoming. Hostiles, while somehow having been looked over entirely for major awards contention, began its campaign as if it would be in the running with a limited LA and New York release in mid-December. Now a nationwide push to 2,816 theaters has netted it $10 million and leaves the film at a $12 million cume. While Entertainment Studios might not be taking home any gold statuettes for this picture, they’ll have some solace in knowing it outperformed every Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee in its first week in theaters.
In China, local pic Secret Superstar added $19 million to reach a $68 million cume, while Forever Young is at $95.8 million after a $11.8 million showing.
Next week we’ll only have one major new release: Winchester, a horror film starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke.
See the latest world box office estimates: