LOS ANGELES 鈥� 鈥淪tar Wars: The Last Jedi鈥� is continuing its dominance over the movie galaxy as expected, outpacing three new releases. The eighth installment in the Disney-owned space saga is expected to add another nearly US$69 million to its coffers over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Sony鈥檚 adventure caper 鈥淛umanji: Welcome to the Jungle鈥� debuted in second place with $34 million. A pair of critically panned new musicals followed: Universal鈥檚 鈥淧itch Perfect 3" opened in third place with $20.4 million and Fox鈥檚 鈥淭he Greatest Showman鈥� debuted in fourth with $8.6 million.
These three new releases collectively earned less than 鈥淭he Last Jedi鈥� since opening on Friday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an overwhelming array of options at the movie theater, which could prove daunting to most moviegoers,鈥� said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of comScore. 鈥淏ut you鈥檇 have to be a Scrooge not to find a movie you like in this marketplace.鈥�
Sony鈥檚 president of distribution, Adrian Smith, said he was 鈥渁bsolutely pleased鈥� with the performance of 鈥淛umanji鈥� so far.
鈥淚t鈥檚 above our expectations,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have incredible momentum as we head into one of the biggest movie-going weeks of the year.鈥�
Dergarabedian said the period between Christmas and New Year鈥檚 Day is traditionally among the busiest times at the Cineplex. Families are together and theaters are brimming with blockbusters and awards-season hopefuls. Two celebrated films, 鈥淒arkest Hour鈥� and 鈥淭he Shape of Water,鈥� expanded to hundreds more screens this weekend.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
