Box Office

This weekend’s biggest worldwide entertainment event was the launch of the 23rd Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. It may be a uniquely beautiful festival of sport but it’s no Super Bowl, and worldwide box office numbers weren’t troubled by this highflying competition.

While most of America was glued to its TV sets watching the Eagles’ thrilling last minute victory over the New England Patriots to deny them a sixth Super Bowl trophy, another titan in their field made a comeback in this weekend’s box office showdown. Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which has grossed a remarkable $855 million worldwide, came back from a second-place slump last week to pick up its fifth top domestic finish, albeit at only $11 million in an all-around slow theatergoing weekend.

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.

This weekend Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle brushed off new comers 12 Strong and Den of Thieves, taking the domestic top spot one more time with $20. 4 million.

In this week’s roundup, several 75th Golden Globe winners and prominent nominees saw an immediate boost from their well-deserved prizes, while the last blockbusters of 2017 had a surprising reversal of fortune with their second forays into the new year over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.

2017 has been a tumultuous year. A reality TV-star turning into a President without precedent managed to inflame passions on the right, on the left and throughout the world.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi won again over Christmas weekend. It had a huge showing around the world, making enormous profits in every one of its 55 global territories.

Forget about Christmas, December is Star Wars season and Disney is taking home all the presents. Star Wars: The Last Jedi put the cherry on their superlative year with a $450 million global opening.

Another slow pre–Star Wars weekend saw Coco – a nominee for the Golden Globe of Best Animated Picture -  take first place again both in the US and overseas, while James Franco’s The Disaster Artist scored big at home with a push into 840 theatres. TDA,  which received two Golden Globe Nominations, Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy and  Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for James Franco-  made $6.

This uncluttered post-Thanksgiving frame left the US box office without a single major wide release, but several returning titles and expanding specialty films made milestones of their own. First place went to Disney/Pixar’s Coco, which once again sapped some super powers away from Justice League and finished its second weekend with $26.